My cat has a severe gum infection. What treatment does he need?

I am sorry to hear that Sweety has a painful mouth. Unfortunately, gingivitis/stomatitis in cats can be very severe and quite debilitating. It can be made even worse in cats that have other immune issues, such as allergies or FeLV/FIV infections. Antibiotics and immune-suppressive medications can be used in mild cases. Thorough dental cleaning will help many of these cases more than just medical treatment. However, many cats will need all or most of their teeth pulled to ease the pain. The pain and inflammation is caused by an immune reaction to the tartar. Since we can't completely prevent tartar build up on the teeth, often removing the teeth is our only option. Obviously this is quite a bit more expensive than a simple teeth cleaning. I recommend discussing your options with the veterinarian that has treated Sweety as far as medications or financing for the dental cleaning. Here is some more information that you may find helpful: https://www.petcoach.co/article/7-smart-solutions-for-pet-care-financing/ http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=170

FIrst of all feed him only wet food for now, you will need to bring him to the vet quite urgently, from the sound of it he will probably need an invasive procedure to remove the remaining teeth as the teeth are usually the cause of the severe gum disease. he will also need antibiotics and anti inflammatories.

The medications should have an effect within a week or so but response is variable. Gingivitis can be complicated in cats as it can have an autoimmune component. Special foods can help with the condition and daily tooth brushing with pet toothpaste will help the most if Chibi will allow it. Some cats may eventually need all the teeth removed. Hopefully Chibi’s is not that serious and I hope she responds quickly to treatment. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It depends how bad the gums are at the moment, i usually recommend at least one week of antibiotic treatment prior to the procedure and continue the antibiotic treatment another 2 weeks after the procedure. if you are talking about total extraction (often it can be done without extracting the canines), it's important to provide adequate pain relief for after the surgery as some cats may stop eating if the recovery involves a lot of pain. wet food feeding is usually a must after the surgery for as long as needed.

If you are talking about the stomatitis (chronic inflammation in the gums) removing the teeth can sometimes be helpful. There are medications that I have seen help some (like Atopica). If you are going to be removing all of his teeth then I would recommend going to a veterinary dentist and have xrays done after to confirm that the roots are removed. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I find that only 2 treatments definitively help stomatitis. The first is to remove the teeth that are in the portion of the mouth that is affected. Current theories are that stomatitis is an immune-mediated reaction to the teeth themselves that may be precipitated by feline viral diseases (typically chlamydophila and calici) and that is why steroid drugs also help to calm the inflammation and improve the condition of the gums. Antibiotics are very limited in their efficacy, because they don't address the true problem.

Your cat may need to have his teeth cleaned and possibly some teeth extracted if her gums are swollen and not responding to the antibiotics. Call your vet and let him/her know that the antibiotics did not seem to help the swelling. Your vet may want to schedule a dental cleaning.