Hello all. First time poster and newbie, here.

I have a large ginger cat called Trevor, and he tends towards rude health. He's around 13 years old or so - we took him in as he was obviously living rough in 2002.

He's been looked after by a neighbour for a few days over new year while myself and my wife were visiting friends in Germany, and when we came back our neighbour said he'd been a bit picky with his food, but that's nothing unusual when we're away.

We noticed he was dribbling quite a bit, and his breath was MUCH worse than usual. We seemed OK other than that though, and we thought nothing more of it. This was about midnight on Wednesday night.

Yesterday he seemed his usual self - a bit reproachful with us for leaving him for a few days - but generally fine. He ate well and gradually seemed to have let us off the hook. Today he's seemed the same - still a little bit drooly though.

Then this evening, he seems to have taken a turn for the worse. He's not eating wet or dry food, and looks to be in some pain on the side that he's been dribbling from. He seems to be finding it hard to even lay his head down to go to sleep, and it seems obvious to me that he's in pain.

Obviously I'm going to run him to the vet first thing in the morning, but I wondered if there's anything else we can be doing?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for a vet in or near South Woodford, East London? We had a slightly bad experience with the Animal Hospital in Wanstead, so would appreciate recommendations other than them if possible!

Thanks for reading, and if I've violated any forum rules etc., I apologise. I'm just a bit worried about His Royal Orangeness!

Thanks,
--Clive.

Best really to do a google search and read reviews - he needs to be seen very soon really - so I'd go wherever you can get him in today and choose a different vets (if needed) afterwards.

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please look at my website - www.finesthourcats.webs.com - for gorgeous GCCF registered RagaMuffins and Selkirk Rex

Hi Clive, welcome to PF.

What do you mean by "worse than usual"? The breath bad smell SHOULD NOT exist at all. I see 2 possibilities: a) teeth problems - a periodontal disease or b) stomach troubles.

Based on your description, it's a dental issue which needs immediate action. Your cat will probably be administered some drugs against periodontitis, a treatment followed (or not - if the disease is not severe) by a teeth professional cleaning (possibly ultrasonic cleaning) or even removal of any damaged tooth, all these interventions being done under anaesthesia. Then, 3to 6-month follow ups are required, as a cat with sensitive gums and teeth needs to be closely and frequently verified.

What I would expect from my vet in such a case:
- thorough oral examination of the cat's mouth;
- blood tests and urine tests, to determine the general health state of the cat;
- x-rays of the mouth, to determine the health condition of the teeth below the gumline;
- samples taken from the teeth and gums surface, to determine if there's any bacteria snd what type, to give the right treatment against any infecting micro-organism;
- the treatment based on these results.

We take some protective measures at home, brushing the cats' teeth with a special tooth paste every 2 days, in spite of all the fury and crocodile-like behaviour of my cats after this procedure And we feed them with larger pieces of meat and chicken wings, to let them clean their teeth as much as possible. This is the very least we can do at home.

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Thanks for the replies, both.

We took him to the vet the next day (yesterday) and she took one look in his mouth and saw that he had an infection, and gave him an antibiotic injection. By that evening he was obviously better and even ate a plate of fish. This morning he was almost back to his old self, and is now eating much better, so we think that's fixed the immediate problem.

She also said that his teeth aren't great, and that he'd be better off without them (!), but at his age the anaesthetic might be a bad idea, so we'll leave them in and manage him with antibiotics if necessary.

By "worse breath than usual" - you're right, I know they shouldn't have bad breath as a rule, and as a rule he doesn't. I was just referring to those times when he's eaten something a little stinky, or perhaps - ahem - cleaned himself in a particular area, and can be a trifle whiffy! On the whole his breath is fine.

Thanks for the words of advice and support.

--Clive (& Trevor the cat).

I am glad to hear that you seem to have got His Orangeness sorted.
I was interested in your comments about the hospital at Wanstead, The Wanstead Hilton as I like to call it as I swear the prices are comparable to what I would pay for a suite at that establishment! Mind you, the other vet hospital at Buckhurst Hill is now being run by Vets Now so I would give that an even wider berth for OOH service
Vet wise, I can recommend Neil Hampsom at the Walthamstow branch
Our Staff : Palmerston Veterinary Group although I use my local vet, on my street corner, for OOH.
VetCall Veterinary Surgery - 113 Station Road, Chingford, London E4 7BU
This place comes highly recommended by a couple of people I know including a breeder and I am sure they provide their own emergency cover too.

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Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

Clive please do think about having His Orangeness in for a dental under GA. 13 is no great age for a cat. As long as you have his bloods tested before hand, and he is on a drip and carefully monitored throughout the anaesthetic he is at far less risk from the GA than he is leaving manky teeth in his mouth.

Bad teeth can lead to organ failure if the bacteria from the mouth get into the blood stream. If you leave bad teeth in then he could get an abscess which will require a GA and tooth removal.

I'd bite the bullet and have his teeth cleaned and any necessary removed now, as you run the risk of putting yourself in the position when he is a much older cat of his teeth being worse and possible health problems as he gets older making an anaesthetic far more risky than it is now.

A very good point from Doolally....although I think we in UK are way behind the US as far as dental care for cats ( and humans ) goes.
As always....it depends on the vet!

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Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!