Halitosis - Death Sentence? (Reccomended euthanizing)

Received the following news about a kitty of "mine" at the shelter.

"Pandora has very bad halotosis, gingervitis. She has sores in her mouth and her teeth bleed when touched. Vet says you can do a dental but it will not stop this problem. She would need a yearly dental for the rest of her life. the only other possibility is steroid shots."

For $80 the vet wil pull her teeth, but he doesn't reccomend it. $50 he'll do a dental, but he doesn't think that will solve the problem. I don't think he understands that I am not willing to euthanize her, I'll pay for the dental myself if it saves her life. I believe he's suggesting euthanizing.

I'm not familiar with halitosis.....I'm googling it but was hoping someone else had some advice. OK, so it's basically "bad breath"??

I'm sorry, but Pandora (the kitty in question) came from my house, I surrendered her. Twitch & Cow had all their teeth pulled due to very bad teeth. She's like a year younger than them, but has the same mother. Genetics are not in her favor.

Thoughts? Opinions? Feedback?

(FYI - Pandora is a tortie/siamese girl, about 3-4 years old)

Halitosis is indeed bad breath, and isn't a disease or a disorder, but is a symptom.

I imagine that the vet has diagnosed chronic feline stomatitis or lymphocytic plasmacytic gingivitis. They are not completely understood, but are thought to be autoimmune problems where the cat has an allergy to plaque and tartar or even to its own teeth. It can also be caused by FeLV, has the cat tested negative?

It can be managed but usually involves regular dental work and cleaning and sometimes the removal of all teeth.

I wouldn't say it was a death sentence though, the vet is probably imagining that it would make a shelter kitty very difficult to home due to the nature of the problem and ongoing expense of treatment if paid for by the shelter.

I would try to get more details from the vet if I were you.

Here is some info:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?articleid=368

ETA: Just saw she is Siamese or part Siamese? Siamese/Orientals do seem to be particularly prone to this disorder.

All kitties at the shelter are FeLV tested & negative. I believe we are getting a 2nd opinion from another vet - the one who took care of my Twitch.

This kitty we've had for 4 months now & has to be adopted with another kitty. They aren't declawed (which is a drawback in their case) & are bashful. So no, they are far from adoptable....but I'm willing to fight for Pandy Pan.

Regular dental work is a turn-off....in all honesty if this is probably a "lifelong" thing her teeth will all be removed. Not to mention, from the looks of it, most are bad enough they have to be.

The people who had adopted Pandora/her cagemate....surrendered them after 3 years of having them. They ate very poor quality food. She's on Purina, which is what the shelter feeds, but I suppose I can find a way to beg them into buying better food just for her. (If I didn't have Bea, I'd bring her home myself)

I do believe the vet is otherwise motivated, seeing how full we are & other things....

I don't know if the disease at the link below is relevent....
I will say that I would rather be toothless than dead.
http://www.veterinarydental.com/veterinarians/flps.php

Sending loving vibes to you and Pandy Pan.

Originally Posted by xocats

I will say that I would rather be toothless than dead.

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Well said Lei! That's about where I sit....what does it hurt for me to pay for the dental....if it helps. If it doesn't, we can cross that bridge then. Shelter won't be out anything.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Well said Lei!

That's about where I sit....what does it hurt for me to pay for the dental....if it helps. If it doesn't, we can cross that bridge then. Shelter won't be out anything.

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Good for you.
Keep us posted.

Removal of the teeth is not as bad as it sounds. They are cats, they have them for killing and ripping prey apart and can manage cat food perfectly well without them.

If the final diagnosis is one of the disorders I mentioned then if I were you I would opt for the one major dental session to improve adoptability and minimise long-term dental problems, and see how her gums recover. Certainly if the alternative is euthanasia for an otherwise healthy cat, it's got to be worth a shot

I laugh....as Cow had all his teeth pulled. Fafeena is his mother. Both are farm cats. Fafeena kills stuff....and then shreds off of it to feed to Cow.

My toothless wonders are no worse for the wear sans teeth!

I will give you my thoughts the usual way um I cant write well enough to say what I am thinking

Hey,
sorry to hear about Pandora! The unfortunate this is that gingavitis (gum disease)& halitosis can eventually cause Kidney failure (and or breakdown of other organs). We had a siamese when I was growing up, he had the worst breath. Mum took him to the vet and they had to pull most of his teeth, he was ok for a while but slowly his kidneys shut down. He was weeing all over the place and not drinking water. We had to have him put down. It is so important to ensure they eat quality food, drink lots of water and give them chicken necks or other special foods to help keep their mouths clean, and/or a good teeth clean at your vet visits. I would speak to your vet, make sure they give Pandora a good look over, maybe do some tests (if they can) to ensure her organs are all functioning ok. I hope she is going to be alright! Sorry for the morbid story

My cat's name is Pandora too!

Can they give her some kind of antibiotic to kill off the bacteria that is causing the bad breath? Seems like putting her down is an awfully drastic step just because of bad breath! I've heard it can lead to other problems but it seems like it's in the early stages so maybe they can catch it before it spreads to the organs?

In any case, lots of good vibes and to you and Pandora

Pandora (and her BFF who she must be adopted with) Snookums are at my house now. They're here until Monday, so I can get them to another vet for a 2nd opinion. Hoping this other vet thinks a dental extraction/cleaning will solve her problems. They really are sweet cats.

Pandora is fortunate to have you as her advocate.

Sending lots of hopeful vet vibes for Monday's exam.
Pandora and Snookums.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

They aren't declawed (which is a drawback in their case) & are bashful.

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I don't understand, why would the cats having their claws be a bad thing?

Originally Posted by Shanynne

I don't understand, why would the cats having their claws be a bad thing?

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In different areas of the country ... Many still think that "house cats" should be declawed , you see it alot in rural areas where a "house cat" is different than a barn cat and folks often have both

Natalie ... I had a Siamese girl once, a lovely little Seal Point Girl who suffered from a very common feline oral malady called feline ondoclastic resorptive lesion (FORL). A lot of cats can also be affected by stomatitis, which is also referred to as lymphocytic plasmacytic gingivitis pharangitis syndrome (LPGS). There is also a condition called oral neoplasia.

I had all of her teeth extracted and she lived for another 6 years. (She was 12 at the time of the full-mouth extraction)

Please please please, get that second opinion and see if full-mouth extraction isn't part of a solution for Pandora. If, as Kozziosko mentioned, her kidneys have become compromised to the point where a round of IV fluids at the vet won't jump start them and then follow up with Sub-Q fluids at home isn't indicated, then the right thing to do is euthanize. BUT - if the kidneys are still functioning and can be assisted by fluids, then try to go that route first.

Call me if you need to.

Here is a link to explain the differences between the dental conditions and how they can be treated:

http://www.dentalvet.com/Encyclopedi...52_SC01100.htm

+

I agree with what others have said: It sounds like Lymphocytic-Plasmacytic Gingivitis Stomatitis (http://www.dentalvet.com/vets/cats/LPGS.htm). This is not a death sentence, so long as it is treated. As mentioned by others, cats can live long, healthy lives without their teeth. My cat Clarion has hers removed at 3, and she lived to 13. Her brother Franklin has his removed 18 months ago, and he is still going strong and now pushing 14.

Depending on the severity of the case, in addition to extraction, Prednisone and antibiotics may also be prescribed for life. Such was/is the case with Franklin and Clarion.

Yes, there are risks of side effects with a lifelong course of meds (Clarion died from kidney failure, and had been an insulin diabetic since she was 10), but the immediate side effect of no meds will be pain, followed by starvation.

That's an easy call!

Originally Posted by Shanynne

I don't understand, why would the cats having their claws be a bad thing?

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Basic rule of thumb for the rural folks around here is - cat in the house, hack off the claws. Drives me insane how people think.

We're trying to place 2 adult cats with their claws (and we won't allow them to be declawed) that are timid. If they're adopted within a year, it'll be a miracle. We placed the 10+ year old mother/son pair faster than we'll place these two, simply as they were declawed & friendly.

They could've been adopted multiple times if we would let people declaw them.

The vet that saw her initially was talking about steroid shots for life. When Twitch had her teeth removed, she needed a few sporadically the first year after that, but otherwise she's been good.

I would ask the folks who advocate for declawing how they'd like to have their fingernails ripped off. GRRRRR

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Basic rule of thumb for the rural folks around here is - cat in the house, hack off the claws. Drives me insane how people think.

We're trying to place 2 adult cats with their claws (and we won't allow them to be declawed) that are timid. If they're adopted within a year, it'll be a miracle. We placed the 10+ year old mother/son pair faster than we'll place these two, simply as they were declawed & friendly.

They could've been adopted multiple times if we would let people declaw them.

The vet that saw her initially was talking about steroid shots for life. When Twitch had her teeth removed, she needed a few sporadically the first year after that, but otherwise she's been good.

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Sorry this is going off topic but...

In my honest opinion, I believe that the willingness of vets to perform the procedure is at least halfway to blame for that culture. Declawing is not performed here, not because it was made illegal - it is illegal under some piece of EU legislation but that legislation is something of a formality after the fact - because the RCVS who give all UK vets their licences said long ago that declawing (with the exception of amputation for solely clinical reasons) was cruelty and any vet performing it would immediately have their licence to practice veterinary medicine withdrawn. Hence we have NO culture of declawing here, it just doesn't happen, and pretty much everyone is horrified by the idea.

A lot of people will naturally think that if a vet will perform the surgery then it can't be cruel, because after all a vet has a lot of knowledge and has dedicated their life to looking after animals and wouldn't do anything cruel, would they?