#TBT Guest Post: Cats And Dental Disease, "Mario Da Cat's" Story

FROM CAT CAT WITH CAREN AND CODY:February is National Pet Dental Health Month and because many of our readers weren't following us when this published in 2010, we decided to repeat it. Even Mario doesn't know!! We are pretty certain he won't mind.


 I hate going to the dentist (do any of us actually like it? Well frankly my husband does but that is another story!) I have periodontal issues that necessitate that I see a dentist every three months. While sitting in the chair I remembered how my former cat Bobo suffered from periodontal issues. Leaving periodontal disease untreated in humans and in animals can cause a myriad of problems, one glaring problem is heart disease.

It is ironic that after one of my own visits to have my gums deep scaled I met Mary on Twitter (the Mom of @Mariodacat) who was telling me about the dental problems that Mario had experienced. I asked her if she would share Marios' story with the rest of us, she graciously agreed and I am honored to share it with all of you:

Mario's Story
as told by "M"

I was thrilled when Caren asked me to do a guest blog post regarding my cat’s (@Mariodacat – on Twitter) dental problems and how he became toothless at the age of 4. Hopefully it will bring awareness to the importance of having your animals teeth cleaned when your veterinarian recommends such. If your vet recommends brushing, it can be done with proper training.

We adopted Mario from our local shelter in October 2008. A week later we were in having his teeth cleaned, and one had to be pulled as it could not be saved. He kept having recurring infections after that. Finally, after 4 changes in antibiotics (which clearly were not helping) our veterinarian said Mario might be one of those rare cats that are allergic to his own bacteria in the mouth. She recommended seeing an animal dentist in another city.

After many blood tests, extensive
 X-rays (Mario did have to be put under anesthesia for that), the dentist called us and said Mario’s teeth would have to be removed. When normal veterinarians remove teeth, they do the best that they can with their skills & equipment. Probably 99% of the time, it’s good enough for most animals. But it was determined that Mario was allergic to his own bacteria in his mouth. The dentist found little tiny bone fragments remaining from what his regular vet had pulled. These could not normally be seen without the specialized equipment that a dentist has.

He pulled all of Mario’s teeth, except the 4 canines, that first visit & cleaned up the hidden fragments left behind from his visit to our local vet. We were sent home with toothpaste for cats, a tiny brush, taught how to brush his teeth, and of course, more antibiotics. The Dentist stressed the importance of brushing daily. Well, even with our faithful brushing the infection still did not clear up. It was then determined that the 4 canines would also have to be removed.

By the time Mario had been with us a year, all his teeth had been pulled, we were missing a few $1,000 dollars, but we gained a very happy, healthy, loveable cat. He is able to eat dry kibble and, of course, canned cat food for a treat.

There wasn’t anything that we could have done to prevent this from happening, as we didn’t discover the problem until we had adopted him. But we are very grateful to our dentist for being aware of the problem and referring us to a specialist.

If you have an animal that has recurring infections in the mouth area, question your vet on whether or not your pet might be allergic to the bacteria in his/her mouth. If your vet hasn’t even heard of it, I would encourage you to contact an animal dentist in your state. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Had we not been referred to a dentist for animals, Mario probably wouldn’t be around today. Peridontal disease in animals is very serious and can be deadly. The infection can eventually enter the blood stream and that is when it becomes deadly.

Mario wrote about his ordeal in his blog – Mario's Meowsings. It was written by him (with me, his human) typing for him so it is very lengthy, but informative. If you have an animal that you think might have a similar situation, I would encourage you to read it.