|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 22, 2015 21:13:43 GMT
Well it seems the inevitable has finally happened and Carlotta's horrible teeth have caught up with her. She has had absolutely disgusting, brown teeth since we got her (and she was only about 6 years old then) and she had one removed I think last year due to a severe gum infection. The vet didn't bother to clean any of her other teeth during the operation but ah well, I know to ask for that next time, as inevitably there will be a next time with teeth that bad.
Anyway she had been acting a little sorry for herself the last couple days and I noticed last night and the night before she wasn't really keen on her food. I thought maybe it was coz I had been coming in and out of the room and she really hates that. I wondered about her teeth though and tried to have a look at them but it's hard to see anything. They look as bad as ever.
Anyway I watched her eat tonight and I noticed a few things. Firstly (and if it matters, she was having chicken hearts and liver tonight, both are very soft) she was really licking the food quite a bit and making funny noises as she swallowed, hard to explain really, almost like a hiccup or something. I had a quick panic that she had something stuck in her throat but I can't see any other indication of anything and she hasn't actually had bones to eat at all this week so it can't be that (not that they should be an issue, she's actually fantastic at eating bones).
Second, she would try chewing a heart and keep dropping it out her mouth, and then give up and go onto another one and do the same thing. She'd manage to swallow a few bits but overall ate hardly anything from the meal. My man suggested putting the food into a small blender to mash it up for her, so I'll try that and see if she'll have it then as I don't want her to go hungry.
She is acting just like she did when she had her gum infection and rotten tooth before and she does seem to have pain in her mouth rather than anywhere else so I am pretty certain it it her teeth. I will take her to the vets tomorrow morning and find out. I really hope she doesn't have to have any more teeth out as she hardly has any left and she loves crunching on chicken wings and necks (she's a pro!) but she quite likes minced meat (Mieze despises it) and the raw food shop does a mushy cat mix (I always refuse it when they suggest it as why feed that when your cats love full cuts of meat!) so we can continue raw feeding her if she has to have them out.
I know I seem like I'm totally biased and I suppose I am in a way, but I do think her previous diet is the cause of her teeth issues. She seems to have major allergies to something in pet meat, even dried chicken treats make her vomit and all commercial cat food no matter how good makes her vomit for three days straight no matter what. Before we put her on raw she was vomiting every single day, and vomiting isn't good for the teeth, not to mention the fact that if she was vomiting that much then she couldn't have been getting much nutrition from her food.
She hardly every vomits now, I can't even remember the last time although at least one of the cats was sick while we were in the Netherlands according to our cat sitter so it could well have been then.
Anyway I will let you guys know how the vet visit goes tomorrow and if she takes to the blended mush I am about to create for her now haha. I'm not sure whether she will eat it or not. She seems to have given up on eating after her failed attempt at the hearts and just wants to go into the living room to sleep.
|
|
|
Post by migsy on Sept 22, 2015 21:48:27 GMT
Good luck with the vet visit tomorrow smilesbetter,what a pity she didn't have the teeth cleaned etc while she was already knocked out.It does sound like her mouth is uncomfortable when trying to eat,but at least she is seeing the vet very soon.
|
|
|
Post by tonib on Sept 22, 2015 22:30:16 GMT
Hope all goes well with the vet visit tomorrow smilesbetter.
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 22, 2015 23:27:27 GMT
Thanks, will let you guys know how it goes! No luck with the mushy chicken tonight unfortunately. She is snoozing on the couch now looking terrible. Can't wait to get her to the vets and get this sorted out. She really worries me sometimes!
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 23, 2015 8:20:01 GMT
Been to the vets, her back teeth are looking terrible. She's booked in for a teeth cleaning (and possibly removal) on Monday. If she's still not eating by then I'm to go back to the vets again. I think last night she didn't try the puréed stuff because she had given up eating after trying the hearts, so tonight I will offer her her food puréed the first time and hopefully she will eat it. If not I'm going into full blown panic mode haha.
The vet also remarked on how old she's looking as was gobsmacked when I said she was only 8ish now. He's going to do a blood test on Monday too to see if there is anything else up.
The vet was fantastic with her, great. I mentioned that she had had a bad experience with a vet recently and he was so gentle with her and let her go back into her carrier when she wanted to, since he'd already seen the teeth and established that she needed an operation, so he said he can examine her again properly when she is anaesthetised.
My poor Carlotta! I really hope I can get her to eat her tea tonight. She is looking terrible, just like the last time she had a problem with her tooth.
I have to say, I'm not expecting her to live into her 20s like some peoples cats do, her allergies seem to have taken a good few years off her life and we do regularly joke about the granny noises she makes and the fact she acts like a little old lady. She has spent the first years of her life as far as I know very regularly vomiting, and clearly not getting the nutrition she needs from her food (because how can you when you keep vomiting the majority of it up). I wouldn't be surprised if she had further issues in addition to the teeth ones, as before we changed her diet she would vomit 12 hours after eating pure undigested food from her previous meal (and what seemed to be the entirety of her meal). It's pure luck we got Rosa and discovered raw feeding was so easy as I'd have never tried it before and it really is the only thing that's worked to stop Carlotta's vomiting, but it can't reverse the past 7 or so years unfortunately.
Wish she could get the operation sooner!! It's only Wednesday!! Haha I know most of you dread operations for your pets but I like to get them over and done with, especially when my pet won't eat because of the thing she needs the operation for and is looking dreadful as a result of starving herself (and presumably infection from the manky teeth). In fact I think I'll phone and see if there's anything sooner. The vet said next week but I mean she looks terrible (to be fair she looks terrible immediately whenever she's ill, no matter the illness) and I'm terrified she won't even make it to Monday at this rate. When Mieze or Rosa are ill I feel confident they can handle it, but with Carlotta... She's so frail.
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 23, 2015 8:28:09 GMT
Okay haha she is now getting to operation tomorrow at 11. She's not to eat anything from this evening. I'll try giving her some super finely chopped food now but I'm pretty sure she won't eat anything anyway.
|
|
|
Post by lotsofcats on Sept 23, 2015 8:29:59 GMT
Poor Carlotta. I hope you can get her to eat - have you got a syringe just in case she won't eat by herself and you can squirt a bit at a time into her mouth. I don't think her past diet is the cause of her bad teeth, I think it's just that some cats get bad teeth and others don't. She's like my Kai Ruki - he's only 6 and he's had 8 teeth out already. His diet is the same as my other cats. Like Carlotta he was ill when he was younger so perhaps that plays a part in it? I don't feel that Kai Ruki will live to a good age either.
Just read that she is having her op tomorrow - that's a relief for you.
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 23, 2015 10:58:08 GMT
Well I chopped up some chicken for her and she's eaten a little bit of it, I'll try again with a little bit later and then leave it for the night as she's not to eat before her operation. lotsofcats I'm not blaming her diet per se, as Mieze is the same age as Carlotta and before we got her she ate that Purina One dry food her entire life and has pearly white teeth. I just mean that Carlotta's allergies to normal cat food are probably to blame, because she was vomiting almost every day (and vomit is really bad for your teeth, I think it's too acidic or something, that's why bulimic people often get really bad teeth) plus if you are vomiting almost all of your food then you aren't getting many nutrients from the food, as its being vomited up before it's been fully digested and therefore not gone through the system and had the right nutrients extracted at the right times, so poor nutrition would contribute to general poor health and one thing that might cause is bad teeth. We were just lucky that she seems to do so well on raw, as we had tried everything and it is the only thing that has ever worked for her. Even then, she can only eat chicken and turkey, and she can't even have dried chicken without being sick. And yeah possibly Kai Ruki being ill a lot when he was younger might have contributed to his bad teeth. How old is he now? She's just had a drink from Rosas water bowl and is stiffly walking around now. She's not moved much the past couple days so it's hardly surprising if she's a bit stiff. Hopefully the little bit of chicken will help make her feel a bit better. I'll be astounded if she has any teeth left by the time she's ten haha. Do they do false teeth for cats? I have seen a cats teeth being done before when I did work experience so I know it's a really common and routine operation, not really worried about that, even if she has to get teeth out, as she's had that before and was totally fine. And even if she has to have all her teeth out (her canines are streaky brown but otherwise look okay for now) it'll be fine, I'll make sure she can still enjoy her meals. More worried about the anaesthetic for some reason. She's just so small and frail, especially with her not having eaten much the past couple days. Also quite worried about what the blood test might reveal. I dread the day they tell me there is something seriously wrong with her, but I always expect it with her to be honest.
|
|
|
Post by tonib on Sept 23, 2015 18:42:02 GMT
Oh that's good news that they've moved Carlotta's operation forward smilesbetter. Hopefully they blood work won't show up anything untoward & the dental work solves the eating problem, although you might have to give her a bland diet until the anaesthetic wears off & soft food for a while while her mouth heals. Will be thinking of you & Carlotta tomorrow.
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 23, 2015 19:58:22 GMT
She has a fairly bland diet anyway haha as she can only eat chicken or turkey. I've got some chicken breast for her to have tomorrow which should be fine for her. I'll chop it very fine again, she seemed to really like that today. Carlotta has made herself at home under my blanket in the sort of cozy cave made coz of the way I'm sitting
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 24, 2015 9:33:19 GMT
Carlotta is at the vets now, I get to pick her up at 3. The vet was amazed at how easy it was to weigh her and give her an injection, but Carlotta has hardly eaten for three days now so its to be expected. My man picked her up and put her on the couch this morning and she just stood there slightly swaying at first before lying next to me. She did have a burst of energy last night though, must have been the chopped chicken she'd had earlier.
Can't wait to get her home and better! She will feel so much better when this is dealt with. Just hope this gets to the bottom of it for a good while at least because obviously I don't want her to have to undergo loads of operations in the future, it's worrying enough this second time (because of the anaesthetic risk mainly). Anyway can only wait now!
|
|
|
Post by barley on Sept 24, 2015 12:46:06 GMT
Bless her, poor Carlotta. I hope all goes well and she is home with you soon. xx
Since Alfie had his teeth cleaned up, I've been really strict about brushing virtually everyday and it does seem to be helping loads. Would Carlotta let you brush her teeth? Logic gel can be used if not, that adheres to the teeth and helps clean them without actually having to brush.
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 24, 2015 13:40:51 GMT
Carlotta is home!! She's very drugged up so I've shut Rosa and Mieze away from her for now till she comes round a bit more. She's currently snoozing on a box but we evilly had a laugh watching her earlier trying to decide on a place to snooze, as she couldn't walk in a straight line and kept randomly collapsing. We got a wee vid haha: The vet said she's more worried about the blood test results, they should be ready tomorrow lunch time so I'm to phone up then. She said the operation went great, she didn't have to remove any teeth thankfully, just gave them a really good clean. Her teeth still don't look great but they are much better. She can have water from 6 o'clock tonight and she can eat from tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, so I'll give her a small meal then if she'll take it and give her her days food in small portions throughout the day. Mieze is going to be furious haha. Carlotta would not be too chuffed about having her teeth brushed barley. Not sure I could manage it anyway, she's very gummy, it's hard to even see the teeth. I think she wouldn't exactly let me, but she's a very weak cat and if I get her wrapped up well enough I can give her tablets with little fuss so I suppose I could maybe brush her teeth that way. Not sure the possible benefits would outweigh the daily trauma for her though. Her teeth are really bad and to be honest I think they will all end up coming out eventually. Even the vets cleaning could only do so much for her.
|
|
|
Post by lotsofcats on Sept 24, 2015 14:10:40 GMT
Poor Carlotta - can't eat until tomorrow? that seems a long time. I hope the results of the blood tests are good news. She's a bit wobbly on her feet - I hope she didn't hear you laughing at her!!
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 24, 2015 14:31:09 GMT
I think the vet is worried if she eats sooner she might not be able to swallow it or digest it properly as her body will still be suffering dome of the effects of the anaesthetic. She certainly still is, as she just tried to climb from one box to the other, fell off in slow motion, swaggered over the the couch and after a few attempts managed to get up and come for a cuddle, haha. Poor thing - I'm about to get up! Haha she won't remember us laughing at her, she'll think this was all a drunken dream
|
|