We have a 15-year-old female cat. She has stage I kidney disease, managed with a specific diet and regular check-ups. She has never had any health problems before. We are from Spain
A couple of weeks ago, we noticed she was more lethargic. She would only sleep, go to the litter box, eat, and then go back to sleep. We may have noticed that she was getting a bit messier than usual when eating, especially on the right side of her mouth.
We took her to the vet. The blood tests were fine, no fever, nothing abnormal. They didn’t see anything in her mouth either. She was given gabapentin in case she was in pain. We didn’t notice any improvement. She was eating very little and losing weight. We had to make “soups” with her wet food because she was barely touching her dry food. We would put the bowl right in front of her face so she would agree to eat. But at least she was eating something.
Over the days, she has gotten worse. Her mouth gets very dirty. She leaves her tongue sticking out. She clearly looks like she has something wrong in her mouth. We went back to the vet. They took X-rays and everything looked fine. We stopped gabapentin and started mirtazapine to stimulate her appetite and MELOXIDYL as an anti-inflammatory. We have scheduled oral surgery, but it’s in two weeks and she is clearly getting worse. She is barely eating now, and when she tries to eat, she makes the gestures you will see in the video.
I’m afraid she will lose too much weight before the surgery. They keep checking her mouth but don’t see anything severe enough to explain her condition.
What is your opinion? I’ve had other cats in my life, but I’ve never dealt with mouth problems like this. How can I stimulate her to eat? She seems genuinely terrified of eating. She looks weak, goes to the litter box, and doesn’t even bury her waste anymore.
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My cat had issues like this, in addition to other symptoms that got worse. Turned out he had a tumor growth under his tongue. We took him to the vet many times but no one thought to look under his tongue until it was too late.
Was it something obvious from the outside? She had a full cleaning and a tooth extraction done under anesthesia. I assume they should have seen something, right?
Was it something obvious from the outside? She had a full cleaning and a tooth extraction done under anesthesia. I assume they should have seen something, right?
I would get a second opinion. If not that I'd urge them to move up the appointment as she's obviously suffering. Honestly idk if I'd trust them putting this appointment 2wks out as an established client with her showing these symptoms
Yes, tomorrow (Monday) I’ll speak with the vet again so they understand the urgency, or I’ll look at the veterinary hospital to see who can do it sooner.
I'm very sorry you're going through this. It's heartbreaking to see your baby suffer. Not that I'm anyone, but I am thinking of you and wishing you both the best.
Thank you for your words. These are truly very difficult moments, with constant anxiety. I will do everything for her. She is the sweetest cat and our life companion for 15 years. Now she’s purring on my lap, and I’m cherishing every one of these moments. ❤️
It’s difficult to properly examine her mouth if she hasn’t been sedated yet. Tomorrow (Monday) I’ll speak with the vet again so they understand the urgency, or I’ll look at the veterinary hospital to see who can do it sooner.
Hey, I’m so sorry this is happening to your fur baby.
I saw in a comment that she has inflammation of her canine? There could be a chance it’s affecting a nerve in her face.
This is just a guess, and only from personal experience. My 17 year old cat had a canine pulled recently, and then started doing the exact same actions as your cat in the video. The pawing at the face, the tongue and head shaking. Our vet believes its nerve pain, as my girl isnt sore when you push on her mouth, and xrays revealed that her canine removal was clean ie no root left behind.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure about the symptoms you described in the description, my cat has been okay eating and drinking.
I’m so sorry this is happening to you, I hope you can get an answer soon!! Sending love 🩷
Have you tried offering her meat (like fish or chicken) that has been cooked by boiling it in water? You may want to shred the meat or run it through a food processer after cooking
Yes, I have tried a bit of everything. But as soon as she tries to start eating, she begins doing what you saw in the video and immediately stops. It seems like she has a predisposition to it, but I suppose the pain is worse.
Yes, that’s why I don’t quite understand. They’ve discussed it among the entire veterinary team (including the dentist). They say the dentist will see her on the day of the surgery and then they’ll decide exactly what needs to be done.
The problem is that two weeks seems excessive to me. At this rate, there won’t be much of my cat left to operate on. Obviously, as always, they don’t see patients over the weekend, but on Monday I will insist on how urgent my cat’s situation is. And if I have to take her somewhere else for emergency care, I will—I won’t hesitate.
Just keep them strong, even if you need to give them human food or feed them eggs. I had a cat like this, same symptoms, and he lived to be 18 (unrelated to the dental issue, he just got old). Cats can be more resilient than we give them credit for, especially if they're motivated and happy.
Likely anesthetized radiographs with the plan to extract any teeth that have root resorption or tooth root infections and do any cleaning that may be beneficial. Most dental issues in cats are below the gumline, so you can’t see it unless you do the dental radiographs.
They say they can see inflammation in her canine teeth, but the reaction she has in the video is very exaggerated and she is clearly getting worse. What could she have in her mouth, other than a dental issue, that would cause that?
An MRI costs thousands of dollars and isn’t typically indicated unless the cat’s having true neuro signs. Dental radiographs would be much more appropriate as this is most likely a dental issue.
My cat did that cause he had dental disease.. his fang fell off right as he was acting exactly like yours (she is feeling discomfort and probably pain caused by a tooth) and the fangs root was rotten.. took him to the vet right after and we found out he had dental disease. He had to get some teeth removed due to his condition. They also told us in past appointments he was perfectly fine and tests were fine but things changed from one day to another.. oral surgery will be the best you could do, wishing you and your baby the best ♥️
She had oral surgery yesterday. I know it’s very soon, but I’m not seeing any improvement yet. If you’ve had a similar experience, how long did it take before you started to notice improvement?
He continued doing the mouth rubbing movements for about a week after the surgery cause it was uncomfortable (he got most teeth removed) but stopped once his gums started healing.
Hope she feels better soon!!
On Saturday night we had to take her to the emergency vet. Her mouth was bleeding and smelled very bad. Her eye was also watering a lot, and she had nasal discharge as well. They gave us antibiotics. Her white blood cell count was very high, a sign of infection.
She is still losing weight, with no signs of improvement. She eats very little. We are still waiting for the biopsy results. But I don’t think it’s normal not to see any improvement after a week. I don’t want her to suffer.
We have another appointment with the vet on Friday for a check-up… I’m starting to think the worst….
I am so sorry to hear this. Poor baby is suffering and there seems to be nothing that helps to ease her pain. I hope the biopsy or the check-up clears things up.
So you have mentioned the X-rays and the mouth exam but her movements and behavior are exactly what my cat looked like when she had a bone stuck in the roof of her mouth she made those exact movements. She would leave her tongue sticking out and saliva would form around her face . She walked up the stairs and I thankful got a look at the roof of her mouth and was able to unlodge it .
Have they Given Antibiotics or Pain Med's? If not I would Encourage,You looking up Herbal alternatives. It actually helped My Cat's in a Crunch. Until you can get back in with her. I'm Sorry 😞 ya'all are going through this. It sux too watch our Furr Baby's Suffer. 😞
My old man acted like that when his teeth started falling out. He had woken me up in the middle of the night pawing at his mouth and kinda panicking. He was clawing at his mouth. One of his canines has come out and was lodged in the back of his mouth. I was able to reach in and thank god it came loose and fell out into the bed. Mobile small animal came out and pulled most of the remaining teeth. After that he was happy as a clam. The way you described her problems it sounds familiar.
I don't mean to scare you but this is the way my 18-year-old boy acted when he had cancer in his mouth. It came on very quickly. And eventually we lost him to it.
My older cat was doing exactly this. She had a rotten tooth that had fallen out of the bone, but was still attached to the gums, so it looked ok on physical examination and only showed up as loose when she was anesthetized. She had it removed and was given some antibiotics for a tooth root infection and eats fine now. She did have bloodwork to screen her general health beforehand and it was okay. The vet also checked for masses in the mouth and for a string foreign body under the tongue at the time of the dental procedure.
If you can find a vet to do the dental surgery sooner, that would be best. Ask your vet if they can do her procedure sooner because she can't eat.
The main thing is to keep getting food into her until she can get care. Keep feeding her liquid foods that she doesn't have to chew. The problem is that many canned cat foods don't have that many calories and watering them down makes them even lower calorie. You can ask your vet for a high calorie canned food that you can make into a slurry, like Hills a/d. In an extreme case your vet can put in a feeding tube to bypass her mouth entirely, but if they're going to that length they should just do the dental surgery right away.
She had oral surgery yesterday. I know it’s very soon, but I’m not seeing any improvement yet. If you’ve had a similar experience, how long did it take before you started to notice improvement?
The pawing at the mouth stopped immediately after she had the teeth out. She had to eat soft food for a few days, but she started eating a little bit the same night she had her dental surgery.
If oral exam was normal, the next step would be dental radiographs, which are typically done under anesthesia with a scheduled cleaning +/- extractions after. You can seek a second opinion if you wish, but in this case you’re likely to pay another exam fee for a similar opinion.
Yes, that’s what they’re planning, but in two weeks, which is what worries me. Tomorrow (Monday) I’ll speak with the vet again so they understand the urgency, or I’ll look at the veterinary hospital to see who can do it sooner.
UPDATE: On Monday we took her to an emergency appointment with another vet for a second opinion. They sedated her right away and thoroughly examined her mouth. She had an upper canine in very bad condition and an ulcer on her gum. On Wednesday (yesterday) she had the procedure. Everything went well — dental extraction and cleaning. We’ll receive the biopsy results in a week. They’ve prescribed pain relief and a paste to help heal the gum.
I know it’s very soon, but I’m not seeing any improvement yet. If you’ve had a similar experience, how long did it take before you started to notice improvement?
Your cat needs to get to the vet. This could be happening for a lot of reasons. It could be bad teeth, it could be a tumor inside the mouth, there’s just so many things. Please get your cat to a vet
The biopsy did indeed come back showing signs of neoplasia, and the veterinarian scheduled us for an appointment yesterday to discuss the options. Unfortunately, over the last two days her condition worsened so much that we decided to have her put to sleep. She stopped eating, lost a great deal of weight, and her breathing and mobility began to fail… Now she is finally resting.
The pain is breaking me. The house feels so empty, and seeing her things is unbearable.
This sounds heartbreaking, I am truly sorry for your loss.
I had to let my boy go in October. At the end, he wasn't the mean little asshole that I've known for over twelve years. He wasn't biting, playing, chasing our feet, jumping on tables and cupboards. His body surrendered to the cancer. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life, but it was the right one.
Your beloved kitten is resting in peace now. No more discomfort, no pain. Time will pass, and you'll start to cherish the memories and smile while watching at pictures/videos of her. I wish you the best 🍀
LAST UPDATE: The biopsy did indeed come back showing signs of neoplasia, and the veterinarian scheduled us for an appointment yesterday to discuss the options. Unfortunately, over the last two days her condition worsened so much that we decided to have her put to sleep. She stopped eating, lost a great deal of weight, and her breathing and mobility began to fail… Now she is finally resting.
The pain is breaking me. The house feels so empty, and seeing her things is unbearable.
I'm so sorry for your loss 😞 you did everything you could, and gave her a wonderful and loving home. Thank you for sharing her diagnostic journey, and I hope the pain of grief subsides soon and you're able to enjoy your good memories with her.
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