Tag: Stomatitis

Oreo’s Ordeal

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This is a follow-up post to:Your Two Sister Cats and Stomatitis

Your sister cat Oreo returned to the vet today to get her teeth cleaned. Unfortunately, most of her molars and premolars were in such bad shape that they had to get extracted.

She had to receive anesthesia for the dental procedure so, we were told not to expect her to feel like eating or doing anything at all. We were also told that if she does eat, she will most likely just throw it up.

Of course, when she came home, she defied the anesthesia. Having fasted 8 hours prior to the visit, her hunger got the better of her and she headed straight for the wet food we put out for your other sister Reeses. The little pieces must have snuck into her extraction wounds causing her to paw at her mouth in pain. We tried draining broth from a fresh can of cat food and feeding it to her but she hated it.

She wobbled around the house like a toddler walking for the first time and after watching her fail repeatedly at completing her jumps and keeping her balance in general, we had to follow her into every room.

Thankfully, your father had a brilliant idea to feed her a wet food variety with larger chunks of meat, in hopes that the bigger pieces won’t fit in her wounds and therefore, won’t irritate her further. She ate a lot without pawing at her mouth and finally, with her tummy no longer empty, she has retreated into our bedroom to sleep.

It has been a really scary experience so far, from leaving her at the animal hospital, to waiting for the call to pick her up, to bringing her home and seeing her so weak and so clumsy.

The doctor said she will feel so much better after her wounds heal for the next couple of days. It’s been heartbreaking to see your sister go through this and I am so looking forward to having my sweet, healthy, happy Oreo back.

 

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Your Two Sister Cats and Stomatitis

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You have two big sister cats named Oreo and Reeses. They may not be human but they are part of our family.

Although we adopted Oreo first, she and Reeses came from the same litter. Except for a few common facial features and the likeness in the black/brown stripes on their tails, these biological siblings can’t be more different from each other.

Oreo is a predominantly white cat with large black spots and less pronounced brown marks. She reminds me more of a cow than an oreo cookie. They are both Domestic Shorthairs, yet Oreo’s fur is thicker and fluffier than Reeses.

Reeses used to be called Tiger because of her brown-orange color and black-brown stripes and spots. She has a thinner, shinier coat, probably due to how often she grooms herself and how much she loves wet food.

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Meanwhile, Oreo prefers dry crunchies and is lazier about cleaning herself. She has a petting schedule that she must adhere to. Otherwise, she’s generally the more independent cat.

Reeses is overly attached to your father. She hangs out wherever her dad is, whether he is lying in bed or sitting in the couch to play video games. Oreo is more of a Mama’s cat. She comes to your father for petting, too, but stays with me more frequently and for longer periods of time.

Your sisters have been the sweetest cats and I can’t wait for them to meet and love you like they love us (they are cats though so they are also likely to be manipulating us with this perception). Still, I’ve seen pictures on the Internet of cats being affectionate to babies and hope that you can develop the same closeness with them.

On their annual visit to the vet, your father and I found out that while Reeses is perfectly healthy, Oreo has Stomatitis. This means the gums in her mouth are inflamed and she gets hurt chewing food. If she doesn’t get proper treatment, she could die from loss of appetite and malnutrition.

She took a steroid shot for the inflammation and will get a teeth cleaning next Saturday. Based on the vet’s assessment by then, she will get antibiotics and in the case where the disease has become too advanced, she might need to get all her teeth extracted.

Oreo, being our first cat, was a source of comfort for me. Having her (in addition to reading and exercising) has been therapeutic for my recurring struggles with depression and anxiety (more on this later on). The thought of possibly losing her soon, rather than at a ripe old age, is unbearable.image

She has to be okay. She has to meet you and cuddle with you and take photos with you as you grow up. She has to live many more years so you can be big enough to remember loving and appreciating her.

Your father and I will do everything it takes to help her through this. I promise to be there for your sister during this tough time like she has always been there for me.