Very swollen gums in 6 months old Maine Coon

Hi 

My kitten is 6 months old and has had trouble with swollen gums for the last 3 months. He is teething and this might have something to do with it. 

A couple of days ago he stopped eating. We decided to take him to the vet, as he was in very bad shape and clearly in alot of pain. 

The vet examined him and concluded it was juvenile gingivitis and he needed a specialist to look at him. She prescribed metacam for the pain and Clindamycin antibiotics for two weeks.

I am now worried that my cat has stomatitis and we will have to pull all his teeth. 

Has anyone experienced anything similar with their young Maine Coon? How long did it persist and how did it turn out in the end?

Here are a few pictures of his gums the day before he was brought to the vet:

His gums do look bad.  The specialist will need to make the call as to rather or not it is stomatitis.  I too hope he doesn't have to have full extractions but kitties do adjust very well.  I hadn't heard anything about Maine Coons being especially vulnerable to this so I don't think the breed has anything to do with this.

Hi, I work for a dental specialist and I would have him looked at. Unfortunately, Maine Coons are prone to having stomatitis. I am not saying that is what your cat has, a specialist could determine that. I can tell you that the younger the pet is when you have the teeth extracted the better they will do. I do not recommend treating this with steroids and antibiotics, which can lead to other issues. Maine Coons are also prone to heart murmurs, so have him checked prior to anesthesia. I personally have 4 cats that have had total mouth extractions and have never had another mouth problem since having procedure. They do very well with no teeth, eat dry food, and are fat and happy. It is not 100% curative all the time, but like I said, the sooner it is done, the better the chances. Only have this done by a specialist, some rDVM's will say they are doing a total mouth extraction and actually do a crown amputation, this will not solve problem! Also, a specialist is much quicker at doing the procedure and will take dental x-rays to be sure all fragments are removed. Meaning, your pet will be under anesthesia less time and it will be done right the 1st time. We charge roughly $2400-2600. It is expensive, but you will never have to do any more dental cleanings or extractions in their lifetime. Well worth it. It can also change the behavior of your pet. Being in constant pain can make them fearful of strangers. Their blood pressure rises and makes their gums throb. In the animals mind, it is the people causing the pain. Similar to a cat with a UTI that uses your bed to urinate on instead of the litter box. It hurts when they use the litter box, therefore, they will go in a favorite spot that they associate with making them feel comfortable. Hope all goes well with your kitty and maybe other people will see this post and it helps them also. Good luck!

Hi. I am far from knowing all about gingivitus but I can tell you about my experience. I don't have a main coon, just an ordinary Moggie. I noticed red and swollen gums when she was 5 months and put it down to teething. When I took her to the vets to be spayed at 6 months the vet told me she has gingivitus. I had her from the cat protection so she had been tested for fiv and felv. My vet tested for calici and fortunately that came back negative. He told me that it could be the mix of food and to stick to poultry only. It could also be pollen or dust falling off shrubs onto her coat that she later grooms. She is now 13 months and still has gingivitus although it is not as angry looking as it was but it doesn't appear to bother her. She is very playful and eats like a little piglet. What I am badly trying to say is that it may not be something too serious. There appear to be a variety of reasons. I most certainly would recommend a visit to the vet and ask about calici. Is he eating well and does it appear to cause him any comfort.

9 days has passed since last photo. This is how his gums looks today(the bottom one is the most recent).

He is eating normally, although he vas constipated for some days after he started eating again. He is still lethargic during the day and slightly more active and alert at night. He has finished 8 days of antibiotics today and he has gone off the meloxicam for a couple of days. I am not sure if the antibiotics have had an effect at all or if it is just the meloxicam. His bad breath is almost gone, so the antibiotics had to have some effect on him. The vet recommended 8- 16 days of antibiotics, but I am not sure if we should stop as the effect is unclear. 

It takes forever to get an appointment to the vet dentist. Here in Norway, there is only ONE fulltime pet dentist in the country... so the cat has to hang on for another couple of weeks.

Another update on his condition. 

He had his gums trimmed and is now treated with antibiotics and steroids. His breath is normal but he moves very slowly and is quite lethargic but he still has a huge appetite. He sleeps most of the day and wakes late at night and is somewhat active until morning. I think the antibiotics give him quite a bit of stomach pain. Every time we have given him antibiotics he has been lethargic and gotten better as soon as we stop.  The dentist said he won't consider pulling his teeth before he reaches about 1.5 years old because his immune system might be able to keep the inflammation under control when he gets older. He walks freely outside and he has nothing to defend himself with without his teeth, so it will be a last resort...

I live in the uk and many vets here dont extract all teeth, just the ones they consider to be the most beneficial for the gums. They find that this action more often than not will clear the problem.

Hi.

It's been a while since you posted and I wondered how your kittens gums were. Is there any improvement?

Yes, he is a quite happy cat nowadays. He is eating much less than he used to, which is actually a good thing. He had a tremendous appetite when he was on the steroids. We believe he almost ate to the point of damaging his stomach. He fell very ill at the end of his steroid treatment, so he had to be taken to a clinic were he was under surveillance and ran diagnostic tests. They found nothing wrong with him and he was getting much better during the next 2 days. He was given intravenous nutrition during his stay there and he did not eat for about 30 hours during his stay. we believe in retrospect that this helped his digestive system heal from the possible overeating.  He currently weights 6.1kg at 9 months old.

His gums are still swollen but the dentist said we didn't need to worry about extractions yet. If his gums starts bleeding or if it gets any worse, he will have to continue the treatment with steroids. A couple times he has had really bad breath but it seems to have disappeared. This is how his gums look today

:

His gums look a little better than the original photos. They are similar to my cats gums. As long as he is eating and they don't seem to be bothering him there's not a lot you can do. I hope the problem disappears on its own. Keep us posted