Gingivitis in Cats - Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Content

• Symptoms of Gingivitis in Cats
• Causes of Gingivitis in Cats
• Feline Gingivitis Treatment
• Prevent gingivitis in your cat

The cat is one of the domestic mammals with the fewest teeth, it is 30 and, like other mammals, it loses its baby teeth between 4 and 6 months. The health of the cat's mouth is critical as it uses its mouth to hunt, clean itself and, of course, feed.

Gingivitis is the gum inflammation It is a frequent problem in cats and if not treated properly it can get worse. This problem can affect cats of all ages but occurs more often in young or young adults.

In this article by PeritoAnimal we will explain everything about gingivitis in cats, its symptoms, causes, treatment and prevention.

Symptoms of Gingivitis in Cats

To help a cat with gingivitis, the first thing to do is identify the problem. Gingivitis usually starts with a thin red line along the gums, in addition to the swollen, red gums. A cat with gingivitis will have ache and can eat, especially refusing dry food because this type of food is hard and causes more discomfort and pain than wet and soft food, it can also have bad breath and fail to clean itself.

Gum pain can cause behavior changes like depression, your cat may become more irritable and may even bite itself more. The most important signs we can see in cats with gingivitis are:

• loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Difficulty swallowing (dry food)
• Don't let it touch your mouth
• Bad breath
• Excessive salivation
• behavior changes

It is important to emphasize that many other conditions of the mouth and teeth, other than gingivitis, will cause these same symptoms, so if you observe these signs you should consult a veterinarian for him to make a diagnosis and confirm that it is gingivitis.

Causes of Gingivitis in Cats

The first thing we want to avoid is a bad oral and dental hygiene, dental plaque contains toxins that can cause gingivitis, which is usually associated with the presence of tartar.

But the cause of gingivitis is not necessarily poor dental hygiene, there are other factors that can favor the triggering of gingivitis in your cat: a diet with soft ration, an immunological problem associated with bacterial activity.

Feline gingivitis can also be caused by a virus in mouth of your cat: the most common virus to blame for the appearance of gingivitis is the calicivirus. You can vaccinate your cat regularly to immunize it against calicivirus.

Feline leukemia virus can also be a triggering cause of feline gingivitis, as well as kidney failure. You will find in PeritoAnimal some tips for removing tartar in cats.

Feline Gingivitis Treatment

In cases of mild or moderate gingivitis, usually the veterinarian can give some painkillers and then to control the cat's bacterial plaque indicate antibiotics in conjunction with mouth cleaning and dental polishes, in addition to brushing at home and mouth rinses.

If some teeth show odontoclastic resorption, the affected teeth must be extracted. In cases of cats suffering from calicivirus, a specific treatment with interferons will be done to fight the virus.

US more advanced cases or severe, complete extraction of teeth affected by gingivitis should be performed.

Prevent gingivitis in your cat

The best and only really efficient measure to prevent the appearance of gingivitis in your cat is brush your teeth.

Brushing a cat's teeth may not be an easy task, so we advise you to get your cat used to it since it's a puppy. brush your teeth some 3 times a week, using a cat toothpaste, as human toothpaste contains fluoride that can be toxic to your cat.

Brushing your teeth also allows prevent oral problems overall and it is a good opportunity for you to check your cat's oral health status.

This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.