06 Feb Quality of a Cat’s Life Absolutely Depends on a Healthy Mouth
It doesn’t take much time for me as a Veterinary Dental Specialist ™ to know if cats have oral pain. Demeanor and disposition are tell-tale signs such as unwillingness to groom, hiding when normally very social, and crying a lot around the food bowl. You can also look a cat in the eyes, and there’s a hollow, lack of glistening present. I see it enough to know something isn’t right. Could something else be going on, such as GI disease or other systemic disease? Sure, it could. But by the time I see a pet, blood work has already been done by the referring vet to rule out other problems such as diabetes, kidney disease or hyperthyroidism.
Another total fact, that you can take to the bank, is your pet will feel tremendously better when the mouth is free of pain and disease. If a cat has tooth resorption or infected gums and surrounding bone (periodontitis), treating this is such a relief of pain that by the time I see him/her for their 14-day recheck, the eyes is brighter, the desire to be more social has returned, and all odor that was once in the mouth is now gone.
Treatment of oral pain in cats is the true recipe for getting your cat into a happy space, and the quality of life they had when they were younger has returned. We have so many clients that have sent positive reviews after their cat’s oral procedure, and the overwhelming theme is twofold: they didn’t appreciate how much pain their cat was in before treatment and, secondly, how quickly they returned to their happy space once that disease was treated successfully. What a great story to know!
We humans do not want to live in pain as the airwaves are filled with medications to help us feel better. It’s a billion-dollar industry addressing discomfort both using OTCs and prescription meds. However, in this situation, pain meds only mask the pain, not treat it. Therefore, we need to remove the source of the discomfort so that, over time, no medication will be needed.
Look in your cat’s eyes and watch its demeanor. If you suspect your cat has oral disease, don’t let it percolate. Give us a call or talk to your family vet, and let’s make sure your cat isn’t suffering unnecessarily.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (02/06/2025) Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (02/06/2025) Photo by Chewy on Unsplash
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (02/06/2025) Photo by Aleksandar Cvetanovic on Unsplash