Kitten with gingivitis???

I was just sitting on the couch and had my little 9 month old kitten (Cillian) jump on my lap for some snuggling. I noticed his breath smelled bad. So I decided to have a look at his mouth. He has gingivitis. Its only red and inflammed near his teeth. No other reddness or swelling any where else. Obviously he has no build up on teeth since he's only 9 months... I'm taking him into work with me to get checked out tommorrow. I was hoping in the mean time someone could give me an idea as to whats going on with him.

I have heard or stomatitis before and know that most of the time all the teeth have to be pulled. I just dont know how to tell if he has it or not. I dont know what to look for to tell the differance between that and juvinelle gingivtis or any of the other gum diseases.

Then I have myself freaking out because I know othe diseases can play a part in gum disease... He did test negative for FIV and FeLV but now I want to retest him just to be safe. I'm also freaking out because I read that kidney problems can cause gum problems and that young cats with it tend to be very small... He only weighs around 5 pounds and is very small for his age...

If anyone could give me an idea as to what could be wrong I would appreciate it... Also, if you could spare some vibes for him. I just dont want anything to be seriously wrong with him. He's been through so much already...

I'm so glad you're getting him to the vet. And you may just want to have blood work done rather than retesting for those diseases - see if the blood work indicates that they should be tested for. Do bring a stool sample with you if you can.

I will let you know that one of our cats needed a dental at that age - the build-up of calculus on her teeth is amazing. The vet said that some cats are just like that. She's 4 now, and has had to have two teeth pulled so far - but we brush her teeth (thank GOD she loves it) and she has her teeth cleaned at the vet every year. The fist sign of the problem to our untrained eyes was the redness you described.

So yes - your kitty is VERY young to have a dental problem. But it is possible that's what it is.

Laurie

I get a good discount on bloodwork that is sent to the lab. It takes a little bit longer, but its MUCH cheaper for all the tests they do. CBC, chemisty, FeLV/FIV test, heartworm test, urinalysis and T4. All for what I would pay to do the FeLV/FIV test in house... I figured I'd just go ahead and do that.

I just worry since his my little boy and has attached himself to me so much. He's already had to have 3 surguries to repair his legs after being hit by a car. You can read the rest of his story if you'd like....
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=135218

It figures he would have issues.... I cant have a "normal" cat....

Awww...... poor baby! We have several "million dollar cats" I can't even provide the links as the saga of two of the kitties were (one) over the course of a year, and the other over the course of two years. But they're both alive and doing really well now. I hope the same for your baby boy (minus the ongoing expense of health problems!).

Laurie

Just an idea, but my male cat Brandon had gingivitis when I adopted him at around a year old. A nutritious diet didn't resolve it so the vet recommended having him tested for Bartonella. His tests came back with a high positive and he was given a long round of antibiotics (flagyl, I think). His gingivitis went away along with the bad breath.

My understanding is that many cats carry Bartonella, but not all of display symptoms of illness. As I recall the test was fairly expensive and it took at least 2 weeks to get the results. Sometimes a vet will recommed re-testing if symptoms come back. Good luck with this.

Well... the vets aren't sure if it is stomatitis or not at this point. They said if it is, I caught it very early. I sent off bloodwork and they put him on antibiotics. They want to see how the gingivitis responds to the antibiotics. So he will be going back in 2 weeks for a recheck. Right now it seems to be a "wait and see" kinda thing...

I guess I'm going to have to learn how to brush his little teeth to at least help some.

This should be interesting....

Stomatitus can be diagnosed with a biopsy of the gum tissue.

Originally Posted by Crt

Just an idea, but my male cat Brandon had gingivitis when I adopted him at around a year old. A nutritious diet didn't resolve it so the vet recommended having him tested for Bartonella. His tests came back with a high positive and he was given a long round of antibiotics (flagyl, I think). His gingivitis went away along with the bad breath.

My understanding is that many cats carry Bartonella, but not all of display symptoms of illness. As I recall the test was fairly expensive and it took at least 2 weeks to get the results. Sometimes a vet will recommed re-testing if symptoms come back. Good luck with this.

Click to expand...

Bartonella is def something that should be looked into, imo. here in NYC the test is $40 if i remember correctly and the treatment is 21-28 days of antibiotics. i think there are 3 antibiotics that kick it out best. the one i've used is Azithromycin. i generally test my new cats since they are from the streets or the over-crowded shelter.

Sending vibes it responds to the meds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laurie

My Oscar had gingivitis when he was about 4 months old. The vet thought it might be Calici or Bartonella (he tested negative for FIV/FeLV). He too failed to gain weight until he was over a year old (6 pounds at 9 months). My vet suggested that stomatitis usually starts when a cat is older and rarely happens with a kitten. More often than not it is another disease which manafests itself in their gums.

We started his treatment with the usual antibiotics such as Clavamox and those had no effect. We switched to doxycyline with no effect. Once we switched him over to an antibiotic that I got from a pharmacy and kept him on that for 4 months, his problem cleared up. I will post the name of that drug when I can remember it - it's not in his health records and my memory is failing me right now.

Oscar didn't start to gain weight until he was over a year old but has topped to an over-healthy 13 pounds. For the first year he battled coccidia, then the gingivitus, and we really didn't think he was going to make it.

Well part of the bloodwork is back already. He does have some abnormalities...

Basophils - 222 - Normal range = 0-150
Phosphorus - 8.4 - Normal range = 2.4-8.2 mg/dL

I know that basophils are produced in response to an allergic kinda response... Could this be an indicator that it maybe stomatitis? Still waiting on the heartworm, t4, and FeLV/FIV tests... I'll post more when I get those.

How can you tell the difference between a kitten teething and gingivits?
My 9 month old kitten has red gums and stinky breath but all the feedback I got was that he was just teething, so I didn't worry about it.
Should he be checked out?

Most of the time they get all of their adult teeth by around 6 months of age. If the gums are noticably red or swollen looking it could be gingivitis and you should have it checked out by your vet.

ok thanks.
My cat is a maine coon. Do they finish teething later? (just like how they reach their adult size later?)

I'm not sure about the differance between when a DSH and mainecoon would get thier adult teeth. I would imagine your kitty should have all their adult teeth by 9 months regardless... But I'm not 100% on that one...

So far the antibiotics dont seem to be helping. At least he's a good sport about and doesn't much care about having to get it twice a day.

I have been slowly introducing little cillian to the toothbrush and toothpaste. He's not too sure about it when I hold the toothbrush, but when its on the ground, he loves it. He gobbles the toothpaste off the brush and bops any one on the head who gets too close to it. So far, not a bad start... We shall see how the actual brushing goes once he's used to the toothbrush and toothpaste...

This is a whole new expiriance for me... I have never brushed a cats teeth before so him and I are learning together.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

My Oscar had gingivitis when he was about 4 months old. The vet thought it might be Calici or Bartonella (he tested negative for FIV/FeLV). He too failed to gain weight until he was over a year old (6 pounds at 9 months). My vet suggested that stomatitis usually starts when a cat is older and rarely happens with a kitten. More often than not it is another disease which manafests itself in their gums.

We started his treatment with the usual antibiotics such as Clavamox and those had no effect. We switched to doxycyline with no effect. Once we switched him over to an antibiotic that I got from a pharmacy and kept him on that for 4 months, his problem cleared up. I will post the name of that drug when I can remember it - it's not in his health records and my memory is failing me right now.

Oscar didn't start to gain weight until he was over a year old but has topped to an over-healthy 13 pounds. For the first year he battled coccidia, then the gingivitus, and we really didn't think he was going to make it.

Click to expand...

Sound exactly like my kitten Maggie. She just got a biopsy done and her teeth cleaned last Monday. We use a saline solution on her gums and brush her teeth once a day. She is still super skinny. Clavamox seemed to have worked a bit for her but we're trying to stay away from any other medication for now and see how the cleaning helps over the next few weeks.

Nothing worse than a kitten whose mouth hurts