Bart has ulcertive stomatitis,

drug similiar to prednisone ...

http://www.wedgewoodpetrx.com/learni...inary-use.html

hum.... whatelse is your doctor doing for your cat? That's all?

I suggest you go to a dentist. I too have a cat with stomatits, and while he is on daily medication, he is not on pred. He does have periodic stomatitis-specific dental treatments and follow ups too. The treatment is much more involved than simply putting your cat in pred and risking side effects. That can be an option, but not the usual, I must say... IMHO only a veterinary dentist (NOT a vet) will be able treat your cat accordingly.

Another option is to have all of the kittie's teeth removed - it works for the majority of the cats, but not for some. I opted against this so far, but leave the door open in case things change in Bugsy's life. Again, a dentist will be able to provide you better guidance.

A dentist will not cost you more than a vet BTY, the only difference is that you money will be more effectivelly spent - as far as location, your vet should be able to refer you to one...
My cat is also only 3... I understand my clinic is the only one that offers Stomatitis treatment without complete teeth removal in the country... I am in Dallas, BTW. In any case, a cat will do perfectly fine without teeth, and will have no problem at all even eating dry food. There are quite a few here in the site that have gone through it - some even younger than yours, and do perfectly fine

Back to your original question. The primary risk for giving prednisone to a cat is that it might trigger diabetes. Cats can tolerate pred far better than either humans or dogs (in case you've heard horror stories about it), and even if they develop diabetes, it is possible that they can self regulate their insulin and the diabetes resolves itself shortly. If a cat is kept on it long term, you should have regular blood work done to verify their insulin levels.

I have a completely toothless cat that had the LPGS form of stomatitis and he has been on pred for going on 4 years. His blood work has always been perfect.

Starting with a dentist is a good idea, as there can be multiple reasons why a cat gets stomatitis, and in order to treat it effectively (either steroids, extractions, diet change, dentals, etc) will depend on what is causing it.

If your cat has ulcerative stomatitis, I would be surprised if your vet didn't also prescribe some type of antibiotic to prevent bacterial infections in the ulcers. The mouth is a prime spot to pick up bacteria.

If this were me, I'd call the vet and ask why not an antibiotic and ask for a referral to a vet dentist.

As always Amy....... Great points on Stomatitis This is the same form Bugsy has, and his dentist said a full mouth extraction will most likely not solve his problem. So........ he takes daily meds (proprietary formula), and will for life.

When he started his treatment, he had a full dental, his gums were injected with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, desensitized, polished, and the tartar removed from very deep in his gums. It has been six months since he started his treatment, and so far so great!

He does need check ups, but I expect him to do really well.

Before he started this treatment, the "treatment of choice" from a vet, just to buy time until I had the $$ to afford appropriate dental treatment, was always Depo-medrol AND Antibiotics (Clindamicyn, but now my dentist says that Convenia works really well for that too). But again, this was only to buy time to get to the dentist. My vet told me flat out - "I could be a great business man and take your money, but it will do nothing to your cat... You need a dentist - save your money, and take him to the dentist."

I have no experience with this illness but from the comments in these posts, I wonder if a wet diet would be better than a dry.

Disregarding the usual benefits of canned over bagged, kibble is hard and dry and might cause irritations to the ulcers (like eating cookies with a canker-sore). Also, while healthy cats can handle lots of bacteria with no issues, I wonder if the kinds of bacteria found on kibble might not find those ulcers a fertile ground for growth?

May be something you want to discuss with the cat dentist....

In any case, many, many vibes for you and your kitty!

AC

Actually, Bugsy had a harder trouble eating wet when his gums were bad then dry food. He only got more comfortable eating wet foods after he started his treatment... Before, whenever he would eat wet food he would keep rubbing his teeth (lower jaw against top jaw) as thought something was stuck in it an bothering him.
Now he eats much more wet than before

What you mean by that?
They did a dental? Put him under general anesthesia and cleaned inside of him gums? Polished his teeth?

Ok...
Look, this is my opinion, of course, and seems to be of many who have stomatitis kitties. This is a very different disease, best treated with a dentist. Since you did get the Convenia shot, a dental recently, and are on the pred, you do have a little time to look for a dentist - probably a couple of months or so...

My vet refused to do the dental for me - I requested not once, but several times. He told me that with stomatitis, because of the different types, because of the way the dental needs to be done and the treatments that it might require, a dental alone would be the same as taking my money and tossing it - I would only buy me some time.

Going to the dentist was the best thing I ever did, for Bugsy and for me. Since then he has been a different cat. His quality of life has changed entirely.

So..... that is that... I hope your kitty does well on whatever treatment you choose....

Have a frank discussion with your vet on his/her experience with dental issues. My previous vet simply didn't have the experience with them and admitted that to me when I pressed the issue. My current vet is very good at dental care (including extractions) and has done very well with my cats. Don't be hesitant about a dentist if your regular vet can't handle this disease. If not treated right, your baby will have so much pain that they will stop eating, and once you hit that point, it can be very difficult to turn it around. Had we not started aggressive treatment with my LPGS cat, he would have died.

I think you get the sense from this thread that there are a number of treatment options. One way to judge your vet is if he/she knows about the various options and is willing to try things. If they don't, then that tells me that you need a dental specialist. The nasty thing about stomatitis is that every cat responds differently to the various treatments out there, and you need someone to work with you to find the one that works with your baby. There is no cookie cutter treatment.

To Auntie's point about wet food: doesn't really make a difference with stomatitis cats. I've forced more wet food on my toothless cat simply because I think it's easier for him to eat, but he still has a preference for dry food. However, I have another cat that gets chronic rodent ulcer and he does have problems with dry food kibble getting embedded in the ulcers. Wet food will embed itself also, but it dissolves quicker than the dry. So it's not so much the stomatitis as it is the ulcers.

to Bart. I have no direct experience with this, but am learning a lot reading the replies in your thread.

Do you have a veterinary college near by (and by nearby I mean within a 3 hour drive, one way) That may be a place to start, to find a veterinary dentist.

Do talk to your vet, and if your vet is not open to hearing about alternative solutions, find another vet.

Sometimes you need to be careful when you challenge a vet. I have a lot of respect for my current vet, but her one flaw is that she has a bit of an attitude about "I'm the doctor, you're not", and I've seen her get offended when I ask her a lot of questions. I can't entirely blame her, as she did spend all those years in med school. But I also know that she is not a specialist. My point is that some vets can't admit their own limitations.

The approach that I've learned to use with her where she does not take offense is to ask her: what are the next steps if this treatment fails? When she can't answer me, or her answer is either more of the same or to treat the symptoms and not the cause, then I know it's time for a specialist.

Oh sure, I didn't mean to just go in and start telling the vet off! I mean...go in, tell your vet of other options you have read about and ask her about them. Initiate communication. Let the vet know you are the type to be hands on with every facet of your pets' care. Hopefully the vet will respond and be glad that you want to be more informed rather than just follow along. Everyone has something to learn, after all.

My vet is very appreciative of me and the way I do my own research and then bring it to her. She has a full time job in a busy vet clinic and a young family to raise. She just doesn't have the time to spend hours on the internet sifting through what is true and useful and what is junk.

When I bring her information I have found, then she can take the time to look into just that part, you know?

I'm not speaking lightly about looking for another vet. I know what it's like and why it sometimes needs to be done. It took me 7 years and four other vet practices before I found this clinic. And once I joined this clinic I tried each vet in turn (there are two owners and three staff vets) before I settled on the vet I love so much. I thank the PTBs every day for my vet.

Some vets want to learn new things, but don't know how or don't have a lot of free time. Some vets will admit when they are stumped and send you to a specialist or to consult with another vet. Some vets just aren't interested in learning something new, they've always done it this way and that is all about it.

And everything in between, too, of course.

Hey - I didn't direct my previous post to you at all, and I hope you didn't take it that way!!

I've had vets who love the open discussion, and I've had vets that take offense at being questioned about their abilities. If anyone comes across one like the latter, you just need to be careful on how to raise your questions. My vet is great other than that one little trait.

great advice.