Should I take him to the vet?

[femke]

Hello,

I have a four year old cat Koko. I love him absolutely to death and he's the best cat anyone could ever have. We have noticed now for quite a while that koko's breath is absolutely horrible... I mean you smell it and it is just gross... beyond gross... we never really thought anything of it and his teeth look fine to me. But now today I took a closer look and he's got little black spots around his mouth (not on his lips but right under there) on both sides. Also I have noticed that he is sticking out his tongue like almost all the time now, he never used to do that. He doesn't seem to be in any pain and isn't losing any weight, he eats just fine as far as i can tell.

I dont have a lot of money but im thinking maybe I should take him to the vet to get him looked at? Does anyone else know what the black spots could be? my husband said they look like flea eggs but I'm positive he does not have flea's.

any help would be appreciated!

 

[yuckaduck]

Unfortunately my knowledge on cats is nil but if it was me I would call the vet to see what they thought and if they advised me to come in I would. Good Luck!

 

[LorriF]

I agree. I think its worth calling the vet and see what they say. I know lots of times, I call them and get some advice before worrying about taking the animal in for a checkup

 

[yuckaduck]

I call my vet regularily because when it comes to the health of our animals if we are not positive it is best to ask. I think right now my vet is on speed dial with Yukon's injured leg and the prospect of a heartworm positive rescue coming in. He will like the pay check when it comes to him. But over the phone advice is free, and always worth asking.

 

[Saje]

Yup, just give them a call. Most vets don't charge for that and it's best to know!

 

[Sheba]

Hello,

I have a four year old cat Koko. I love him absolutely to death and he's the best cat anyone could ever have.

Are you so sure about that:


As of in his mouth-call the vet...as everyone lse had said, advice it free on the phone.

 

[femke]

Are you so sure about that

LOL yeah I am very sure about that. Everyone that knows him agrees LOL. His previous owner is actually been bugging us to get him back, but that ain't happening LOL.

Thanks for the advice you guys, I'm gonna call the vet on monday. I personally think it's a tooth/gum thing and so I will get it taken care of. I dont want him to be in any pain.

 

[femke]

Okay well he started drooling today so i'm past the calling the vet thing... I made an appointment for him tonight, He doesn't seem to be in any pain but i'm worried about him.

 

[Gustav]

Sounds like some sort of mouth ulcers! Or maybe an allergic reaction?! What did the vet say?! Poor old Koko! I hope he gets better soon!

 

[femke]

Thanks Gustav,

Well I took him to the vet and what I feared is true. It's his teeth and gums. I told the vet I didn't understand coz he's not even five years old, and she's like are you sure he's that young??? So we told her yeah because my husband got him in 2001 as a kitten, bought him at the petstore tho....
The vet said it was uncommon for a cat that young to have such bad teeth but we should get it fixed right away coz he's in pain. So i emailed my dad to see if I can borrow the money from him. Such bad timing! My husband is off work coz he got hurt so we have to wait for the government to pay him which could take a while, and I'm still looking for a job! But i won't let my baby suffer so I had to get rid of my pride and ask my dad for help. I hope he'll be able to help me out and then I can make an appointment to get his teeth fixed ASAP. until then I'm feeding him soft food with yoghurt is what the vet told me, and giving him loooooooooots of love.

 

[apmnally]

a good way to prevent any teeth and gum problems in cats is to give them a couple of raw chicken necks they love them and they clean their teeth that probably doesnt help now but you will know for the future i guess

 

[Barb04]

Hope Koko feels better soon. So sorry to hear the problems he's having.

 

[femke]

oy I forgot all about this thread!! Let me give you guys an update

My daddy did loan me the money to get Koko to the vet, i believe I brought him about two or three days after he had been checked, it was ASAP anyway. I bawled my eyes out having to leave him behind there even tho it wasn't any major surgery I just had issues leaving him coz... well he's special. lol.

I got to pick him up again that afternoon. I believe they pulled 4 teeth, all in the back, normally really hard to get out the vet said but it went very good and fast coz they were just that far gone

Since then he's been spoiled rotten and doing totally fine again. His breath has gotten like ten times better! The little black spots around his mouth turned out to be cat acne (can you imagine lol) vet said it's actually really common and nothing to worry about in Koko's case coz it wasn't bad or anything. She did advice us to switch from plastic food/water bowls to stainless steal ones coz a lot of cats get it from the plastic, so we did that right away as well.

It ended up costing us $300 (canadian) but it was worth it, anything for my pets!! I already paid my dad back as well since I got a job now

So Koko is doing just great! thanks everyone!

 

[Barb04]

So glad to hear Koko is better!