# gingivitis, will it go away?



## ionestar (Jun 18, 2004)

Hi everyone since the past 8 months I've been treating my cat for gingivitis. His teeth aren't bad but his gums and the back of his thoat are red. it kind of look like this: Picture of teeth. I have tried 5 different vets so far and they all give him steroids and some kind of antibiotics. On the last visit the vet gave him Depo metrol, antibiotics and Baytrel. They all say that he might never get cured, is it worthy that I continue with this treatments? Every month I spend almot $150. Another option they say wold be to remove his teeth, would that work? is it very expensive? One last question, my cat bite his toe nails, what does it mean?

_EDITED by Superkitties to fix URL length_


----------



## vanillasugar (Nov 11, 2004)

Have they done a cleaning? Like put him under and actually cleaned his teeth? I don't see how taking his teeth OUT would help anything, unless his teeth are rotting out and causing bacteria. 

Buddy has gingivitis. He has since he was a kitten. The vet noted it and said it was odd for a cat that young to have gingivitis, but it's never something we've done any treatment for, and he's just fine.

Nya on the other hand has bad plaque on her teeth, and some gingivitis as well. She's due for a dental cleaning, and they've never suggested any other form of treatment...


----------



## ionestar (Jun 18, 2004)

He has very bad breath but his teeth are white. One of the vet I saw said That he doesn't think his teeth is the cause. After the treatment his gums get better but only for few days. I don't know for how long I'll be doing this. It is a bit expensive and I don't know if my Mishu is in pain. I notice he bites his toe nails and likes to bite plastic bags.


----------



## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

The biting doesn't mean anything and doesn't have anything to do with the gingivitis.

It sounds like what your cat has is stomatitis. Check out this article and see if it sounds like that's what you're dealing with:

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/health/gingivitis.html


----------



## vicki (Oct 30, 2005)

how old is your cat?
if it is young (less than 3) it could be suffering juvenile gingivitis, this is normal and most times will go away. it does sound like stomatitis, which is something that just happens, a lot of cats have some sort of permanant gingivitis. a dental would be a good idea, when cleaning teeth the probe is placed right under the gum line to flush out any bacteria, this may help and would be the strating point. we sometimes do remove all the cheek teeth in cats with chronic stomatitis that have responded to no other treatments, this is usually in older cats but we've done it in young ones too, they've been fine after. as long as your cat doesnt seem in pain with his mouth, he will be fine. i dont want to scare monger you but have you had your cat tested for FIV/Felv? a common sign of FIV is lesions/redness/gingivitis in the mouth. it might be worth doing that just to rule it out.
good luck x


----------



## Kennewickman (Aug 12, 2006)

vicki said:


> how old is your cat?
> if it is young (less than 3) it could be suffering juvenile gingivitis


Is that 3 years or 3 months? I ask because my 5 month old kittens both have red inflammation on the gums, but perfectly clean and white teeth - but they are also dealing with a bout of an URI, complete with conjunctivitis. Maybe FHV related, but the vet could not be positive. There is no FeLV/FIV and they are current on the standard 4in1 vaccinations (I forget the name, but it's the common one).

I am giving them their ointment (I forget the antibiotic) 3x day plus clavimox 2x day. The vet seemed concerned about what she called *possibly*juvenile onset stomatitis ... I am just hoping it's a symptom of the illness. I'll have to wait for the drugs to run out (they've only been on them a couple days now) so see what happens. They act just fine, running all over the place acting like typical crazy kittens ... and crunch their food, eating like pigs.

They are Maine **** - and I've read they can be prone to gingivitis. I am hoping it's just their illness causing this, and not permanent. Also, aren't their final teeth still erupting? Wouldn't this aggravate the condition further? I hate the thought of having to get teeth pulled down the road if brushing and yearly dentals aren't enough. I hope it's just a passing thing.


----------



## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I think it's unlikely that juvenile onset stomatitis would affect multiple cats at the same time. Antibiotics mess with the normal chemistry of the alimentary canal; perhaps you're on track with your own diagnosis. Hopefully when they're well regular tooth brushing will get those gums back in the pink. :wink:


----------



## ionestar (Jun 18, 2004)

since the topic came up again ... Mishu is now 2 years old and still has stomatitis, Although his teeth look clean. his gums get red and his throat as well ... he gets in pain and every two months or so I take him to the vet .. they give him steroids and antibiotics, the latter for about a week... until he is in pain again ... I feel very bad for him but this is the third vet 
I see and they all tell me the same, there's not cure  his gum now looks like the second picture: http://images.google.com/imgres?img...=&safe=off&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-16,GGLG:en&sa=X

his throat looks like this: http://www.vin.com/Tools/ShowPicture.plx?B=4&URL=/ImageDBPub/IM05000/IMC00593.jpg

on Jannuary the vet prescribed Hill's Science Diet dry food, which has large kibble to keep his teeth clean. Well I went on vacation on Jannuary and my pet sitter fed him this dry food and just a bit of canned food and his gums cleared up, until the dry food finished then after a while the redness came back so I wonder if wet food is contributing to all this.


----------

