Spikes Update

[K & L]

Oh gosh poor Spike....they had to pull 11 teeth and sent a biopsy out to check for cancer. Now I'm worried. We never look inside our cats mouths, but we're sure going to start. I'm praying it isn't cancer.
:(

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid61/p946b57570a2bdef10240727b5dc3fa25/fc3cc836.jpg

[RedHedd]

Oh Spike! We've got our paws crossed and are saying kitty prayers that the biopsy is negative. Gentle skritches and kitty kisses coming your way.

I have to take both Mitzi and Mishi in to have their teeth done -- I just can't afford it right now! This thread is making me think I should have it done now anyway and hope that my credit card companies don't come running after me until I get my Xmas bonus!

[K & L]

Thank you! Does anyone check inside their cats mouth? I feel so guilty now!

[Barbara]

Yes I check, after Filou had lost one tooth! Poor Xeline (the Aby my friend took in) had 3 bad teeth already at the age of 2 which made her grumpy and made her first owner (a breeder:mad: ) think she could not get along with the other cats!

Some Abys seem to be prone to gingivitis and parodontitis but even Tigris who is as healthy as can be had one tooth cleaning in his 7 years.

All the best for Spike who looks like a handsome and manly boy:)

But don't feel guilty - you never learn enough about cats!

[K & L]

Oh gosh now I even feel worse. They check their teeth etc. on vet visits, but I never thought to do this on our own. Spikes teeth were fine on his last visit!

[K & L]

Spikey's coming home this evening! Now we just have to wait for the biopsy, which will take about a week.

[rg_girlca]

You and Spike will be in my prayers that everything will turn out just fine.

[jenluckenbach]

Prayers for Spike. Amber has some unknown re-occuring gum thing going on too. I do not check inside the mouth anywhere nearly as often as I should, but sometimes I will sneak a peek. I usually only get to look along the outside gumline, not actually inside the mouth, though.

[K & L]

I/We never check since they do this at the vet. Learned our lesson though! It's weird cause everything was fine on his last visit.

He's home and doesn't look real happy, although he did try and eat a bit. They tested him for FIV/FELV (which he had been when he was a kitten) cause they say this is one cause of this problem. Luckily he again tested negative! Now we have to administer medication twice a day and let me tell you Spike is THE worst one to do this to. When we had our flea problem we never got the pill down Spike, even with the piller! This is going to be a treat! The vet had quite the time with him:eek: !

[auggie]

Poor Spike! Are you giving him antibiotics and pain pills?
His mouth must be so sore after getting 11 teeth pulled.
All paws here are crossed for a negative biopsy.
I haven't checked my cats teeth and gums in a while either.

[RedHedd]

Aw Poor Spike! Is he eating? After something that sounds so traumatic as having 11 teeth pulled, is he on a special diet of any kind like A/D? My vet said they usually give that to kitties after surgery because it's easy for them to digest and is higher in calories to help them heal. Gentle kisses and prayers coming for a speedy recovery. ;)

[NoahsMommy]

Sweet, GORGEOUS, Spike....we'll be praying over here that you don't have cancer and those pulled teeth are the end of this problem. :)

Take care.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Prayers and positive thoughts are on the way for Spike. I only occasionally check out my cats teeth. I can't check Cirrus's though because he's semi-feral. So far Storm and Sunny have both had their teeth cleaned. Luckily they didn't need to have any teeth pulled. I hope that Spike isn't in too much pain. Please keep us updated.

[Barbara]

I find it difficult to understand how eleven teeth can be so bad after they have been ok at the last vet visit that they have to be extracted now. Usually these teeth problems start with bad breath (in Filou's case with a hint of Thai fish sauce smell) and red gums.

So maybe he has something more complicated.

You shouldn't feel bad -I had never checked my earlier cat's teeth. Filou just lost one of his fangs at the age of 3 -I thought that his breath (which was not VERY bad) came because he's a meat eater.

You never stop learning about cats.

I hope Spike gets along well with his problems. I suppose he will need antibiotics. We send our best thoughts over to him:)

[HayleyRosie]

Poor little Spike. I will be praying that everything will be okay. Please keep us updated.

[bisi.cat]

Oh poor Spike!!!
I hope everything will work out fine for you!!!

Please, don't be too hard on yourself K&L for not checking Spike's teeth...although Nellie is a lovely girl she goes furious when we try to examin her teeth and even at the vet they need two persons to get her mouth open...

Oh my, what a shock! I have never checked my cats' teeth yet! I don't think they would like that very much either...:(
I wonder, how did you notice then that something was wrong with Spike's teeth? I cannot help wondering why the vet didn't notice during the last visit!:confused: :confused:

All the best with poor Spike!!

[ScantyNebula]

So what exactly should you look for when checking out your cat's mouth? When do you know its a good time to bring them to the vet?

Oh - Spike, I am thinking of you and hoping you will be fine.

[K & L]

Originally posted by lut
Oh my, what a shock! I have never checked my cats' teeth yet! I don't think they would like that very much either...:(
I wonder, how did you notice then that something was wrong with Spike's teeth? I cannot help wondering why the vet didn't notice during the last visit!:confused: :confused:

All the best with poor Spike!!

Spikes last visit was over a year ago so I guess a lot can happen between then and now. They suspect more than just a tooth or gum problem, but said it would cost a few hundred dollars to run the testing. We opted not to do this since they feel they can get the problem resolved, this alone has cost us over $500! They ran tests for FIV/FELV, which thankfully came back negative. They did a biopsy for cancer and we'll know the results of that in about a week to 10 days.

What gave us the first clue, a couple of months ago we had a flea problem where we had to pill all the cats for tapeworms. When we tried to pill Spike we noticed his mouth bled, but at that time, thought we just nicked his gum or something. Then this past month he started getting even crankier than his usual self so we took him in. It took the vet all he could do to even look in his mouth (one reason we've never checked). Spike's our difficult child when it comes to medicating, putting him in a carrier, etc. I'm just glad we got him in when we did. Anyway, if the biopsy comes back negative, all should be well now! He will be on antibiotics for a bit and will go back in 3 weeks for a well check!

[catmandu]

Poor Spike! My siamese Cat sam lost 10 teeth in his last visit and had the same procedure! Thank God that it came ot Negative. I am praying that Spike is Ok as well , and there is no cancer. Sam id ok now , except for when he eats too fast , he loses his dinner! Prayers are on their way!