What is Feline Stomatitis?
What is stomatitis?
Feline stomatitis is a painful inflammatory disease of the mouth that we see in cats infrequently. When severe, cats can lose weight, have bad breath, drool, drop food, eat less or stop eating, hiss or vocalize at their meals, and stop grooming.
What causes stomatitis?
It’s frustrating, but we (meaning the veterinary medical community) don’t know what causes stomatitis! It’s a weird response from the immune system to something in the body. Feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus, and Bartonella are suspected in the disease process, but unfortunately the link to stomatitis is not fully understood.
How do you diagnose stomatitis?
We usually diagnose stomatitis based on a visual exam of your cat’s mouth. Inflammation - red, angry tissue - that extends from the gums to the back of the mouth is what we see most often. Biopsy (taking a sample of the tissue in the mouth) may be recommended to confirm diagnosis.
Is there a way to prevent stomatitis?
Unfortunately, because the exact cause is unknown, there is no way to prevent this disease.
What is the treatment for stomatitis?
Stomatitis is a chronic disease that can require life-long treatment. The first step in the treatment of stomatitis is removal of some or all of the teeth - many (60-80% or more) cats respond favorably to this! Generally, all premolars and molars will be removed, leaving the canines and incisors (these teeth are removed if there is obvious inflammation around them). It’s important to note that this decision is made by the doctor at the time of dental cleaning, after full-mouth x-rays are performed.
Dr. Tanner’s cat, Oliver, was diagnosed with stomatitis at 2 years of age. He had the majority of his teeth extracted and now he feels great! Dr. Tanner can confirm that he eats dry food, wet food, and an occasional taco without any problems. (Yes he likes tacos, no we don’t know why.) If you want to know more about her experience with stomatitis and how she talked to her family about the treatment, please ask her - she loves nothing more than talking about her cat.
It is important to note that the prognosis for stomatitis (with inflammation that extends beyond just the gums AND in cats over 1 year old), is best when surgical extractions are not delayed by multiple attempts at controlling inflammation with antibiotics and/or steroids. Extractions should be the FIRST step in the treatment of stomatitis, not the last.
References
Original material sourced and abbreviated from Dr. Mary E. Buelow, DVM, DAVDC - Animal Dental Specialist. Meow.]