Teeth grinding

[Vanessad100]

Our 4 year old cat started grinding his teeth a few months back. He has gone through just about everything to check him out: ultrasound of gastrointestinal system, ultrasound of bladder, full teeth cleaning + xrays, bloodwork, and all looks completely normal. He takes Cbd at night and it doesn’t help. We’ve tried NSAIDs, antacids, and anti nausea with no change. The vet says he is clearly a really happy and healthy cat and they can’t figure it out. When we stopped taking him to the vet, it calmed down for a couple weeks. But now it has gotten really bad again and even worse.

He grinds after he eats, drinks, or grooms. He closes his eyes and will sometimes shake his head like he’s trying to shake something off. We cannot figure out what it is but are so afraid he is in pain.

 

[Vanessad100]

Any ideas for what it could be or what we could check next?

 

[Jcatbird]

I assume they checked his ears? Ever had any tooth or jaw issues/injuries in the past? TMJ in humans causes tooth grinding. A slight misalignment in the teeth or jaw? Stress of any kind can cause tooth grinding and that along with muscle tension does not show up on tests. I totally sympathize with kitty since I grew up with severe tooth grinding.
I underwent many things to try and correct the tooth grinding. The thing that finally worked was the simplest and least invasive ,a sort of physical therapy. Basically I had a therapist gently move my lower jaw back into the proper positioning and massaging the joint area so the muscles learned to relax. It took time and I had to continue the relaxation but it worked when nothing else had. Muscle tension in the jaw might be what he is trying to “shake off””.” It can cause Headaches , neck pain and earaches too. Maybe you could ask the vet to investigate that? If you can do the therapy with kitty, it sure does feel great! Sometimes it’s the simple things that work. It’s worth asking about.

 

[cindyandoscar]

Our 4 year old cat started grinding his teeth a few months back. He has gone through just about everything to check him out: ultrasound of gastrointestinal system, ultrasound of bladder, full teeth cleaning + xrays, bloodwork, and all looks completely normal. He takes Cbd at night and it doesn’t help. We’ve tried NSAIDs, antacids, and anti nausea with no change. The vet says he is clearly a really happy and healthy cat and they can’t figure it out. When we stopped taking him to the vet, it calmed down for a couple weeks. But now it has gotten really bad again and even worse.

He grinds after he eats, drinks, or grooms. He closes his eyes and will sometimes shake his head like he’s trying to shake something off. We cannot figure out what it is but are so afraid he is in pain.

My 16 year old cat is doing the same thing.

 

[FeebysOwner]

My 16 year old cat is doing the same thing.

Hi. If this is new behavior for your cat, given his/her age, it could be a dental or oral issue - that is assuming you haven't already had his/her teeth & mouth check out. If you haven't, that is where I would start. And, again given the age of your cat, the vet should probably check for ear polys/issues as well - not to mention a full scale geriatric exam.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Any ideas for what it could be or what we could check next?

Hi. Talk to your vet about consulting with a vet university. They study a lot of unusual cases - often times things that a vet, once in regular practice, might never be exposed to.

 

[jefferd18]

I know he is young but have you had his kidney levels checked?