My kittens have immune problems?

jessica991

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I took my new cats to the vet yesterday and was informed both have immune problems. One girl has gum disease or gingivitis and the other boy has rodent ulcers. The vet said it's from compromised immune systems but the doctor was in a rush so I felt uncomfortable asking questions (wish I had!). I don't understand. Is this related to a food allergy? I just bought all this chicken/beef FF and I am afraid boy might be allergic to chicken or beef. Or is this unrelated to an immune problem. And how does an immune problem relate to the mouth at any rate? The vet suggested I switch off FF because he doesn't think it's a good cat food but didn't elaborate. He suggested Purina Pro Plan. But I don't know what kind or flavor because what if boy has an allergy? Can rodent ulcers be caused by a food allergy?

I am sorry i'm so confused and upset. I called my vet twice and the receptionist said someone would call me back but no one has yet. :( I'm in tears wondering what compromised immune systems could mean for them. The vet did say steroids could help, but he wouldn't put them on steroids so young in life (8 months). 

Can someone shed some light on what my vet was talking about while I wait for his call...Thank you...
 

margd

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My first reaction to reading your thread is that you need a new vet, one who will take the time to explain what he means when he just drops a bombshell like "compromised immune system" on a person.   The fact that you haven't heard back is a little troubling as well, although the vet might be tied up in emergencies or something, so that does happen. Do take the time to write down all of your questions so you have them ready when your vet calls back.  You might even email them in advance so he'll have time to go over them before talking with you.

So many issues have been raised:  gum disease, rodent ulcers, food allergies, one brand of food versus another and finally compromised immune systems that it might be wise for you to look for a cat-only vet.  Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with any of these issues but hopefully some of our members who do will chime in with some advice.   
 

stephanietx

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It's not as bad as it seems.  The key to both of these problems is good food, a low-stress environment, and becoming informed on the issues.  Gingivitis might be cleared up with a good dental.  I would go ahead and feed them the food that you purchased and then work to transition them to a grain-free canned food.

How old are they? How long have you had them?  Where did you get them from?
 
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jessica991

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It's not as bad as it seems.  The key to both of these problems is good food, a low-stress environment, and becoming informed on the issues.  Gingivitis might be cleared up with a good dental.  I would go ahead and feed them the food that you purchased and then work to transition them to a grain-free canned food.

How old are they? How long have you had them?  Where did you get them from?
Thank you both for your kind responses. I am considering a new vet but am unsure honestly. Do you think I can finish my two cases of Fancy Feast? I don't like to waste it. I will definitely get Purina Pro Plan to follow, or alternatively grain-free canned. The reason I got them FF classic in the first place is because it is grain free. I got them feline greenie dental treats. If you have a canned suggestion for them I would be so thankful. I got a call back from the vet, who told me he does not want to medicate them because of their age. Baby boy's ulcer is quite small and probably not painful at this point. He could give me no definitive answers about food allergy, which I understand, and doubts it's FIV. I did some research and considering FIV is transmitted through bites, boy (who got the FIV test from the shelter in August, it was negative) almost certainly does not have it unless he was bit by an infected cat at the shelter after he was tested. Girl was never tested but considering how lively and healthy she is otherwise, I doubt it. Both had ringworm as very young kittens.

They are 8 months. I have had them for about two weeks, two days less than that. I adopted them from a shelter. The shelter has been free-feeding them dry food for six months while they lived there so both are overweight - I was sent home with incorrect weight info as they had not been weighed in five months. One was tested for FIV, the other was not. I was told they were brother and sister from the same litter but they gave me two different birthdates. The facility was very fancy and the adoption process great, but I am overall disappointed & confused in some things - it certainly made everything more stressful. 
 
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stephanietx

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If you adopted them from a shelter, they most likely don't have FIV as most shelters test for FIV prior to adoption.  You could always have them retested.  I know kitties who have feline herpes and they get rodent ulcers, so you might be dealing with herpes, which is manageable but not curable. 

As for the food, finish what you have, especially considering it's grain free.  While you're working on finishing those cans, you can look for an alternate food.  We feed Canidae Pure chicken, turkey & lamb https://www.chewy.com/cat/canidae-grain-free-pure-elements/dp/37209.  Our kitties also like a few of the varieties from Natural Balance Wild Pursuit.  Those are both canned.  For dry food, we feed them Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain.  https://www.chewy.com/cat/taste-wild-rocky-mountain-dry-cat/dp/34263   There are a lot of other options out there, so pick up some cans and try them and see what your kitties like.
 

catwoman707

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I took my new cats to the vet yesterday and was informed both have immune problems. One girl has gum disease or gingivitis and the other boy has rodent ulcers. The vet said it's from compromised immune systems but the doctor was in a rush so I felt uncomfortable asking questions (wish I had!). I don't understand. Is this related to a food allergy? I just bought all this chicken/beef FF and I am afraid boy might be allergic to chicken or beef. Or is this unrelated to an immune problem. And how does an immune problem relate to the mouth at any rate? The vet suggested I switch off FF because he doesn't think it's a good cat food but didn't elaborate. He suggested Purina Pro Plan. But I don't know what kind or flavor because what if boy has an allergy? Can rodent ulcers be caused by a food allergy?

I am sorry i'm so confused and upset. I called my vet twice and the receptionist said someone would call me back but no one has yet. :( I'm in tears wondering what compromised immune systems could mean for them. The vet did say steroids could help, but he wouldn't put them on steroids so young in life (8 months). 

Can someone shed some light on what my vet was talking about while I wait for his call...Thank you...
It always annoys me when vets won't give you time to ask questions, etc. Rush in and out, it seems it's all about money, they sure don't rush through taking that from you either!

You certainly don't get a discount for getting 5 minutes exam rather than a 15 minute exam now do you?! Ridiculous.

I would almost disregard his comment about compromised immune systems, it sounds like you will be facing stomatitis with them, which is not all that awful, it can be controlled and when it can't, removing the teeth frees them of any pain and discomfort.

But no need to stress about that now.

I happen to like fancy feast classics, and it surprises me that he would rather you fed purina pro plan?! Wow, that's certainly not a vet who has studied cat nutrition.

Use the ff, it's not causing any issues.

It is common for just one sib to be tested, or do what they can a batch test, where a litter of several kittens, they will take blood from a random 2, put it together and test that way, since if one has it the others will for the fiv and felv testing in kittens.

It's a way to save money for the shelters.
 
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jessica991

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It always annoys me when vets won't give you time to ask questions, etc. Rush in and out, it seems it's all about money, they sure don't rush through taking that from you either!

You certainly don't get a discount for getting 5 minutes exam rather than a 15 minute exam now do you?! Ridiculous.

I would almost disregard his comment about compromised immune systems, it sounds like you will be facing stomatitis with them, which is not all that awful, it can be controlled and when it can't, removing the teeth frees them of any pain and discomfort.

But no need to stress about that now.

I happen to like fancy feast classics, and it surprises me that he would rather you fed purina pro plan?! Wow, that's certainly not a vet who has studied cat nutrition.

Use the ff, it's not causing any issues.

It is common for just one sib to be tested, or do what they can a batch test, where a litter of several kittens, they will take blood from a random 2, put it together and test that way, since if one has it the others will for the fiv and felv testing in kittens.

It's a way to save money for the shelters.
Thank you for your reply. I was charged nearly $200 for both cats - no vaccines either! Oh well. Can kitties still eat canned food sans teeth? Poor little babes. I would get their teeth removed in a heartbeat if that's what it came to. I looked online and Purina PP has wheat gluten in it, to my displeasure. It is also more expensive and I am unsure of the advantage of it over FF. The vet said FF is not good for male cats because of their urinary tract, but I have been mixing in minimal amounts of dry to encourage them to drink water. Water bowl is always empty when I go to refill it it seems like. 

Good to know fiv is very unlikely :) 
 

catwoman707

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Yeah, I can't understand his saying that ff is no good but ppp is??!

That's a first!

ANY canned is good for male cats, canned is like 80% water over dry, which sucks out the water like a sponge.

There is so much in canned a cat can actually survive from canned alone with no water.

Not that we would but just saying, and ppp is nothing special, and does have good 'ol wheat gluten, which is crap for them.

I'm not feeling too fond of your vet......

Cats can eat food as well as with teeth, including dry. If you think about what cat vomit looks like, it's dry food, nearly all of it is whole, uncruched.

Cats chew a piece here and there but most goes down the hatch uncrunched.

As for the immune system and stomatitis, it's fairly simple to explain. The immune system works to keep intruders out, infections, illnesses, etc. Just like how I once had a piece of glass in my heel that I never got out, a year later was in the mall wearing Dr. Scholl's sandals and started to hear a tink tink sound, sure enough, there was the piece of glass, my immune system pushed it out.

Stomatitis happens when a cat's (or dog or person) immune system is over-reactive to their teeth, thinking they are invaders and they don't belong there, it doesn't recognize teeth as a part of the body as a whole.

So it works on getting them out, causing soreness, swelling, ulcers, in time loose teeth, etc.

To stop this, teeth removal might be needed, making sure every bit of tooth root is out too, this is important.

I've read that sometimes removal all teeth doesn't fix the problem, I personally have always had great results from doing it, but my vet who does it also knows the importance of all root removal too. So I can't help but believe that somewhere a piece of root is the cause for further problems once teeth are gone.
 
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