Painful Broken Tooth?

[linkworshiper]

I think I figured out why my new cat has been attacking my other cats. I brought him to the vet and they told me he has a tooth so broken, the nerve is exposes. The vet said the cat is probably in a ton of pain and might be lashing out. It makes sense because the cat is otherwise calm and cuddly and seems to want to play with the other cats until he doesn't. Is the tooth really that much of a trigger? I want to help him integrate to our house but dental surgery is also very expensive. Thanks!

 

[daftcat75]

Oh yes! An exposed nerve is incredibly painful. That would be enough to cause even the sweetest cat to act out. This is not optional. That tooth needs to be taken care of. If the nerve is exposed, that also means bacteria can get in there, and other places it doesn't belong. A bacteria infection in the tooth can quickly become a bone infection or even a systemic blood infection. This is already really bad but can get so much worse, and so much more expensive. Dental surgery is expensive. But I have never regretted it.

 

[linkworshiper]

Yeah, I'm pretty committed to having it done, but I think sooner is better than later. I had originally thought he might be reacting to the fact that our other new cat only just got neutered, but I brought him to the vet anyway. Thanks for confirming.

 

[Jem]

I second getting it done sooner rather than later. We went thru the same thing when we adopted our boy. His canine tooth had the tip broken off at the time of adoption. He was good natured but we noticed he was really picky about eating. When we brought him to the vet they confirmed that the pulp (nerves) was exposed and was causing pain. We had to save up for the extraction, and by the time we got it done, the vet said we caught it in the nick of time as an abscess was starting to develop. It was night and day when we brought him home. We thought he was playful and good natured before...well...he became even more of an absolutely wonderful ball of energy and friendliness and his eating habits improved 1000% immediately...even during the healing process from the surgery. We actually had to hide some of his favorite toys because he got so rambunctious that we were afraid it wouldn't heal....he did cause some bleeding within the first hour of being home by chewing and playing with toys...he was bounding around the house with so much energy like he was making up for lost "zoomies" time...it was hilarious. I can only imagine how much pain he was in with such a change in his personality.

 

[linkworshiper]

The vet said more or less the same thing about her own cat. It would explain why Mr. Jenkins seems so interested in my other cats, but then snaps and starts yowling, fur-flying fights. I had the vet also do a blood test so we'll see how that comes back. She said she found yeast and bacteria in his ears but that is expected considering he came from a shelter... though it's possible that is annoying him too. I really love this cat and I won't give him up, but I feel bad that I've had to keep him apart from the rest of the house because I can't trust him around the other cats. I think I'll start a gofundme or something. Or perhaps try care credit?