Gingivitis in a young cat

I have a neutered 15 month old Maine Coon boy, Killian. I will admit that I do not brush his teeth. I had given him a bath the other day and caught sight of his gums as he was yowling at me. Bright red and inflamed around every tooth. He does not drool and he eats his hard kitty food without any issues. He loves to lick my face when I'm in bed and he does not have foul breath - he has normal kitty breath. Vet appt is in the morning and I did some online searches and most all of what I found looks bad - like I could be facing longterm teeth issues and most likely the loss of all teeth. He eats the Trader Joe's brand of cat food and he gets daily vitamins and some salmon oil on his food. He looks the picture of health except for his gums. He is strictly indoors and he's never had any issue since I bought him as a 4 month old kitten. I'm worried about my little guy since he is just the most awesome cat I have ever had and I am on a waiting list with another breeder for another Maine Coon kitten. He is my first purebred cat, only had shelter specials before him. Any advice?

Michelle and Killian

No advice from me, I've never dealt with gingivitis, but we have some members that have experience. One should be along shortly. Good luck at the vet!

It may be more than gingivitis. Or it may just need antibiotics. You're doing the best thing for him - getting him to the vet. It is painful - this just goes to show how expert cats are at hiding problems! There are home remedies for gingivitis... but given your description, the best advice will be from a vet :nod:

In a cat that young, it's mostly likely genetic. This isn't because you didn't brush your cat's teeth. Our Spooky needed her first tooth removed at around one year old. We started brushing her teeth after that (she loves it LOL), but we discovered she really needs dentals every six months. And despite this, she's had another four teeth removed over the years. The three brothers from that same litter haven't had a problem, and they're all nine years old now. :cross: (Well, Lazlo developed gingivitis this year, but it was mild and easily fixed with an herbal treatment from his vet trained in chinese medicine).

There are a number of members that had kitties with such bad teeth and gums that the best course of action was having all of their teeth removed. They get along just fine. :nod: If it comes to that, there will be helping hands to share their experience.

The vet has a few ideas about what it could be. Most likely it is caused by the bartonella virus carried by fleas - which I have had a really hard time with this summer and fall. So if it is that we treat with antibiotics for 30 days (doxycycline) and see if that works. That is what we are trying first. If it doesn't work it could be FIV/FeLV which he was tested for as a kitten and was negative. He came from a breeder and has not been around other cats - indoor only. So that is super unlikely. 3rd thing is genetic - stomatitis which would mean he would have to have all of his teeth extracted which would then resolve the issue. So hoping it's not that! So he's on the pills and hopefully that will be it. Funny though, the vet asst was a new one who doesn't know me or my animals and she kept remarking how huge and fluffy he was and had the ear tufts like a Maine Coon. I said yeah that's because he IS a Maine Coon. She kept going on though - thinking I got him from a shelter and kept saying that so many people who get big fluffy cats think they have a Maine Coon. I kept saying he is one and she just never quite believed me! It was rather funny!

the doxy does the job! MUCH better than the alternative! Bummer fleas were a problem - hopefully that's been taken care of too. :cross:

Actually no - fleas are still an issue and I can't understand why since I have done everything to get rid of them. The vet even found 2 fleas on Killian today when we were there. He gets Frontline or Fiproguard (the generic Frontline) monthly as do the dogs. The yard gets sprayed monthly as well and I have treated indoors as well. I vacuum daily with flea powder in the bag and throw the bag away every 2 days. Treated all the baseboards and the outside perimeter of the house. Just have not gone as far as a room fogger. But I still keep finding fleas when I flea comb, which is about 3x a week. It's really frustrating because it makes me feel like I have a dirty house even though I literally clean every day.

<shudder> I hate fleas.  Miserable parasites If it were me I would concentrate on getting rid of them which is what you are doing.  Find out from the vet what to do about the possible gingivitis.  Then I would start feeding a dental treat to the kitty.  I use feline Greenies and so far the product has helped do a great job on my 4 cats teeth. 

I have several toothless cats. A mother & her two children, actually. Twitch (the daughter) lost her teeth when she was 2 years (we had battled for over a year), Cow (the son) lost his at 4 or 5 years. Fafeena (the mother) lost hers when she was 14ish??? I really cannot remember. They eat both dry & wet food just fine. Did you know cats swallow 70% of their dry food whole? I have no problems with any size kibble.

What it boils down to is this - some cats are genetically prone to dental issues, whether they be pedigreed or not.

Hi... I have a cat with Stomatitis... Bugsy - he was diagnosed at 2 years old, and is now 4 1/2. He did not have his teeth removed, nor he will have it - while that works for a lot of cats, it doesn't work for all.... There are other treatments available without the need of extraction.... Bugsy takes daily meds, and will take for life, but he does fantastic on it - it has turned his life around. Aside from that, he had dentals once a year. He had a few extractions as he had an abscessed tooth and a couple of diseased teeth due to periodontal disease.