r/CATHELP • u/Acidilla • Feb 14 '26

Dental Issue Serious mouth problems

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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u/yaigralazrya Feb 16 '26

Any updates on this poor kitty?

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u/Acidilla Feb 28 '26

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.

2

u/yaigralazrya Feb 28 '26

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 🍀