My cat has FORL.. and I am a little scared.

Hi there.

My oldest cat Pixel (7 years this august) was diagnosed with FORL last summer. He had four teeth removed and I was told to come back every 8 months to check his teeth as it is a progressive disease. We are due back next tuesday. I'm a little anxious as I don't know what to expect. I know nothing about this disease other than what the vet told me, which isn't a lot exactly. I was wondering if it's common to have to remove more teeth every 8th months or if it usually moves at a slower pace? I don't care about the cost of the operations but I am worried as to when it becomes too much for Pixel. How many teeth can he afford to lose and is it "mean" to keep him alive for as long as possible for selfish reasons? (I obviously don't want to put him down unless I have to, he is my baby and I love him!)
They told me it was very painful for the cat.
I guess I'll know more next tuesday but I was hoping someone here might know more about this, it's probably different in every cat but I would like to know a little more at least.

Thanks

Hege and Pixel

FORLs are very painful.  They are confined to the teeth though so removing the tooth that has one fixes the issue.  Kitties do fine with missing teeth and even with all teeth removed.  I have one kitty who is almost eleven and has had two.  They really aren't sure even what causes it, the prevailing theory is that it is autoimmune.  I think there is a tendency to call everything that isn't understood autoimmune.  As long as he has no teeth that has a FORL his quality of life isn't compromised.

I've known several feral cats with no or at least just a few teeth and they get along fine. They even preferred the hard food. There is no reason to put your kitty down for teeth problems. As long as the offending teeth are removed as they get bad he should do fine. If it gets to be an ongoing horrible situation, ask the vet if all the teeth should be removed. Bless you for caring for Pixel so much, he is a very loved cat and I'm sure he knows it. Good luck and keep us posted!

Thank you!! That made me feel a little better. Sorry for the late reply.

I was thinking maybe he would have even more trouble outside with the neighbourhood bully (a big tomcat who has sent him to the vet more than once) with little to no teeth. But he has claws and he knows how to use them
Also my younger cat Akira (was about to say kitten but he turns 1 on the 11th of april, and he already weighs as much as Pixel He is a Siberian/Norwegian Forest Cat mix and Pixel is a Sacred Birman/Unknown, both just under 5 kgs/11 lbs!) has kinda showed the large neighbour cat who was boss even from six months of age when he was neutered and allowed outside. So he will protect his big brother probably

I will write about how it went at the vet! Fingers crossed.


Here is a recent pic with Pixel hiding (very cleverly he thinks himself I'm sure) in a tent and Akira is pawing at him

 

lol...I remember when I bought one of those tents and the cat thought she could jump on top of it...wrong and a waste of my money

p.s.why are your cats outside?

Hey again.

When we went to the vet it turned out that two more teeth had to be pulled. Also the vet wanted to see Pixel in four months because it's progressing so fast. I'm a little sad but he seems fine, he has recovered well from the surgery and seems his old self. I guess I will have to see what happens, hopefully he won't have to remove all teeth and even so will not be bothered by it.

Well, it's just the way it is. I live in a very rural area in Norway, "all" cats are outside, it's the norm. Mine are of course neutered, have had their vaccines and get regular check ups.
If I had tried to keep them inside I would have failed miserably, as I rent my small apartment which is a cellar and all windows are ground level. And I can't really lock the windows. See, Pixel opens them.. I have tried "everything", including unpleasant smells, sticky surface, stuff blocking everywhere in the window, lots and lots of duct tape, it does nothing. I go to bed and the next morning the window is open and he is outside. The tape torn to shreds, all my stuff on the floor. My ex even tried putting barb wire on the handle, (I know it sounds horrible, it was not intented to hurt Pixel but so that he would see he shouldn't  be opening the window, also, I was against it.) The next morning all we found were an open window and some fur in the barb wire! He is very clever! He has done this since before he was allowed out, see I considered keeping him inside. But I just couldn't. So it is what it is

My cats jump on the tent as well, I am surprised that it still holds together, it was really really cheap on ebay!

gotcha

ps...I got rid of my tent before the inevitable vet visit that would have followed when it tipped over under her again...I don't know why they sell those things

my piglet was just dx'd with FORL by a veterinary dentist.  our old vet was looking to pull one tooth that the gum had overgrown, wouldn't even use the phrase FORL, and wasn't concerned with taking X-rays.  i'm glad i sought a specialist's opinion because it turns out two of her premolars were already resorbed and another of her canine teeth had that cavity-like hole that the gums were starting to cover.

after taking X-rays, all four of piglet's canines had to be removed (crown amputations).  so she's lost a total of 6 teeth to FORL as of now, two of them before diagnosis.  she's only 9.5 and i'm also concerned about how much i want to put her through.  she was in the hospital for two days and had to be on buprenorphine for three days.  and be separated from our other cats for about a week - we just started sleeping with the bedroom door open last night, and things seem to be going alright.  piglet's also in kidney failure, so i'm even more nervous about how much i want to put her through :/

How heartbreaking. I think you will know when Piglet's had enough, when her quality of life deteriorates to the point she no longer has any joy in life and is in constant pain, she'll tell you. Many cats live for several years with Piglet's problems, so I pray this is so for her. It's never an easy decision, and none of us ever want our babies to suffer. Watch her, and all you can do is love her and cherish the time you have left with her. Give her a kiss for me, I'll keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

thanks, di and bob.  we've already gone through one cat with ckf/ckd and we did very well managing him with diet.  he lived to be over 16 and was completely deaf and ornery and an excellent old-man cat.  to see how much different piglet is now than she had been is amazing.  we thought she was slowing down, just getting older.  but now that the offending teeth are out and she's not in pain, she's so active and awake.  like the piglet she used to be.  it makes me sad because i realize she'd been in pain for a while.  no use looking back, right?

right...not only because she IS better but you wouldn't have been satisfied if she had been in pain for only a day or two.