Update on Cotton

Well, Cotton had his recheck at the vet's today as well as his start-up for his Hyperthyroid.

He has Tapazole pills, which I believe a few people here mentioned, as well as a stronger antibiotic for his infected gums (since the lighter one wasn't doing enough) and some predinisone to bring down the inflammation. I'm not a huge fan of prednisone, but in the short term it's a necessary evil.

We got the much anticipated "We need to start looking at a time to remove the rest of his teeth" since the current infection is part of his ongoing dental issues. Not suprised by this at all - we've had teeth pulled every year since we got him and knew it was only a matter of time before they all had to go. In a way, it's kind of a relief because it'll be the end of the peridontal issues once and for all.

So that's the verdict on my big buddy. He's showing his age (whatever that might be) a little, but the vet's sure we can get everythng cleared up and under control.

If anyone has had any experience with any of his issues that they'd like to share, I'd love to hear it - anything from the hyperthyroid to the toothlessness. Also, if anyone can spare some vibes for Cotton so that he'll feel better soon, I'd appreciate it.

I have 2 toothless cats - people may not like it - but one is an indoor kitty, the other is an outdoor farm kitty. Cow is the outdoor kitty. He is doing very well. He's skinny when you look at him, but he has always been a skinny/long bodied kitty. When he first had his teeth removed at Christmas 2007 - he lived indoors for 6 months. I carefully chose what dry food to feed him (round kibble for the first month), as his mouth was sensitive. For the first week after tooth removed he ate only wet food. Within 3 days of his teeth being pulled - he was picking fights with my other cats & being rotten (for the record, he is neutered - just still thinks he is a tom cat tough guy).

The other kitty is Twitch. She had rotten teeth when she was 7 months old. I found a vet who would pull them when she was almost 2 years old - after battling with a stupid vet for over a year. She is doing just fine toothless - she eats whatever the other cats do - greenies treats, any shape/kind of kibble now, whatever wet food.

A few things I've noticed - Cow hasn't figured out how to eat pate style wet food - it gets pushed around on his plate & ends up all over - with little of it being eaten. He just can't quite seem to get it picked up. Cow also started to suck/chew on fingers/toes after his dental. I've found him gnawing on sticks & other things outside, too.

IMO - pulling their teeth isn't a death sentence, or some horrible thing. As both those kitties had absolutely rotten teeth & are doing great without them. I think Twitch had to be on Pred for awhile after her dental extractions due to severe inflammation, but that was quite a few years ago & I don't remember exactly anymore.

Cow's pretty smile around a month after dental extractions



Twitch's pretty smile from way back in 2006

Coincidentally, just this weekend I spoke to someone whose cat had major dental issues. The cat is young (only about five years old), but she is a breed known to have a predisposition to periodontal disease, and the vet eventually recommended that all of her teeth be extracted. The owner went ahead with the procedure, and she reports that the cat is doing great! Apparently she has gained weight (she can still eat dry food), and even her coat looks better.

Aww...They're adorable.

Thank you. I know academically that he'll be fine without the teeth - more fine than he is now considering they're the cause of at least 50% of his health issues, but it's great to see happy toothless kitties.

Funny you mention about the pate style food - Cotton's already missing most of his teeth and we find that we have to mix dry and soft or he has trouble picking it up. We also had to get him a wider bowl. Luckily we've found a wet food that he likes recently, so that should make the transition easier after his dental. Cotton loves small round kibble - always has and I think it's because it's easier on him with his limited teeth. (For the record, he only has about 5 1/2 teeth left at this point anyway - 2 molars and 3 1/2 fangs).

I'm so glad your kitties are doing well. Thank you for posting about them - it makes me optimistic that he'll be just fine without the teeth.

Our Spooky has bad teeth, but thankfully - so far at least (7 years old) no health or infection problems stemming from it. Just a really bad plaque problem that brushing and teeth treats don't seem to help (she just swallows even the largest tooth treats, so we don't bother with them anymore ). She'll probably be toothless in a few years.

The hyperthyroid I know nothing about - but it does sound like you'll be relieved once all his teeth are gone!

Sending lots of vibes that the meds do their trick and he'll feel better soon!



Laurie

Whimsey my nine year old American Shorthair with IBD had all of his teeth removed about three years ago and came home and out of his carrier purring and playing! He inhales his wet food and is 11 lbs. There is no sign of redness or irritation any long erin his mouth and both my vet iand I are estatic!

Best,

Elizabeth

Thank you everyone for posting.

We'll be booking Cotton in soon to have all of his teeth pulled. Our vet really thinks it should be done sooner rather than later so that we can focus on getting his Hyperthyroid under control. His appetite's been off lately (probably because of the pain) but he's still eating and hadn't lost any weight between his last two visits, so that's a good thing.

We have a really low dose of Tapazole for him - they want to start him off as low as possible so that we only give him what he needs to get his levels back to normal.

As for Cotton, other than the limited appetite he's perfectly normal, if a little cuddlier than usual. He fell asleep with his head on my head last night and has been pretty upbeat and alert all morning. I really hope we can get everything under control quickly. Thanks again for the vibes and for sharing stories.

He ate his own breakfast this morning, in his spot in the kitchen without prompting!!!!

I know you're probably thinking I'm insane, but thisis the first day in close to a month where he's eaten of his own free will...usually I have to sit with him and make sure he eats at least a bit. He only ate about half, but that's loads better than he's been eating - and the rest will keep just fine in the fridge until he's hungry later. I'm so glad the meds seem to be working now.

Cotton's now on everything under the sun (kidding, but it feels like it when I see his meds on the counter) He's on his third day of antibiotics for his infection and starts a round of prednisone tonight to bring the sweling down quicker. It's also his third day on Tapazole and he seems okay with it so far. I'm praying that all he needs is his small dose and that we won't see any side effects. DH is calling the vet today to set up his final dental and get rid of all the teeth. I waffle betwen being glad they'll be gone and worrying that he won't manage so it's nice to come back and look over this thread and see how well other cats have managed.

Originally Posted by Ms. Freya

He ate his own breakfast this morning, in his spot in the kitchen without prompting!!!!

I know you're probably thinking I'm insane, but thisis the first day in close to a month where he's eaten of his own free will...usually I have to sit with him and make sure he eats at least a bit. He only ate about half, but that's loads better than he's been eating - and the rest will keep just fine in the fridge until he's hungry later. I'm so glad the meds seem to be working now.

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Awwwww, that is great news

I do have to comment on the comments about pate style wet food....Kizzy doesn't know how to eat it either, and he has all his teeth

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

I do have to comment on the comments about pate style wet food....Kizzy doesn't know how to eat it either, and he has all his teeth

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Maybe it's a talent?
Today's been another good day so far. He ate a good chunk of his breakfast (and Freya stole a chunk after he was done) and I've noticed his breath is back to being not smelly, so the antibiotics are obviously helping with the infection.

He's been pretty good about all his pills, but I've been careful to makes sure he gets some probiotics each day since I can't imagine that all the antibiotics are that nice to his stomach and I'd rather make it through the whole course without diarrhea issues if I can.

One unexpected upside to the whole thing - Freya's been snitching his canned food over the past month because his meowmy misread the labels and was giving him a bit too much food . So he would stop eating when he was full and she would swoop in and finish it up. This has inadvertantly incorporated it slowly enough that it doesn't bother her. We were going to try and mix some wet into her diet once he was sorted out, but she seems to have taken care of that herself.