kitty issues

I don't know what's going on, but I seem to be having bad luck with cats this past year.  Lou had to have part of his tail amputated, Riley died unexpectedly from possible hemophilia, Prince disappeared, and George had to be put down due to old age.  Now, Leo has to go in and have all his teeth out.

Last month I noticed some brownish marks on his fur around his mouth.  I figured it was from his eyes; he's a Persian and his eyes weep.  But then he started making gnawing motions with the right side of his mouth.  We brought him to the vet and they talked about surgery, biopsy, a possible cancerous tumor, blood work, etc., to the tune of $1,000.00+.  They gave him an antibiotic injection to start, just in case it was only an infection.  He was OK for a couple weeks, but then a few days ago started the gnawing again and was drooling. So, back to the vet he went.  Although this time we went to cat-only vet we found nearby.  There were two reasons for that:  we've been wanting to try a cat-only vet, and we wanted a second opinion. And, really, a third reason: cost.

Leo had his appointment Friday and it turns out he has severe gingivitis, a possible secondary infection, and what may be a benign tumor caused by the gingivitis.  I wish the other vet had told us this.  My husband said they didn't mention gingivitis or teeth extraction.  I was freaking out about cancer, thinking it's the end for Leo.  It's still going to cost $1,000.00+, but at least I know the chance of cancer is pretty low.

I had all the blood work done while he was there; that turned out mostly normal.  He has a really high while blood cell count, but that's very likely due to the secondary infection he's got going on.  The doctor gave him another antibiotic injection and he seems comfortable at the moment.  He'll be going in for surgery probably next week.

Lesson learned here?  Make sure you bring your cats in for dental checkups, not just their annual vaccinations.  As they get older, they develop gingivitis and other problems, just like us humans.  I feel terrible that I didn't catch this much earlier, and now the poor guy has to have all his teeth out.

Here's some cuteness for you to enjoy.

 

Leo as a kitten.  This is the day I brought him home from the pet store in 2004. 

He's one of the only cats I ever bought at pet store; all the others are rescues.

 

Leo doing what he does best:  relaxing and looking cute.

 

Leo at the vet Friday.  Each examining room  has a cat tree. 

As you can tell, he had to try it out.  Looks like he approves.