question..

jugen

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I just took Rocket to the vets with Isis, (she is calmer that way) anyway after we were finished with Isis' issues, the new vet looked at Rockets teeth, (I was petting him and noticed his gums were bleeding!!!) and she said he had leisions on his teeth, all of the enamel is gone, alot of his teeth had already fallen out and he has gingivitis. Long story short, they want to remove all his teeth, (except his canines) in two weeks.

My question... Is this ok to do? I think they said he had 8 left? How will this affect him in the future?? Should I feed him the same thing he's eating now? He eats 1/2 a can of wet food(pro plan) in the am and then free feeds on dry food (Dr Fosters and Smith chicken and brown rice) I'm really nervous and upset at the fact that he has to have this done all at once...(actually at all)
 

strange_wings

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There are members on here with toothless kitties. If it's best for his health, and you're sure in your decision. Do it. Don't worry about him not being able to eat. He'll need wet foods only until his gums heal, but after that he should be able to munch on some dry - though if he's enjoying all wet at that time, you could let him continue on with that.

Search for past threads.
 

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I have limited experience with this issue. We have a cat at the shelter that went through this recently. They seem to adapt well. They eat an all canned food diet.

My thought would be to get the best premium canned food that your budget will allow and that your cat will eat. This will help him be as healthy as possible.

Good luck.
 
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jugen

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Originally Posted by Skimble

I have limited experience with this issue. We have a cat at the shelter that went through this recently. They seem to adapt well. They eat an all canned food diet.

My thought would be to get the best premium canned food that your budget will allow and that your cat will eat. This will help him be as healthy as possible.

Good luck.
Problem is, if I leave canned cat food out, the other cats will eat it first leaving Rocket with nothing to eat. That's why I free feed dry food all day and give wet food in the mornings.
 

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If you feed a small dry food there shouldn't be any problem. Cats don't chew usually - they just swallow the pieces. Naturally if the pieces are large they will break the piece with the tip of the tooth before swallowing. Their jaws only go up and down and not side to side as we humans do. So, having said that, after the surgery to remove the teeth and the gums have healed there should be no problem with dry food as long as the pieces are not too large.
 

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White cat lover has a few toothless or nearly cats ... and they eat fine , I learned that toothless cats can and often eat dry food of all sizes( this made me almost fall off my chair
)
 
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jugen

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Originally Posted by mews2much

My Coco has almost no teeth and she eats fine.
She eats both wet and dry.
How old is your cat?
Rocket is 9. I just feel so sorry for him. I knew he had problems in the past with his teeth but it's never gotten this bad. I am going to tell the vet I don't want them to take out his canines and little front teeth so that his tongue doesn't hang out like Calis does..
 

white cat lover

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My Twitch & Cow are straight out toothless. Fafeena has 2 teeth left. Twitch & Cow are now 5 (Twitch was 2 when hers came out, Cow 4). Fafeena is 15 & has slowly lost hers over time.

All of them eat dry food, with wet mixed in. The big MAX cat kibble can be eaten by Twitch, but neither Cow or Fafeena will eat it. Otherwise, smaller/round pieces work best.

Honestly - if his teeth are that bad - it might well be better to take them all now rather than in a few years have to take the last few. I could've saved 3 of Cow's teeth - but gave the vet instructions to take them all. None of my cats have issues with their tongues hanging out weird. (If his teeth end up being bad enough they need to be removed in 2 years, he'll be 2 years older & at more risk then for anesthesia than now - and if they are as bad as you say they are - it's pretty much a guarantee they'll have to come out)
 

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Sometimes gum issues can be attributed to FIV or FeLV cats. I have an FIV cat, and he is missing a few teeth including a front fang. He has a gum issue that was originally very painful for him, with sores and bleeding gums. He would scream everytime he would eat. We took him to the vet and they put him on Clindamycin long term since he has FIV and would be an ongoing issue. So we gave him a dropperful daily, and things improved. When we took him off of it, the pain returned. So we continued the Clindamycin. Then the vet told us he should not take it continuosly, so in October we took him off to see how long he could be off it without symptoms. He is still off it now. Somehow his mouth has improved and he is able to eat. He was probably on Clindamycin from about April to October for most of the time. But somehow this last time being off of it, he has been fine. I would not recommend taking all of the cat's teeth. 1-Because he needs them. 2-Because maybe something like Clindamycin could help. 3-Removing all of his teeth will be painful and difficult for him going in the future. I would say, see if there is an alternative or a medicine to try, that won't require removing all his teeth. Or get a second opinion. I had a kitten with an eye injury, the vet told me "We may have to remove his eye." There was no way I was going to do that. However, getting a second opinion and finding treatment options helped-the cat's eye is now slightly damaged, but still in his eye socket
If your cat has no teeth and has to compete with other cats, or just does not get used to eating on his own without teeth, then he will require extra care to make sure he is eating enough. Just check all options before completely removing them all.
 

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Originally Posted by jugen

I just took Rocket to the vets with Isis, (she is calmer that way) anyway after we were finished with Isis' issues, the new vet looked at Rockets teeth, (I was petting him and noticed his gums were bleeding!!!) and she said he had leisions on his teeth, all of the enamel is gone, alot of his teeth had already fallen out and he has gingivitis. Long story short, they want to remove all his teeth, (except his canines) in two weeks.

My question... Is this ok to do? I think they said he had 8 left? How will this affect him in the future?? Should I feed him the same thing he's eating now? He eats 1/2 a can of wet food(pro plan) in the am and then free feeds on dry food (Dr Fosters and Smith chicken and brown rice) I'm really nervous and upset at the fact that he has to have this done all at once...(actually at all)
There's nothing to worry about!


My two previous cats had only a few teeth left, and they both managed to eat wet and dry foods with little or no problem!


However, if your are planning on feeding any food that is very tough and/or chewy (some types of raw meat for example), then it would be wise to cut the food into about pea size pieces. It is then easier to chew, swallow, and digest. I've found out the hard way that too big a piece of (chewy) food may cause the cat to vomit it back up (probably because it was too big to digest).
 
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jugen

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Originally Posted by nowonder

Sometimes gum issues can be attributed to FIV or FeLV cats. I have an FIV cat, and he is missing a few teeth including a front fang. He has a gum issue that was originally very painful for him, with sores and bleeding gums. He would scream everytime he would eat. We took him to the vet and they put him on Clindamycin long term since he has FIV and would be an ongoing issue. So we gave him a dropperful daily, and things improved. When we took him off of it, the pain returned. So we continued the Clindamycin. Then the vet told us he should not take it continuosly, so in October we took him off to see how long he could be off it without symptoms. He is still off it now. Somehow his mouth has improved and he is able to eat. He was probably on Clindamycin from about April to October for most of the time. But somehow this last time being off of it, he has been fine. I would not recommend taking all of the cat's teeth. 1-Because he needs them. 2-Because maybe something like Clindamycin could help. 3-Removing all of his teeth will be painful and difficult for him going in the future. I would say, see if there is an alternative or a medicine to try, that won't require removing all his teeth. Or get a second opinion. I had a kitten with an eye injury, the vet told me "We may have to remove his eye." There was no way I was going to do that. However, getting a second opinion and finding treatment options helped-the cat's eye is now slightly damaged, but still in his eye socket
If your cat has no teeth and has to compete with other cats, or just does not get used to eating on his own without teeth, then he will require extra care to make sure he is eating enough. Just check all options before completely removing them all.
That's another thing I'm worried about. I mean he eats ok now, but his mouth is sore, I guess when he's leaving most of his wet food in the am should've been a signal to me but I guess I didn't catch it. He's been tested for fiv and felv when we got him and both were neg so I'm not worried about that.
I am just worried about what the future holds... I mean, he's a picky eater, He likes only one kind of wet food, but he's crazy for lunch meat. So if he's not eating the wet food, do I give him lunch meat?
The dry food we have kind of looks like y shaped pieces. So with Isis possibly having allergys should I go back to the old food and risk her for Rocket? It's all just so confusing. I went to the new vet for a second opinion on Isis and came back with more issues then I went with.....
 

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I beg to differ with nowonder. Dental issues cause great pain - and bad teeth trash the internal organs rapidly. My Twitch has had very mild stages of renal failure for a long time, due to having bad teeth - despite me treating her with Clindamycin as mentioned above. We tried every anti-biotic & med under the sun for a year with Twitch - and all it did was essentially kill her younger.

At 9 years old - it's not unusual for a kitty to have bad teeth. Yes, it's painful to remove their teeth, but it's not any easier if his are that bad to let him go while you try anti-biotics that may/may not work. I would definately talk to your vet to see if s/he thinks Clindamycin would work, but from what you are describing, they are pretty rotten (and therefore making it painful & hard for him to eat) - and if you trust your vet, then you probably should take the teeth. If you don't trust your vet, get a 2nd opinion ASAP.

My Cow is a farm kitty, as is Fafeena. They are fixed & receive vet care. Not having their teeth hasn't slowed either of them down at all - nor has it affected their ability to defend themselves if they need to. They actually eat faster than all the other kitties, as they don't have to stop & chew!


I don't understand the lesions on the teeth though?
 

nowonder

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It all depends on the situation. In my case, Baby had a horrible gum issue and he did have ulcerated gums and it was painful. The clindamycin got it under control and now he is able to eat without any medication. He is missing some teeth. In general, sometimes the teeth will come out on their own if they are rotten, or it could do the opposite and cause pain and have to be removed. All I am suggesting is just check every option prior to removing them all. And yes, sometimes when going for a second opinion you end up with even more trouble. Take time and think about what you have been told, see what makes sense, what concerns you, and any thing you may need further info about and then go from there. Whatever is in the best interest for your cat, his comfort/health, and his future
 

white cat lover

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What worried me were the lesions - which to me suggests FORL. Clindamycin won't help if that is the case. (Sorry - my post made more sense in my head - might make more sense if I fill in all the details for those of you not in my head.
)

I just tried all the meds in the world for Twitch - and she ended up with her teeth out, but not before it affected her internal organs. In fact, I waited long enough she was having trouble eating & I believe she died during surgery due to a combination of factors (caused by waiting too long - not eating good enough, poor state of internal organs, etc). She is now alive & well, but what if the vet hadn't been able to save her/bring her back?

I guess - so many think of taking the teeth of a cat as a horrendous thing - cats eat fine, live fine, without any teeth. The shelter here got a lot of flack for taking the teeth of one of the kitties - the guy who adopted her & her cagemate adore them - and is amazed she has no issues eating & acts like a normal cat. If her teeth had not been removed, she would have died.

Twitch says life isn't so bad without teeth....



Moo Cow thinks so too!
 
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