young cat, missing incisor, concern about dietary deficiency

Hi all,

I just noticed my cat, Mouse is missing one of his top incisors, and also the bottom incisors look weird -- like they're extra tiny and crooked and crowded (and there seem to be 7 of them, not 6, so maybe an extra tooth has crowded out the others). I tried and haven't been able to get a clear photo. Linus, my other cat's incisors look typical -- 2 neat rows of 6 little teeth.

I could have sworn Mouse's used to look unremarkable. I was really good about brushing his teeth when I first got him, and I slowly dropped off as he grew to dislike it more and more, but then I REALLY dropped off when I was treating them for ear mites -- I just felt like I was bugging them enough so teeth brushing got really infrequent, and it was hard to get back in the habit. It's probably been about 6 weeks since I last brushed, and I feel like I would have noticed the missing incisor and crooked bottom then if it was already present, but I've never noticed anything atypical about his teeth until now. It's not outside the realm of possibility for him to have lost a tooth in those past weeks, but not sure about his bottom teeth going from being fine, to crooked and crowded, unless I'm going crazy. Or I guess unless an extra tooth was brewing that displaced the others. Mouse is about 16 months old, and Linus is 14 months old, so they are long past teething. Apparently, incisors are fairly expendable, and it's not that uncommon for cats to lose incisors as they age, but Mouse is hardly aged. 

I'm concerned and there seem to be a few possible factors could at play:

1) tooth trauma from eating whole bone (could explain missing incisor, but not the crowding of the bottom teeth)

2) calcium deficiency from diet

3) genetic vulnerability or calcium deficiency in utero (Mouse was born at animal control in Brooklyn, NY -- his mama was brought in and gave birth to a litter while awaiting spay surgery, so it's certainly plausible that she had been neglected and malnourished. The family was subsequently fostered by a rescue).

Obviously there is not a whole lot that can be done about #3, but I was reading up and nutrient deficiency in-utero came up as potentially a more likely culprit than dietary calcium deficiency. Also this or genetic vulnerability would make sense since Linus's teeth are intact. Also, dietary calcium deficiency or trauma again could explain the missing incisor, but not sure if it's a reasonable cause of the crooked and crowded bottom row.

About the diet: I feed prey model including 10% bone -- currently they're getting bone from chicken necks, but they also sometimes get wings, whole cornish hens, or bone from hare today whole rabbit grinds, and I supplement prey model with small whole prey like chicks, rodents, quail etc. I keep eggshell calcium and MCHA on hand for when I run out of bone-in meat before I am ready for my next big HT order. Also with my current cycle of meals, I haven't been supplementing calcium, since their poop seems fine, but there have been times when even with the 10% bone in the diet, it seemed they had softish poops -- though more so Linus than Mouse -- so I added eggshell. I think I am inclined to want to add eggshell regardless, just in case the bone percentage of necks of wings are incorrect and I'm inadvertently feeding much less calcium than intended -- this has been a fear of mine. They get a variety of boneless meats and organs. They also get sardines, eggs, fish oil, probiotics, and this homemade supplement. Mouse has been eating homemade raw almost exclusively since he was less than 12 weeks old -- started on ground for about a month, then switched to prey model. I did painstaking calculations, but I'm anxious about the possibility that maybe he wasn't getting enough calcium in the early days, like if he left some wing or neck behind and I didn't stress it. Though not sure why that would effect his development now as opposed to then. He is a very energetic, strong, athletic, healthy-seeming cat. 

Could my cats be lacking in dietary calcium, or could he have been lacking when he was a developing kitten? Could this be what messed up Mouse's teeth? Would I expect to see other effects? Are there negative impacts of giving too much calcium intentionally, to avoid accidentally giving too little? Could Mouse have broken his tooth on a chicken neck or cornish hen (though it appears missing, not broken)? Mouse has eaten frozen fuzzies before, as he is known to steal frozen mice when I am transferring them from the freezer to the fridge to thaw -- could this be the culprit? 

He doesn't appear to be in pain or discomfort, and has been eating fine, bone and chunks, and these days he finishes absolutely all of his bone (I feed bone-in together with their daily allotment of liver and kidney and it's their fave meal). We are due for their annual vet visit next month, so I can try to schedule it sooner rather than later, but I don't have high expectations for the vet being helpful, and I feel like if this is possibly a result of their raw diet, as opposed to something like genetic factors, than she'll just be horrified by me endangering my cats by feeding raw and bone and formulating their diet myself etc (I am horrified enough myself by this possibility). I am generally dismayed by both Western and holistic vets, so I lack a professional whose expertise and ideology I can rely on. 

Sorry for the length. I realize I am probably insane. I am just very thorough. And not stressing as much as this post suggests. Thanks for your help.

Not sure if this would be better posted in health or nutrition instead, or if there's a way to cross post or move it...

I really think you need to get Mouse to a vet for a thorough check up and dental. Forget ideology - basic examination and blood work could well give you the answers you're looking for. Apart from anything else, you need to be sure there aren't any underlying illnesses at the root of this. A full blood panel whilst you're at it is the surest way to tell whether he's lacking any nutrients.

Given his background, has he been tested for FIV? It's very common for FIV+ cats to have dental issues - its a feature of the disease.

I can understand your hesitation with vets - especially if you've had bad experiences in the past - but it's shortsighted to write off the entire profession. There are many great vets out there, and all cats need veterinary intervention at times. Use this opportunity to find someone you're comfortable with - an emergency is NOT the time to have to go searching

I might be tempted to stick to small bones until you work out what's going on with Mouse...just to play it safe.

Thanks. I didn't mean to imply I was planning to eschew their upcoming visit, just wasn't sure that advancing it would do anything. I'll schedule it asap. It didn't really occur to me that underlying illness could be the culprit (beyond just like crappy teeth genetics), so I'll get him (well, both of them) checked. Both cats are FeLV/FIV negative, and Mouse was tested at least twice, but we can also re-test. So far the only medical issue they've had was a secondary ear infection from ear mites that went undetected, and then misdiagnosed. 

Not a problem Given their previous misdiagnosis I can totally understand your caution. I guess I forget how lucky I've been with my vets. Whatever the cause, I hope you get answers soon

The misdiagnosis of ear mites is like the tip of the iceberg for me and vets (and it ended up being way more expensive and time-consuming and uncomfortable for them as ever a thing like ear mites could be). My vet doesn't have anything left for February, so I scheduled for March, and may take this opportunity to shop around in the meantime -- I'd like to get him seen sooner.

And yes, I am wary of feeding him necks for right now too -- just last week I portioned and froze like two months worth of their daily bone and organ (/smh). I kinda just want to nix the bones for now, and replace it with a meal of organ and boneless muscle with eggshell for his daily calcium -- wondering how I might go about supplementing for the liver and kidney for a few days until I can source the organs and portion a new meal for him. Anyone? Not sure how to add such a small amount as a daily portion of vitamin A and D to Mouse's food -- the portions of boneless already have the homemade multivitamin added, which doesn't include A and D as it presumes organs... Thanks (I know a few days without organ is okay, but I am used to daily balancing and I feel like it would be good to have a way of doing this if possible, just as I can supplement bone in a pinch). 

A butcher should be able to supply you with the organs you need while you're looking for a suitable source.

Not sure how to add such a small amount of A and D though. Sorry I can't be more help.

No worries -- it's probably an unreasonable thing to want to do, but I sometimes feel live a slave to PMR, specifically once I have everything prepared in balance with each other and then something changes, so a method of supplementing for daily organ may be the only thing missing from my arsenal, and I like the idea of being able to adapt in any of the ways I may need to such as in this case (and since I've already added the other supplements to the food I can't just add a pre-mix or add A and D to my supplement mix). Maybe dried liver is the thing I need for this situation. Thanks for your help.