9 month old kitten with Stomatitis.....

mintoxide

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I am devastated. I feel like I have failed my baby kitty.

For a while now he's had blister looking things in the back of his mouth....I didn't think much of it until his gums started to turn red. He has blood work done and everything came back negative.  I though it was just him teething and loosing his baby teeth. His front k9 came in but his baby tooth did not come out so now the vet has to remove the baby tooth.  While they do that they're going to take a sample of his gums to test if he 100% has s stomatitis but the vet is almost certain he does. 
Thank goodness I have insurance and they should cover me 90% since this is not a pre existing condition. 

He's too young to have this. I feel so bad. I don't want him to hurt! :( I don't want him toothless....

Does anyone have experience? 
 

denice

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I have no experience with it but it's something we see pretty regularly here.  From what I have seen here the 'treatment' that has the best outcome is extractions.   Kitties do very well without teeth.  There are some people who use a solution called Plague Off which is from Sweden and is available through Amazon.  Some use steroids periodically to control symptoms.  There is also a syrup available from a clinic in Dallas but many kitties have to come of it because their liver enzymes get out of whack.

It's nothing for you to feel guilty about.  This is most probably an autoimmune disorder that sometimes happens in kitties.  It has nothing to do with anything that you did or did not do.
 

ritz

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I agree with Denise; it's basically something a cat is born with.
And yes isn't insurance great in this instance. Which is why I have pet insurance, just for this reason.
 
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mintoxide

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I found out the insurance does not cover dental work or any hereditary conditions that are dental related. I am so upset i don't know what to do this is going to cost an arm and a leg.
 

denice

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Unfortunately pet insurance often excludes dental work because of the cost.  I would try some of the things that help keep things in check like steroids and Plaque Off until you can financially swing the expensive dental work.  Stomatitis has a tendency to wax and wane,  when it is advancing then possibly something for pain relief.  
 
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lisahe

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mintoxide, did your vet test your cat for Bartonella? It's a bacterium that is thought to be a cause of stomatitis. I learned about it when our young cats had to have dental cleanings -- their gum disease is relatively mild but still unusual for cats under two years old. Their tests came back positive and we are just getting them started on antibiotics. Not fun but better than the alternative!
 
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mintoxide

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Hi guys! Update.
I decided to switch vets. They told me for just ONE tooth extraction and gum same it would cost about 1k. They're money hungry pigs.

I called up another vet from a reference a co-worker gave me and they said tops $300 to do the extraction. So I made an appointment and faxed over all his records. 
@LisaHE  thank you for the tip! I will let the new vet know and see if he can test him for that. 

So far my baby is eating half NV raw chicken and nutro natural choice can. He stopped eating dry months ago. He is doing so well from when i got him. 

I will keep you updated. Thanks for all the advice.
 

lisahe

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Good luck, @mintoxide! That estimate does sound high: when we had our cats' teeth cleaned recently, the highest estimate was something like $750 per cat, which would have included extraction and all sorts of extras. (Including things like adding a microchip while the cat's under anesthesia, so the top number was very all-inclusive!) Fortunately, they just needed cleaning.

Yes, definitely ask the new vet about Bartonella! Our vet is really big on testing for it and says she's seen it make a huge difference in lots of cats' teeth. We're about a week and a half into antibiotics and I really hope they work. I guess Bartonella hasn't been very well studied yet but it's thought to cause various inflammatory issues. 

Fingers crossed that you're able to resolve all this relatively easily -- and inexpensively -- for your kitty!
 

ritz

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The first dental was not covered by insurance because vet indicated on the claim form "dental cleaning".
I then read in this pet insurance's own magazine that "gingivitus" was covered. So when I submitted the insurance form for Ritz' second cleaning, I asked the (different) vet to indicate under "diagnosis", "gingivitus" and the cost was covered (less $50 deductible).
I've learned that, like human health insurance, sometimes it is how you word the diagnosis and form.
 
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mintoxide

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@LisaHE  @Ritz

Went to the new vet. 
Basically he said he DOES have gingivitis but he doesn't need a teeth cleaning. So I hope this visit of $100 will be accepted in the insurance.

He said if i want the teeth pulled then we can do that but he says it's not necessary unless i see signs of pain- drooling, weight loss, loss of appetite or if the gums start ti bleed. I am still going to get it pulled, probably the end of January or beginning of February since i need a surgery in January. To extract the one tooth it would be around 350 as opposed to 1k! Which is a hell of a lot better. However i got an estimate for my mom to spay her dog and it would run her about 500+ with the umbilical hernia her dog has. So I'm not sure if 350 for one K9 tooth is too much? 

He gave me Prednisolone and clindamycin hydrochloride antibiotics for the swelling. He said lets try that for a week as well as brushing his teeth and see how he is. If he improves we will just watch him but if nothing works he wants a full xray done of his teeth and if he sees the roots inside of the gums are being constricted or something like that then that is an indication that the teeth need to be pulled.  Sometimes only a few need to be pulled instead. 

Now it's going to be a long long long month of seeing how he does with the medication. 
 
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