Cats gums are black after canine extraction

maddies momma · Dec 24, 2016

My cat had a dental procedure on Thursday and today is now Saturday. He had his upper canine removed due to a fracture, and the one beside it removed as well. The first night after the dental and the day following he was doing great. He was running around and playing and acting fine. Today he seems to be not feeling well at all and seems to be in pain.he is on transdermal codiene for pain but I can't give him any more than prescribed.i looked in his mouth to see that the tissue all around where the tooth used to be is dark grey/black. Also it doesn't look like the hole was sutured or anything. There is a bit of an odor but I don't know if it's regular canned food residue odor or something more serious. Could the black be dried up blood clots inside the gums? Or could it be infection? He did not receive antibiotics before or after the procedure which is concerning. The problem is that today is Christmas eve and the clinic does not open up again until Wednesday. If it is serious that is way too long to wait for help, but if it is nothing I don't want to take him to emergency when he's fine. Does anyone have experienced with canine extraction and what it should look like afterwards? I trust this vet because I have worked with them before and she had done Many successful dentals. I'm hoping its nothing but something is telling me that I should be concerned. He is also licking a lot and slightly drooling. The drooling is coming from the side of the mouth that did NOT have extractions. I suspect this is nausea from the codiene.

artiemom · Dec 24, 2016

I suspect that he has an infection.. he really needs to be seen in the ER.. I know it is Christmas Eve/Chanukah, but if you can get to the ER Vet, it will help him.. I am going through something similar with my guy, not dental..I plan on going to the ER Vet tomorrow, after Morning Mass... I do not dare drive today because it is crazy out there..

Anne · Dec 25, 2016

I agree with @Artiemom. Please at least call the emergency clinic in your area and ask them for advice. Try to take a photo of the gums and send it to the veterinarian on duty. It could be nothing but it could also be infection or even gangrene (you mentioned blackened tissue so that comes to mind).

Let us know how he's doing.

ginny · Dec 25, 2016

Could it be dry socket? I thought they'd have sutured it shut to prevent that . Hope kitty gets better soon! Dental pain is no fun.

maddies momma · Dec 25, 2016

Thanks for the input. I completely agree that he should go to the er to be safe, however I need to convince my parents to make it happen. They don't understand how serious it is. They just say he's fine and go back to the regular doctor next week.its not money that's the issue, it's transportation. I need to convince them to drive over an hour away on Christmas day to get to the closest open clinic. They are not exactly open to that. He is eating and drinking and going to the washroom normally. Last night he got up and played for a little while. Other than that tho he is sleeping a lot, and I know he's in pain. And i really dont like the looks of his mouth. i also suspect dry socket. I looked up dry socket in humans and that looks exactly like what he has. I couldn't find any info on dry socket in cats because apparently it's not supposed to be able to happen. Especially if the wound was sutured. The clinic didn't say anything about him having sutures, but every other dental iv observed at that same clinic has always sutured extractions. Maybe he knocked his sutures out and that's why it's so bad now? Any more advice would be greatly appreciated.

ginny · Dec 25, 2016

Dry socket is painful, or so I hear. My neice had it after a wisdom tooth extraction. Maybe show your parents that info you found and maybe they might change their minds. At the least he needs to be seen tomorrow morning. And maybe get some buprenorphine for pain. Poor baby!

white shadow · Dec 25, 2016

Hi Maddies Momma !

Maddies Momma said:
The problem is that today is Christmas eve and the clinic does not open up again until Wednesday.

Most veterinary clinics have some type of after-hour service.........sometimes one of the Vets will be 'on call' either via a messaging service or via a specific mobile number; sometimes clinics enter into an arrangement with another clinic to handle emergency calls. I would call the clinic's phone number (unless there's a website with emergency contact info) and 'see' what info is available from it. Why don't you start there?

FIRST, though, I would make some detailed notes about the specific 'things' you are observing......because, over the phone, you will need to be able to provide a complete and concise verbal picture of what you are observing - all in a short period of time....you don't want to be saying "Oh, and yeah, he's also doing such-and-such..." - "Oh, and I forgot to mention...". Prepare your presentation carefully ahead of time.

A couple of things:

your post is now ~a day old....can you update around his presenting behaviour since yesterday and up to now,,,,rather than say 'he seems to be in pain', describe his looks/appearance, eating/what/not, activity etc
does he seem to have a raised body temperature? Does his head/mouth area feel unusually warm?
just fwiw, "quality" Vets won't automatically give antibiotics for dental extraction, in fact, they do not....IF they determine there's a risk of infection, they do and will so prescribe

If something's telling you that you should be concerned, then I say you should be attentive to that and not dismiss it. Keep an eagle's eye on him - it's the only way to observe signs that will confirm/negate a suspicion.

Keep us updated !

Do you have any way of photographing what you're seeing?

ginny · Dec 25, 2016

By the way, dry socket is when the blood clot is gone. That's why dentists tell you no straws after an extraction for a few days. But cats aren't good at following doctors orders, are they?

Since money is not an issue, try asking the folks again. If they still refuse, remind them that denying a pet in pain reasonable vet services is negligence and is against the law. I'd use that as a last resort.

Geoffrey · Dec 25, 2016

Maddies Momma said:
My cat had a dental procedure on Thursday and today is now Saturday. He had his upper canine removed due to a fracture, and the one beside it removed as well. The first night after the dental and the day following he was doing great. He was running around and playing and acting fine. Today he seems to be not feeling well at all and seems to be in pain.he is on transdermal codiene for pain but I can't give him any more than prescribed.i looked in his mouth to see that the tissue all around where the tooth used to be is dark grey/black. Also it doesn't look like the hole was sutured or anything. There is a bit of an odor but I don't know if it's regular canned food residue odor or something more serious. Could the black be dried up blood clots inside the gums? Or could it be infection? He did not receive antibiotics before or after the procedure which is concerning. The problem is that today is Christmas eve and the clinic does not open up again until Wednesday. If it is serious that is way too long to wait for help, but if it is nothing I don't want to take him to emergency when he's fine. Does anyone have experienced with canine extraction and what it should look like afterwards? I trust this vet because I have worked with them before and she had done Many successful dentals. I'm hoping its nothing but something is telling me that I should be concerned. He is also licking a lot and slightly drooling. The drooling is coming from the side of the mouth that did NOT have extractions. I suspect this is nausea from the codiene.

I am a human doctor, not a Dentist nor a Vet, however I am aware of dry socket in humans. This occurs when the clot, protecting the base of the socket, is dislodged, perhaps by eating. This leads the nerves and the bone at the base of the socket to be exposed and causes considerable pain. I would think that there is no difference between humans nor cats as far as a dry socket is concerned. However, in your case the good news is that when there is a dry socket the base of the socket usually appears white, not black.

Whether there is a dry socket or not, you should seek veterinary advice as soon as you can, as there is no treatment that you can give the cat yourself. You should also continue the codeine until you can get him to a vet as Codeine is an excellent analgesic.

With all best wishes,

Geoffrey

maddies momma · Dec 27, 2016

Thanks for all of your input. Maddie has an appointment with a different doctor this afternoon. They said they will take a look and see what's going on and then give him some medication to tie him over until his regular doctor is available again. They will then send the records to his regular doctor so they know what's going on. It's unfortunate that the doctor who performed the surgery isn't open again until tommorow. As this situation should be their responsibility. And now he has to go to the vet today and then again another day with regular doctor. But I will get him taken care of and let you know what happens. This is all very upsetting for me as the dental was an elective procedure that I chose for him and now he is in pain based on my decision. It wasn't supposed to work out this way.

maddies momma · Dec 27, 2016

Maddie has been to the doctor and I have created a new thread based on the information I learned today. For anyone interested in am update, check out my newest thread. It explains everything.

maddies momma · Dec 31, 2016

Maddie is doing well and healing properly. Check out my other thread for a more thorough update!

Cats gums are black after canine extraction

maddies momma

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artiemom

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ginny

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maddies momma

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maddies momma

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