Stomaitis in rescue cat

Hello,

I am currently fostering a cat (about 2 years old) who has been diagnosed with stomatitis. I do not know how long she has had it since she arrived at the shelter with it. It was determined by 2 vets (received a second opinion) that extraction was needed. In June she had all the teeth after her canines extracted by the local vet the shelter uses. She has been doing well and eating both canned and dry food and the sensitivity around her mouth has definitely decreased quite a bit. She also stopped drooling excessively and the dried blood on her lower lip disappeared. Apparently, the vet stated her gums were very inflamed. I have been fostering her for about a year.

Recently, she started drooling quite a bit again, the dried blood came back and she was extremely sensitive around her mouth - I could not touch her cheeks, only scratch her chin. Anything more and she would sit upright and move away quickly. It was obvious she was in pain. She was brought to the vet and checked and given a shot of Convenia (antibiotic) and a DepoMedrol (corticosteroid). This seems to have worked and she is feeling much better and the symptoms have disappeared. She is going to be rechecked in one week to see if there has been visible improvement. My problem is this, I feel the shots are more of a "band aid" solution and not something that will truly remedy this condition. I have been feeding her Wellness canned food and Purina Pro Plan dry food. I mentioned to the vet if there would be any need to remove the remaining teeth, if putting her on a high quality/grain free diet would help or possibly administer the steroid via ointment to her ear if it will be needed. The vet did not feel pulling the remaining teeth would do anything and stated that it would not really matter what type of diet she is on - and that grain free is a fad diet (there is no difference in how the cat takes in protein whether by grain or meat). The steroid ointment was a possibility but we will see what happens when she is rechecked. The vet also mentioned possibly adding a dental liquid to her water or using a spray for her mouth.

I would like some input from individuals who have dealt with stomatitis before and what the best course of treatment or options seem to be. Please keep in mind that this vet is NOT a dental surgeon (whom I would have preferred the cat went to) but a DVM with many years practice. I have my own beliefs on grain free diets and high quality food (I believe in it...but I haven't spoken to anyone at length about this), but I cannot afford to purchase expensive food as I have my own animals as well to care for and do not make enough money to not get reimbursed for what I purchase for the foster - and if there is food available/donated to the shelter it is what I am given to feed her.

Thank you for your anticipated input! I will take everything into consideration. My main concern is that she not suffer or be in pain when there may be a few simple things that I can do to help her that either were not brought up or have not yet been tried.

Thanks!

This is a good article about different treatments for stomatitis.  http://stomatitisincats.com/treatment-for-stomatitis   The problem with treating it is that they aren't really sure what causes it other then it is probably auto-immune in nature.  One theory that many subscribe to is that it is an auto-immune reaction to plague which in your foster kitties case makes sense.  She got relieve for a substantial amount of time and then the symptoms return, which may well have coincided with the plague forming again.  I have read that several people have had good results with the Plagueoff which is in the article.  The Plaqueoff is actually from Europe but I think it is available on Amazon.

Another theory is that it is a part of a general food allergy which is why many people try a grain free diet given that many kitties do have allergies to grains.  Your vets reaction to the idea of a grain free diet isn't surprising, many vets have very little training in nutrition particularly the narrow requirements of a feline diet.

I will definitely look into the Plaque Off. I have also read about Sun Chlorella helping with health issues and didn't know if that could be a possibility. Unfortunately, most people I am dealing with aren't very open to alternative options. They tend to do what the vet says and that is it but that doesn't make much sense to me if other options are out there and may help ease the pain.