Feline leukemia positive cat with severe stomatitis

[kittiecorner]

Hello all,

I am new to this site but have been reading for a while. Back in the beginning of December, I decided to take in a feral/stray cat that was living outside my house for about a year. He looked very sick and was extremely matted, infested with fleas and, drooling excessively. Unfortunately he tested positive for felv and I have another cat so he has his very own room complete with cat trees and toys and beds and lots of other stuff. The biggest problem within the last five months has been his mouth. He has severe stomatitis that seems to be getting worse. He has a horrible ulcer that looks like a slice in the middle of his tongue. So far he has been on prednisone and also clindamycin to fight the infection. It worked for a few months but unfortunately its no longer working. He just started veraflox for the infection last week which is pretty potent. He took it back in January to treat a kidney infection and it worked wonders. Thursday I have an appointment with a veterinary dental specialist to see if extractions may help him. He also has a grade 3 heart murmur so I don't even know if anesthesia is going to be an option. Im starting to get really discouraged and all I do is cry. I can tell he's in a lot of pain, however he is taking buprenex twice a day to help. He's been eating less within the last few weeks because his mouth hurts.I love him so much and my regular vet just isn't giving me the support I need although I have been using him for over 12 years and have had several pets. I understand that there is no cure for felv and because of that he makes me feel like Im wasting my time. If anyone has dealt with any of these issues, I would love for you to share your stories with me. Thank you so much.

Hello,
I feed my cat Poppy raw meat and also I strain canned food through a sieve to get all the bits of bone and gristle out. Then I usually have to add some water until it is just the right consistency for her to be able to lick it off her plate without hurting her mouth. If it is too stiff she can't. I have to be extremely patient because she will eat some, then she will want to wait sometimes several minutes before she is ready for more. It often takes a good 15 minutes to feed her. Lately though her mouth is so sore she can't lick even that off her plate so I feed her by putting it on my fingers and then she can lick it off them. I've been doing this for several years. I haven't had her teeth out because I was afraid she wouldn't survive surgery. She also leaks urine. She's scheduled for teeth extractions this coming week.

 

[white shadow]

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Hi kittiecorner and welcome to the forum !

Considering Poppy's fragility, it could make all the difference if you were to meet with the Veterinarian and the chief Vet Technician before her surgery.....there are a number of protocols/procedures that are recommended, especially for fragile patients, that you would want to know were going to be followed......

We should never blindly trust our Vets and staff.....and, we should never assume that recommended protocols will automatically be followed - for a myriad of reasons. This is not micro-managing! It is laying out our expectations for the product we are purchasing.

Here is a comprehensive coverage of the whole kit and kaboodle.....print out the sections on before and after surgery - give them to the Vet and insist they be followed to a tee. They're here: Dental_Surgery.

Pain control is also something to be discussed beforehand....just what are they proposing to use? If she's an elderly girl, you might ask that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) not be used. Pain patches and an opiod called buprenorphine are safe and provide excellent pain control. There's a good piece on all this here: Pain Killers.

You might want to consider tweaking your feeding routine a little for the first ~1-2 days after surgery.....I use a blender to turn wet foods (without bones) into smoothie-type syringeable food, which can also be licked up. There's one of those Rx diets, LINK: Hill's a/d, that's irresistible to most cats and comes in a smoothie-type consistency - a few cans of that would see you through.

I can only imagine the bond you have with her after all these years of closeup feeding....it's touching.

Hope that may help you both - please post back, and certainly afterwards.
.

 

[catwoman707]

I can tell you that full mouth extractions give instant relief, I have had excellent success with this.
Despite the felv+ issue, they seem to come through the surgery well. That is unless the cat is severely anemic, then I would hold off and get the blood built up first.
What is absolutely critical though is that the vet is clear and vigilent with the need for every tiny bit of root be removed as well. When the teeth are pulled the root can and does break off sometimes and for the stomatitis to be cleared the root bits all must be gone or kitty's immune system will simply react to it as if there is still a foreign object there that doesn't belong.

Full extractions are not a guarantee either, but in all cases where I have had all teeth removed, it was always a great success.

Urine leaking is fairly common in felv+ cats.