Cats Can Have Sore Gums - Really Sore!

During our recent trip to California, we visited the Wild Animal Park in Escondido, not far north of San Diego. It is affiliated with the San Diego Zoo. The animals, instead of being in cages or small pens, roam over acres of California countryside that is very similar to parts of Africa.

In a corner of the lion acreage there is a sort of shallow cavern, built against the fence. The floor and ceiling are comprised of large flat rocks and the back wall is heavy one-way glass. In the heat of day, there were three young lions lounging on the cool shaded bench of the cavern, lying right against the back wall. We were watching them from a few inches away on the other side of the glass. When one of the lions yawned, I could look right into his mouth, at his huge white shiny fangs, down into his throat. His tongue was about 4 inches wide.

Harley's teeth looked like a miniature copy of the lion's teeth except Harley had a bad case of gingivitis. Harley had stopped eating. He is only four years old so his owner was surprised when I told him the problem was severely inflamed gums and periodontal disease. The disease is called feline stomatitis/gingivitis.

It can be caused by some types of allergic reactions, and is sometimes associated with feline leukemia, or other viral and bacterial infections. By far the most common cause, however, is an inflammatory reaction to plaque.

Plaque is a clear mucus-like coating that forms on teeth. It comes from bacterial growth in food residue and particles in the mouth. You can remove plaque by brushing, but after about 24 hours plaque begins to form hard brown mineral deposits, like limestone. It is called tartar and can only be removed by scraping with dental instruments or an ultrasonic scaler.

Plaque and tartar form on human's and dog's teeth too, but only cats commonly develop severe inflammation - stomatitis/gingivitis. You may be able to prevent the inflammation by brushing at least once a day, and applying topical medication, along with dental cleaning and polishing by your veterinarian once or twice a year.

The disease can start in young cats, sometimes even in kittens, and once it starts, it is very difficult to control and practically impossible to cure. The inflammation of the gums eventually begins to erode the roots of the teeth, forming large cavities, and it can spread into the surrounding tissue of the mouth, creating large raw ulcers. It is very painful. Affected cats may approach the food dish and when they open their mouth, cry out and jump back. It is often very difficult or impossible to open their mouths for examination.

Daily drugs to reduce inflammation, daily brushing, topical medication, and dental cleaning once or twice a year can slow the progression of the disease. In many cases, it becomes necessary, sooner or later, to extract all the teeth except the large fangs and the tiny incisors in the front of the mouth.

People are often appalled at this and wonder how the cat is going to eat without teeth. It is rarely a concern. Harley was eating well, crunching dry food with his gums, two days after we pulled all his teeth.

I did a little research and could find no evidence that lions get stomatitis. Many of the lions in museum exhibits show signs of other dental disease - mostly broken teeth. There is some evidence that dental disease can make lions more likely to hunt domestic animals and humans.