# My cat is allergic to her teeth?



## shybutterflygirl (May 13, 2011)

It's kind of long, I apologize for that.

A couple weeks ago I started to notice that Muirnin's breath smelled kind of like a fishy type smell. I chalked it up to her food because I didn't notice it a whole lot and her teeth and gums looked fine. Then I noticed it more and it didn't seem right that her breath smelled. So I called the vet and made an appointment. Two days before her appointment I looked at her teeth again and I saw that her gum line was a dark red and her breath was pretty bad. 

I took her in this morning for her appointment and they took her temperature, which was normal. The vet looked in her mouth and she said that her gums looked inflamed, but her teeth looked fine. (Muirnin had been into the vet for a check up in December and her teeth and gums looked fine then.) So the vet explained that she feels that Muirnin's problem may be auto-immune and that she is most likely having a reaction to the enamel on her teeth.

Uh.... What? I had never heard of that before. So I did some research and sure enough, it sounds like Muirnin's problem. The vet gave me some stuff to put in her water and some gel to put on her teeth twice a day. (Oxyfresh Pet Oral Hygiene Solution and Pet Gel) She said to give it a few weeks and that it most likely won't take care of it completely, but it should help. If it doesn't that we'll try other gels. Because of Muirnin's age (approximately 17 months) she doesn't want to go with steroids if we don't have to.

Has anyone had this issue with their kitty? Any tips or advice? I'm really puzzled about this whole thing and I really want to help her out the best I can.


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## Meezer_lover (Apr 19, 2011)

Someone I work with has an Egyptian Mau with this issue. They ended up pulling all of his teeth.....sounds horrible I know. 

I don't know the details, only that the cat's gums were inflamed really bad and once they finally diagnosed it, that's what it was......an allergy to the enamel on it's teeth. 

The cat is doing just fine w/o teeth, believe it or not. I have no idea if that was the right course of action, but that is what they did.


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## shybutterflygirl (May 13, 2011)

I really hope she doesn't have to have her teeth pulled. I'm sure she would be just fine if that happened, I just hope it doesn't. I was reading that sometimes antibiotics are used, sometimes in conjunction with steroids. 

I suppose time will tell whether the gel and liquid will help.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Allergy to the enamel on her teeth? Really??? Never heard of that before! I learn something new every day on Cat Forum. Thanks for letting us know. I hope the solution and gel will be successful. Keep us updated.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Its called stomatitis and its one of those weird things that some cats get for no known reason. The only full on cure is to extract all the teeth. We do several of these a week and the cats go on to live long, healthy, happy lives.


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## Meezer_lover (Apr 19, 2011)

Feline (Cat) Stomatitis

The pictures make me feel really bad for the kitties.... 
But the link does have lots of info.

Kobster.....several teeth extractions per week for this? So it almost sounds common??


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## shybutterflygirl (May 13, 2011)

You're welcome catloverami, I'll let everyone know how she does.

Thanks meezer_lover and kobster for the information, I appreciate it. I hope it doesn't turn more serious and that I can keep it at bay. 

Any advice on getting cats used to (or at least more tolerant of tooth brushing?


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

The clinic where I work has a referral dentistry unit, so we see all the major dental work from all the area veterinarians. SO its probably not as common as that makes it sound, but common enough for me to know that though it sounds drastic to pull all his teeth, he will be fine and better off for it.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Respectfully, Nelly, Human dentistry and Animal dentistry are different. Stomatitis is not run of the mill gingivitis. There is a difference. Its a real condition, it is immune mediated and resolves with the full extraction of all teeth. Fact.


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