| Posted on January 24, 2012 at 11:05 PM |
Gum disease in cats is painful and can be avoided or minimized by feeding a healthy diet and by bushing your cat's teeth and gums several times a week (Ideally daily). We use a wet terry wash cloth to scrub the cat's teeth, as we find it easy to manipulate white holding the cat.
What does gum disease look like in cats? It has severe inflammation around the canines (pointy teeth) and premolars. Purebred cats with either Persian or Siamese ancestry are more likely to have this condition. Nevas (aka "Blue eyed Siberians) were developed by mating Siberians to Himalayans and Ragdolls to "improve their coats and color." Unfortunatley these cats also inherited the many diseases of these other breeds, not just the blue eyes!
What are the signs of this disease you may notice at home?
Causes and Risk Factors - Actual cause unknown, bacterial, viral and immunologic etiologies are suspected. Significant findings of feline coronavirus were found in one study. It is likely several factors, one of which is a weak immune system - often caused by too many generations of inbreeding by a breeder in order to "set show type" or breed a well selling color or size cat.
What is the Treatment?
Teeth Cleaning: First line therapy involves teeth cleaning above and below the gingiva as well as strict home care. Unfortunately, lack of permanent response to conventional oral hygiene, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and immunosupressives is typical and extraction is often needed.
Extractions, partial removal of bone, and deep cleaning in more serious cases: Currently, the only treatment that will deliver consistent results of 70% cure without the use of follow up medications, are extractions of all the teeth distal to the canines. In addition to extraction, all quadrants are flapped and a bur is used to remove a trough of bone where the roots were, thus removing most of the keritinized gingiva, periodontal ligament and periradicular alveolar bone.
In some cases all teeth must be removed if there is no improvement after partial removal. You want to be sure you are working with a feline dental specialist as the exact steps and techniques to ensure that all of the keratanized gingivitis and all pieces of tooth are completely removed. Postoperative application of fluocinonide 0.05% (Lidex Gel) to the gingival margin helps in the healing process.
Drugs: There are many drugs that your Veterinarian may prescribe. It is diffuclt to medicate cats so consider asking your vet to have the medication compounded. This adds a flavour palatable to your Siberian making pilling or liquid medicating a bit easier.You may need to bring the name and contact information of a compounding pharmacy to your Vet. Not all Vets commonly have meds compounded. Here is a link:
Link to a compounding pharmacy.
The high rate of disease in cat breeds developed from Persians, Himalyans, and Siamese is one of the reasons ForestWind Siberians spend so much time, effort, and money to locate and import pure Siberian lines for breeding. Making this even more challenging is the need to locate low COI (cats who are not inbred) lines. However, avoiding Siberians who were outcrossed to develop a fluffy show type cat results in healthier kittens and long lived pets for you.
Categories: Problem Solving, Health & Disease, Care Practices