Urgent: cat sick..mouth problem. please help.

maldoror

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my cat is not eating. she is an oriential...she's very skinny and always has been.
now she's looking even more emaciated and she's dehydrated.
she has always had very very bad upper respiratory...always has snot coming out.
the problem is in her mouth now. her gums are bleeding...her breath smells almost like it's infected. the bleeding is centered around her right big molar. her gums seem swollen around it and she seems to be chewing on her cheek...she has trouble getting her mouth closed sometimes. her respiratory problem is also really bad now. we took her to the vet before for this when it looked like she was getting lockjaw. when she's trying to close her mouth there's a crunching sound.
i'm considering the emergency vet right now since she is just standing and staring and not responding very much. she ate some malt hairball stuff and my girlfriend is at the store getting a lot of gravy heavy foods.
can anyone give me an idea of what this might be? the vet didn't find anything before.
 

carolina

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I am no expert, but it sounds to me like her tooth is infected - she must be in A LOT of pain... please go to the ER vet...
 
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maldoror

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she has kidney failure and it's effecting her organs and making her mouth swell. she is getting her system flushed, but her numbers are off the charts and she's not going to make it much longer. i'm in shock and don't know what to do...we're going to have them keep her to keep the fluids going in i guess, but i don't really know how long we can do that and it's already costing a lot more than we have. we may bring her home a do I.V.s ourselves but i just don't know right now.
 

mews2much

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So sorry.
Would you want to join the Crf group?
They have helped me alot.
Coco has crf.
I guess I should have posted taht I thought it could be kidney.
 

kittkatt

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I'm not sure if this well help, but maybe this attached link will be able to help you out financially:

http://www.vcapets.com/

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. I hope you'll be able to do something for her.
 

slave2_ragdolls

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Originally Posted by Maldoror

she has kidney failure and it's effecting her organs and making her mouth swell. she is getting her system flushed, but her numbers are off the charts and she's not going to make it much longer. i'm in shock and don't know what to do...we're going to have them keep her to keep the fluids going in i guess, but i don't really know how long we can do that and it's already costing a lot more than we have. we may bring her home a do I.V.s ourselves but i just don't know right now.
How old is your cat? Please do what is best for your cats health according to your vet + your own decision. Good luck!
 
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maldoror

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i guess i'm going to have more options to choose from in the morning and probably none of them good. she's 6 years old and is a runt of runts weighing 4.4 lbs. she's always had a chronic sinus problem with her nose always draining.
the vet said that the nitrogen and other toxins in her were too high to register on their equipment...her kidneys are under 25%. if the flush gets them back up it's not going to get back up to a good level anyway probably. she looks like she's not going to last, but if she does come back somewhat i have to figure out what to do. leaving her there is probably too much. is it common for people to bring them home and to just treat with sub-q?
 

carolina

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Oh my goodness - I did not see this coming! I am so very sorry...... Don't make any decisions today, as you are in shock... Sleep on it, and think about it tomorrow...
 

the_food_lady

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Sounds like she's got bad teeth and could desperately use a good dental. Bad teeth and gums, if left untreated, can directly impact the kidneys - that's why it's so important to get yearly dentals done as they get older. It's possible, too, that your kitty's mouth is so sore due to what CRF kitties commonly get; mouth ulcers, caused by increased stomach acid that backs up into the esophagus and into the mouth (caused by elevated "BUN" in the blood).

6 yrs old is pretty young to have CRF though it's not unheard of.

I once had a very old siamese kitty I rescued who was in very rough shape when I found her. She had horrible teeth, nasty breath, and a lot of teeth were missing. Once she got a few days of fluids her kidneys settled down enough that a dental could be done; that made a huge difference in her kidney status, and her desire to eat of course.

Lots of people w/ CRF kitties do home fluids. I guess it all depends on what you feel comfortable with. I'd encourage you to maybe read more on it. While it is true that by the time the kidney values in bloodwork (BUN and Creatinine - these would have been part of the bloodtests your vet did) become elevated to a certain point, that it means the kidneys are only functioning at about 25%, many CRF kitties do well at home on regular daily (or every 2 days) fluids.

Here's a really great support group on Yahoo; there are many wonderful members there who are very knowledgable about caring for a CRF kitty and all that in entails and they're generally around to answer questions 24/7:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/f...ec=group&slk=2

You'll have to "Join" to be able to read the posts and post yourself.

Here, also, is one of "thee best" feline CRF sites on the internet......it's the most informative and easy to understand; from what causes CRF, symptoms, treatments, medications, how to give subQ fluids at home, possible complications, etc:

http://www.felinecrf.org/

To make the most informed decision about what you will do, read as much as you can...........so you can determine if you're able to commit the time and money to treating a CRF kitty. Hope this helps.
 

miss purrypot

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Your poor kitty--I'm so glad she's getting medical help. Just heartbreaking. She, and you, are in our thoughts and prayers. I hope that she's comfortable.
 

meaneeman

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CAT MOUTH PROBLEMS Stomatitis - I need advice!

My cat is very active and relatively healthy for a 14 year old. She just had 4 teeth removed due to stomatitus about a month and a half ago (swollen gums, bad breath). She starting eating immediately after and gained weight back quickly after having lost several lbs. before, but has sense lost it all again. Her mouth is in bad shape again. I have also had her there at the Vets two times afterwards (steroid shot and again for antibiotics). Both are only temporary solutions to a bigger problem. I know teeth problems can lead to kidney and other organ problems. I just had blood work done, and the Vet said her kidney levels were high.

The vet is telling me that her back teeth need to come out because of the same issues with stomatitis, plus she will need to go on fluids before the surgery. How is it possible that she needs more teeth taken out so quickly (month and half)? Is stomatitis really that quick a disease that it can do that kind of damage, or did the vet miss the other bad teeth before?? (same office - but a different vet).

I talked to the vet today again just to get a better understanding about what is best for her. I asked her if having all of her teeth removed is the best solution or not. I read that cats and dogs can live happily without them and that stomatitus will eventually make her get all her teeth out eventually anyways. She said if it were her cat she would have them all removed, and I know this vet is giving me a break on money so it's not about nickle and dime-ing me to death.

I just want my cat healthy, happy and gaining weight again. I will not put her down, even though she is "older' because she IS very healthy otherwise and very happy and playful (doesn't act her age and VETs all agree very healthy). This is my baby, and I love her tremendously - so I just don't want to make a decision that will only hurt her in the long run. I am confused as to what to do. Take out teeth gradually (which may or may not solve the problem - like before and still leave her in pain and skinny); take all her teeth out and hope that solves the problem (the stomatitis should go away and might help her live longer avoiding kidney and other problems); or, seek another opinion from yet another VET (who may give me yet another answer he or she thinks is the problem).
 
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