I'm worried my Simba is developing gingivitis.

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Yes,my little kitty has an appointment on Wednesday but its far away could it get worse?
 
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themelyssak

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It could get worse, but it also might not. If it does get worse and it worries you too much, you can take him/her to an animal hospital, but they are a lot more expensive than the vet. WE had to take Ebony to the animal hospital ER the night we had to put her down. Just to be admitted was a pretty penny. I advise trying to wait until Wednesday, but if you truly fear for the eye or your kitten's eating habits change, I'd go to the ER.
 

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Omg my cat has the same problem I'm reading these comments.my kitten is 3moths old it looks exactly like that
Did your cat's eye suddenly redden or has it been like that for a while?  Is there a sticky cloudy discharge or running clear watery discharge?  It looks sore :-(

Just looked in my cat care book and one thing it suggests to help relieve pain until you can get to a vet is to soak a soft cotton wool pad with cool room temp' tea (no milk added of course) and gently squeeze it over the eye to bathe it a little.  Might temporarily stain light fur but if it helps calm pain a little it's worth a go?  It won't heal anything or take away the pain though, and if there is any infection - cloudy discharge or sticky, I would get to a vet sooner rather than later if there's any way to do it.  Wednesday is a long way off if there's a scratch or foreign object in the eye or any infection there.

Fingers crossed for you guys and your cute kitties.
 
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themelyssak

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I made a vet appointment for Simba for this Friday...and I discovered today that he has fleas.
 

mservant

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I made a vet appointment for Simba for this Friday...and I discovered today that he has fleas.
Relieved and happy for you that you've got a vet appointment made.  The fleas though,  oh no, poor Simba and poor you.  
    
   

Hope he's holding up OK with his eye, and his gums looking a bit calmer still.  Will be thinking of you guys and waiting to hear how you all get on on Friday.  
   everything is straight forward and not too expensive to get sorted.  


Wanting to hear Simba is a healthy happy kitty again and we can all go back to admiring his tail and hearing about silly cat stuff he gets up to! 
 

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Hello this post was of a lot of interest to me

One year ago we had the same problem . We opted to wait til this year and the  swelling was really bad they had to extract the tooth then discovered 4 other bad teeth The Vet had said it could be Gingivitis and peridontal disease and that we should clean her teeth there at the Vets . We are sorry we waited he now thinks she has FORLS

Please take your baby to the Vet and have him assessed and have his teeth cleaned up professionally

You will be able to avoid teh huge bills later on
 

maureen brad

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When I adopted Desmond he had conjunctivitis. Desmond has the runny eyes due to feline herpes. Leo and Remyy have gum issues. I feed the 500 mg. of L-Lysine mixed in wet food every day. It has really helped all the eys that run in my house. It did not cure Desmonds conjunctivitis. He had to go through 3 different antibiotic creams/drops. It has helped Remy's eyes hugely. My vet told me that was the proper dosage for all 3 cats. leo is 8, Remy is 6 and Desmond is 10/11 months. She told me that I could keep them on it forever. I use a powder form that comes in a tub. It is $24 at Petco. Amazon has it cheaper but paying for postage it comes up the same. Seriously, your cats eyes need to be treated. he could have major complications from that.
 
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themelyssak

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Here's an update on Simba's condition.

Gums and teeth: while the gums are still a bit red and the teeth yellowish, I have noticed improvement in the condition of his mouth. His teeth are less discolored than before and the gums are a bit pinker since I've been wiping them with wet cotton swabs.

Nose: he still gets boogers and a runny nose. In fact, you can see his right nostril (left in photo) running in the upper left photo.

Eyes: his eyes look worse. There's not much tearing and less pus comes out, but they look more inflamed. Here's some photos I just took. Don't worry, it looks like I hurt him to take the photos, but I only opened his eye for a brief moment when the photo was taken. I didn't hold them open for very long. Also, both nictitating membranes look the same. I can't wait for his appointment. I still can't believe my mom and step-dad say his eye looks normal and they he just has easily-irritated eyes. Even if they were just "easily-irritated," don't they think he should see the vet to find out what and from what? My poor little baby, I just want him to get better.

FYI, SIMBA NOW WEIGHS 8.3 LBS!

 

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Your poor baby  :-(  I hope your mom took better care of you becasue Simba looks sick.  Thank goodness he has you trying to do something about it.  Sorry it's so hard for you to get to the vets and stuff but at least it's nearly time to go there.  Hope you manage to make the appointment and the transport works out some how.  
  you get there OK and that they can help Simba feel better.  


How old is he now?  He's only about 1Lb lighter than Mouse and he's big and heavy enough for me!   
 
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themelyssak

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My friend Zach is going to drive us after his shift at work. :)

Simba is 6 months old now and a very thick boy. He has broad paws, sturdy legs and well-muscled shoulders. Nothing is small about him but his intellect. He may not be the brightest tool in the shed, but he has a big heart and never gives up the chase during playtime. :3
 
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themelyssak

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urns out that Simba has a viral infection, some gingivitis and fleas. I knew about all three, but I didn't know it was a viral infection that was causing his eyes to be so irritated. I bought flea treatments for both cats, gave them their first dose (it drove them nuts for about 5 minutes, particularly Simba) and have eyedrops and oral antibiotics to give my baby. It all cost less than $200! I'm looking for improvement from him from now on.
 

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Good for you holding out and getting him there. 
   Do you know what the viral infection is so you can work on family to make sure he gets the ongoing care he's going to need to keep him as health as possible? 

Hugs for Simba, hope he feels better soon.  Also hope they're both good with   flea treatment, and Simba with any meds he's got to take.  
 
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themelyssak

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No, I don't know which infection it is, but it must be recurring, as he's has conjunctivitis twice before this that got better with his leftover antibiotics. Thanks for your well-wishes! Simba thanks you, too. :)
 
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themelyssak

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I'm so mad at myself! The lady that came in to write down my complaints and concerns asked me what I was in for when I brought Simba in and I mentioned his gums and teeth, as well as the other issues, but forgot to mention that to the actual vet when he came in! She did confirm that he has gingivitis and I'm going to pick up a toothbrush and cat toothpaste for him this Friday since my mom wouldn't go 5 minutes out of her way while bringing me back home from the dentist tonight. Now I noticed that Simba has a small irritation or cut where one of his pre-molars/molars meets his gums on the right side of his mouth

! It's like his tooth is starting to cut into his gums. I just spent a little shy of $200 for his appointment, meds and the cats' flea treatments, I can't afford to take him again. Why didn't I just mention it when he was there! That's the whole reason I brought him in! I'm going to have no choice but to bring him in all over again if it gets infected. My step-dad said he thinks it's from Simba chewing on metal earlier, though, I have no idea how he was chewing on anything metal. I feel so bad, because he nearly had a heart attack when he was there last because a giant akita scared the fur off of him a few months ago.
 

mservant

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I'm always forgetting to ask the main thing I go somewhere about, doctors, vets, banks, you name it.  Pain.   Did the vet look in Simba's mouth?  I presume so if they confirmed he had gingivitis.  If so they should definitely have noticed this lesion you're talking about so you could phone and ask them.  If his gum still looks red and like there's a cut I would probably be gentle starting with the toothpaste and introduce it without the brush to start with.  Rub it on his teeth and gums with a cotton bud or a finger (if you're brave).  If it's an enzyme paste it will start to clear his plaque and help anyway, and gradually build up to giving him a bit of a rub round with the brush.

Mouse chews on all sorts of hard.edgy stuff but the only lesions he's had in his mouth or on his tongue have been as a result of his gingivitis.  Get going with the toothpaste as soon as you can and you should see an improvement pretty quickly.

Was the vet happy with him other than the flees and his mouth?  I hope so.   

Thank you for getting him there and taking care of him.  I hope Simba likes his toothpaste, I know Mouse does, he thinks he's getting a treat.  
 
 
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themelyssak

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The vet's assistant just lifted his one lip and saw that his gums were red. She wasn't thorough, I assume, because the vet was coming in next. Thanks for the advice, AGAIN! XD

I will be getting the toothpaste on Friday. Or I could ask a friend to drive me tonight but that's short notice. Simba would never bite me. He's very tolerant taking his meds when I give them to him.

It may not be the best idea, but I made a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water (mostly water) and dabbed a drop on his cut with each side of a cotton swab. I didn't want to do it too much or have it comprised of more than a small amount of peroxide because I obviously don't want to poison him. I just don't want it to get worse before I can start with the toothpaste.
 

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Be careful before his teeth. My vet always said that when there is gingivitis you should just wrap a little gauze around your finger and lightly wipe his tooth and gums. Otherwise you could hurt him. You can call the vets office you went to and let them know that you need to speak to the vet you saw because you still had questions. Write you questions down and then ask them. For instance, I would ask if the vet thinks Simba may have feline herpes)Which is very different than human herpes)That can be a cause of colds and continued eye problems. Get some L-Lysine treats or powder that you can put in his food daily. I have 2 cats ( 1 is ten months) that have herpes and that stuff helps.The cuts that you see in his mouth may be just the result of baby teeth falling out and adult teeth coming in. Really do call the vet. You have the right to do it and any good vet will not mind at all.Don't worry even if Simba has herpes he will be fine he just may get some colds and eye stuff. Especially when he has stress but good food and L-Lysine work wonders.
 

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I think Maureen is right with the phoning up, there is no harm in giving it a go.  The vet should be able to speak with you, if not when you phone then by calling you back when they are free.  If they examined Simba like you paid them to do they should be able to answer your questions. A basic health check for a cat should include eyes and teeth, esp when at teething stage like Simba, and he had flees so might have been anaemic. And as they said Simba has a virus, check  with them again which one it is.

By the time you call the vet it will almost be Friday and you'll be able to get the toothpaste, and hopefully Simba's mouth will start to feel better.  As long as he's eating well don't panic and just be gentle when you start to introduce the paste on his teeth and gums.

Hopefully Simba hasn't got FHV but if the vet thinks he might - Simba should be fine as long as he is otherwise healthy.  Honestly, you would never know Mouse was sick other than when his mouth first got very sore (he was slightly older than Simba but only by a couple of months).  Even then was just a bit quieter than usual but if you looked in his mouth it was obviously sore+++   He gets runny eyes occasionally and that's it, and since getting the L Lysine he doesn't get the expensive antibiotics and anti virals he used to have to get so it works out cheeper as well as being healthier :-D  After my initial panic it was the best thing to happen for Mouse because he's getting something that keeps the virus at bay.  (Now an even bigger, fitter pest than ever)....
 
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themelyssak

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Okay, I will call the vet. I'll mention that it was a concern I did mention while I was there but it got overlooked when I found out about the virus. Thank you, Maureen. I will get him a toothbrush, toothpaste and L-lysine when I go to the pet store. I had also considered feline herpes, which my parents think he was vaccinated for (one of them thinks that.) I know that's FIV. 

Thank you for your ongoing support, MServant! I'm so glad to hear your Mouse is doing so well, even with herpes. I'll keep you updated on Simba's condition. He's 8.6 lbs now!
 
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