# Bad Taste in his Mouth?



## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Hi All,

For the past week or two, Tequila has been continuously, especially around and after mealtime, making this expression that he has a bad taste in his mouth: licking his lips and shaking his head quickly and repeatedly, is the best way I can describe it. 

He has also been very fidgety lately, not sitting still for very long, tail lashing, and running about (with or without Lumen inciting him). It's bizarre.

What could be causing this? He is going to the vet in three days to have his teeth cleaned; I will bring it up to him as well.. very odd though.

Has anyone else seen this before?


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

It could literally be a bad taste from either a bum tooth or excessive plaque build up.


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

Ask the vet to check for ulcers and sores in the mouth, too. It could either be bad taste or pain.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Make sure you have bloodwork run BEFORE the dental procedure. Lip licking is often an indication of nausea, and nausea can be caused by a number of different conditions, some of which may be seriously impacted by general anesthesia. Pre-procedure bloodwork will help determine whether anesthesia can be safely administered to your cat.

Head shaking may be associated with ear infection and/or pain. Jittery behavior may be hyperthyroidism, hyperesthesia, and/or allergic responses, esp. to flea bites. Of course, there could be dozens of other possible explanations. Again, I recommend pursuing diagnosis of these issues BEFORE putting your cat under anesthesia for the dental procedure.

Laurie


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Thanks, all, for the advice. Some more info:

Teq did in fact, have blood work done last week by this vet, and had an exam done. (These (link) were the pictures of his shaved neck from the blood work - I was so surprised they drew from there and not his paw, but they took three vials.) I got a call Friday from the vet saying his blood came back perfect, no issues. His temperature during the exam, though, was a bit high; 103.something, he said normal was around 101 or 102.

Tequila does have a small ulcer on the bottom left side gum, and notably, a tooth on the top left side is hitting the gum in the exact spot. He is on a regimen of 50 mg/day of Cefopodoxine; half of a 100 mg tablet in a Salmon-flavored Pill Pocket, which he takes with no problem. Wondering if the head-shaking is in fact a bad taste from the pill, although he's eating them right in the pill pocket and shouldn't taste the pill... The vet said if the ulcer goes away from these pills, then it's an infection and we might have to pull the tooth.

I'm beginning to think his jitteriness, if it's not gum pain, might just be normal; he's losing weight and being healthier.. perhaps it's just him getting around more. But I'm willing to pursue all options.

Right now he's taking it easy, sleeping.. he has had some chronic skin issues, as frequent readers may remember, but he's been *better* since eating grain-free.

WIll keep you posted....


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Update - are are two videos of him today. Note the strong tail-lashing, lip-licking, and head-shaking.  breaks my heart. He also doesn't seem to like being pet - I think it might be static electricity, I feel little shocks as I pet him - but not sure why, as I don't even have the heat on in my apt yet! 

Please keep him in your thoughts tomorrow for his teeth cleaning. What does the tail-lashing mean? He actually does that almost ALL the time, since I've gotten him. Lip licking and head shaking are new. 

What can I expect when he comes out of anesthesia? What should I do for him?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I would still have blood drawn tomorrow before his cleaning, just to be safe.


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Thanks, Marie - do you think his blood changed between now and a week ago today? I suppose it couldn't hurt (other than my wallet).. also, it takes one to two days to run the blood work. Are you suggesting I put off the cleaning til a second bloodwork is run?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

They do a real quick blood test right before the procedure. At least my vet does if there are any questions. That's how I found out Cinderella was sick. 

I guess there wouldn't be much of a change in the past 7 days, though. Knowing all his issues, they would know best, and they certainly wouldn't proceed if they had any doubts. 

As far as coming out of it, I've had bad experiences and okay ones. Cinderella was the last procedure of the day for her first dental, and they woke her up WAY WAY too soon. She was completely out of it, it was horrible, she was screaming! Ugh. Bad memories.

That said, her second dental went just fine, and both of Cleo's went well. Gigi's, too. They're groggy for the next 24 hours or so. No matter how hungry you know he is, don't let the little guy eat too soon. Poor little Cinderella wanted to eat so bad, so, not knowing any better, I let her try. She plopped her face right in her food. She knew she was hungry, but wasn't _aware_ enough to know _how_ to eat. 

I hope his dental takes care of all of his issues and he's back to normal soon. atback


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Marie, you are fabulous. Thank you.

I dropped Teq off at the vet this morning. Thank you, Feliway, for making the car trip a pleasant one (an hour drive to my favorite procedural vet is never fun). However, getting him INTO the carrier was less than stellar. The poor thing.

I let them know about his head-shaking and lip-licking. They seemed concerned and said they would run another blood sample (yay!) and let me know if there are any issues before beginning. I'm posted up at the city library - free wifi, woohoo - waiting until 3:00 or 4:00 this afternoon to hear back from them. 

Should I leave him in his carrier for a bit when he gets home to sleep it off? I don't want to shock him into reality too soon when he comes home. Will he have to use the bathroom? SHould I keep Lumen away from him for a while?

This is driving me nuts.. he's no spring chicken and I don't like having him under general anesthesia like this. Plus i'm worried about the pain I know he was in, and will be in.

Prayers and advice please!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I let my cats out, knowing they would head straight under the bed. 

If you can keep him confined to one room, by himself (with a litter box), that would be best.

They'll probably give you pain meds if they pull any teeth.


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

So, we're back..

Teq had to have one tooth removed - the ulcer was due to tooth root rot. Vet also said the head shaking - and he noticed a skin rash, also.. i'm disappointed at myself for not noticing, but he was flushed at his temples - was due to a common reaction to the Cefopodoxine. He's now on 10 mg of Baytril a day for the next five days.

He was almost completely fine coming from the vet! Had to pee like crazy the second he got out of the carrier - I moved one of the litter boxes into my bedroom and closed him in - he went right from the carrier to the box and went, went, went. Was also starving, but I waited a few hours before feeding him. Housed his Avoderm, but luckily ate slowly. He was also a little wobbly on his feet but is 100% today.

Still is head-shaking, but hopefully he's going to feel better in time. Will keep this post updated.

Thank you for all your well-wishes..


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

..update: just researched Baytril for cats, and came across this serious warning:

Urinary Tract Infections in Cats with Baytril - VetInfo

Should I be concerned? Does anyone have experience with Baytril?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I don't know anything about Baytril, but I'm glad your little guy is home and almost back to normal.


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## Beckie210789 (May 9, 2011)

My vet just put Kodak on that the other day for cystitis. So far so good, no issues. Although, that article says you should not feed with it, and my vet said to give it with food. Who knows, but he's not presented with any side effects yet, though he's only been on it for about 24 hours. I'll let you know if I see any changes, but he seems fine so far.


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Cool, thanks for the info. Glad to hear no issues! Yes, I'm confused about the food/nofood dosing as well, but hey, as long as they get better with no side effects.

Thanks, Beckie and Marie!

BTW, today T was fine. Wouldn't know he had surgery two days ago, from him at least.


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## Houdini (Oct 19, 2011)

For the Baytril issue: Studies show that cats receiving more than 10 mg/kg/day risk becoming blind so it is recommended to dose them at a maximum of 5 mg/kg/day to stay on the safe side. Also, Baytril, like most antibiotics, can cause GI upset (especially vomiting) so even if absorption is decreased with food, it is still a lot more comfortable for the cat to receive it with food than to vomit. It's a balancing act (like with most medication). I hope that helps put your worries at rest 

And I'm sure Tequila is glad to have had that tooth removed!


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Hey all - Teq hasn't stopped shaking his head and licking his lips. In fact, it's gotten worse. He is sneezing also, that's new.

I'm going to have to call the vet again. Ugh.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

If you have a copy of his pre-dental bloodwork, could you please post it here (including the lab's reference ranges) so that we can take a look? If you don't have a copy, I strongly recommend you go to your vet and get one. It may provide clues as to what's bothering Tequila or what other tests may be advisable.

Laurie


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Laurie - certainly. I have it at home; I'll post tomorrow (After I scan it in, I'll bring it back into work with me where there's a scanner). 

I will tell you now, the ranges looked to me to be normal EXCEPT for low platelets, and low lymphocytes (which I saw was a result of stress/nervousness at the vet's). Thoughts?


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Update: Took T to the vet today. Diagnosed a Upper Respiratory Infection - something that happened a few years ago when he was stressed - and put him, and Lumen (who also started sneezing a little now), on Viralys 2x a day.

Anyone have experience with Viralys?

He's also on Clavamox for his mouth. Thoughts?


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Update: Teq is feeling TERRIBLE due to his URI. Sneezing non-stop, loss of appetite today (despite me locking him in the bathroom while I showered to let the steam help) - he ate last night but not this morning. Runny eyes, snotty nose, eyes closed, not even interested in anything. Poor baby. Breaks my heart 

Oh, and he's down to 16 lbs, 10 oz. Down from 17.4 lbs two weeks ago. Dropping weight too fast?


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Feed him immediately after a steam treatment before his sinuses plug back up again. Also, warm his canned food in a microwave for a few seconds to really bring out its aroma strongly before feeding. Be careful not to get it too warm, though, or he'll reject it because of the heat. You can also mix some warm water into his canned food to make it a gruel that he can lap up. Most cats love "canned food soup", and the extra hydration is beneficial.

Clavamox causes digestive upset in a lot of cats, so it's possible that it may be affecting T's appetite. If he still won't eat after trying the strategies above, you might want to talk to your vet about switching him to a different antibiotic. Amoxicillin tends to cause less digestive upset than most other antibiotics.

Laurie


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Viralys is L-lysine, which can be helpful with a herpesvirus infection (which is what I assume your vet has diagnosed). L-lysine is an amino acid that inhibits the herpesvirus' ability to replicate, making it easier for T's immune system to fight off the active infection and put it into remission. You can also buy L-lysine at any store where human vitamins are sold (probably a lot cheaper than buying Viralys from the vet).

Laurie


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Thought I would provide a (hopefully) final update - T is much better. His appetite is back, his URI is totally gone, and he still has some bleeding at the tooth extraction site so we're back in two weeks to check on it one last time. He's much happier, and even more he's down to 16 lbs, 10 oz! Much better than his 20+ lbs a few months ago. Still a ways to go, though!

Here he is right now, taken but a minute ago.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

It's great to read that T is feeling better. He looks a lot like my Lion King, Noddy, who at his heaviest weighed 26.45 lbs. It took about 18 mos to get him gradually and safely down to 16.5 lbs. Here's a pic of Noddy at his heaviest, high on nip with little Roxie ...








Laurie


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