Gingivitis/stomatitis - advice please!

Hi all,

as you may know we had a few problems with Benji when we first brought him home. He was sneezing, had very gunky eyes and red gums, and wasn't eating very well. All of those symptoms have now cleared up apart from his gums. His gums have got much worse, and they look ever so sore. He still crunches happily on his dry food though so it doesn't seem to be affecting him very much. The vet is also satisfied that he is doing very well otherwise, not running a temp, everything clear, and piling on the weight. In the 9 weeks we have had him he has tripled in weight (going from 1.1 kgs to yesterday 3.3 kgs) so the vet is also happy that not only is he gaining he is doing well with catching up!

We went to the vets yesterday, after having been on a metacam course for 10 days, and the vet thought it would be advisable to test for the three cat-flu viruses (I only knew of two!) so did a mouth swab and eye swab. We will be hearing back on the tests Monday the latest. Now Benji is very obviously teething as well, as he chews on bloody everything, his favorites being corners of wood furniture, cardboard but most of all straws. We leave chunks of cardboard and straws about for him to chew on and they are always mangled, and Storm isn't a chewer. Now I've looked at pictures of Stomatitis at his gums are nowhere near as bad, it seems more like inflammation from teething in comparison, but the vet wants to rule it out. There are no lesions or ulcers just redness.

Sorry for the rambling, but what I'm trying to get to is this, have any of your kittens had bad gingivitis while teething and later been ok once their adult teeth have settled in? I'm fully prepared for a positive test result but if it doesn't I would just like to know others experiences of bad kitten gingivitis in MC's!

Well, as you know my boys had very red gums and bad plaque - but since their dental clean and a regime of teaching them to chew, combined with finger administered cat toothpaste every few days (more often when they are used to it) and their gums look better. Still a small line of redness in some areas, but a much healthier pink colour than before.

Persevere, make sure it's not a "real" condition, and fingers crossed your furball will be better soon! (And I hope mine stay that way)

Thanks :) He is wanting to rule out any of the cat flu viruses, mainly because calici causes stomatitis, but he thinks that any of the three could be aggravating any inflammation he has because of the teething. I'm hoping that he isn't a carrier, but the vet said he won't always be and the likelihood is that it will over time go away. I've been told not to put any toothpaste on them just yet as they could be sore and he doesnt want Benji to become head-shy, but I've ordered some calming gel approved by the vet to rub on his gums for the time being!

Hi, one of my older cats has teeth problem. May not be the same as yours but the solutions could be the same. My Hamlet has the disease where his gums re-absorb his teeth roots. It's called resorption lesion something. Because of that, his teeth crack and have to be pulled, plus his gums stay swollen, the plaque and tartar build up really bad, and he has horrible breath. Dental cleanings are so expensive. So, I found on the www.onlynaturalpet.com website different oral solutions. I am currently using Petzlife oral dental gel. PetzLife Oral Care Dog & Cat Dental Products I apply it with a kitty toothbrush. Right now, whatever I can get on his mouth I'll take it. I hope over time he will let me open his mouth and get more in there. I've checked my local pet store and have found a liquid that you add to water to help with oral care. But, my cats can smell or taste it so they won't drink it. There are also different kinds of probiotic powders you can add to food. (Mine won't eat powders either.) Definitely do your homework and don't be afraid to try different things. If you have a local pet store, talk to different people there. Def talk to your vet about what you try. If he prescribes meds, you don't want to have any interactions. I always say, "Knowledge sheds light, and light takes away the darkness". Research and learn as much as you can; that alone will put you at ease. Hope that helps. :smile:

Hello,
I could highly recommend ZYLEXIS. It is an immunity system supporting injection. Ask your vet, for my cat it was like a miracle. Better to aplicate it three times in one month with one week break between each shot.

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Originally Posted by adelheid

Hello,
I could highly recommend ZYLEXIS. It is an immunity system supporting injection. Ask your vet, for my cat it was like a miracle. Better to aplicate it three times in one month with one week break between each shot.

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Thanks for the tip, will speak to my vet. Did your kitty have one of the cat flu viruses or simply bad gingivitis?

One of mine has always suffered from gingivitis right from a kitten & has had episodes ranging from very mild to really red & sore,one fact that I mentioned in another thread was that I have noticed this a lot more in MC's that are red,this is based as I say only on friends cats & they cover a range of the "red"colour spectrum. Bruce has never had problems with any tartar build up on his teeth & a little while ago when he had sedation to check on what we thought could be a problem with one of his teeth except for a polish he didn't need his teeth scaled & that was at the age of nine. He has had courses of antibiotics as & when required,always knew by the drooling & not wanting to eat if things were too sore for him but as he has got older I am pleased to say this has become a very infrequent occurance although he has never been without the thin red line.....!
Purevax is the name of another of the vaccs that can help with cats suffering with the caici virus.As a matter of interest we tried it on Bruce but made no difference to him,that also has to be given with short intervals in between,he has it as his routine vaccs anyway & the vet just suggested trying it at booster time as he had just read about it,don't think Bruce appreciated being lugged up to work three times within a month,luckily the vet didn't take his temperature each time because that would have been one indignity too far for him,he gets very embarrassed & upset when that is done.Don't you just luv them.

Thanks all. Am really nervous as I haven't had a call from the vets yet, seems like I've waited forever already :(

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Originally Posted by missye87

Thanks all. Am really nervous as I haven't had a call from the vets yet, seems like I've waited forever already :(

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Think I would give them a ring,there is only one result that we have to wait a while for & that is only because once it reached the lab we use it then had to go onto another as they were the only ones that done that particular test,plus they only ran it on certain days as well but wouldn't hurt to find out if at least some results are back yet.....
We look to have most blood results if not all back in 24hrs except for things like swab cultures that have to be grown,vets can be known to forget {ours always say if you haven't heard by a certain day ring to find out what is going on}has been our fault but also bloods have been known to go astray as well,just give them a polite nudge at the very least you can ask when to expect to hear something,luv to Benji....x

He is positive for Calici :( I've got to call the breeder as he was showing signs from the first evening (shedding due to stress) so he would have got it from there. Feel really bad now though as I don't want to sound accusing, he is a healthy strong boy regardless of it and he will most likely not always be a carrier so it's not exactly a life-threatening illness. Storm hasn't showed a single symptom, but the vet reckons he probably wasn't a carrier in the first place anyway due to the circumstances. I think we are going to try the interferon, he is a big strong boy anyway so I do think he would do well with it. However I think I'm going to go down the route of giving it to him myself by syringing it down his throat in the doses given by the vet rather than shipping him in every two days for a month to have it intravenously.

Ems x

Good luck and I hope he (and you and Storm) come out of it all A OK.