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My 10 years old cat was diagnosed with Proliferative Gingivitis and Pharyngitis. He sometimes has difficulty swallowing and eating, he’s salivating when asleep, keeps licking his mouth and pawing at it. His gum is very red and his mouth smells very bad, and the vet does not suggest any methods or meds to help with the pain and the inflammation. 1/ Is there a solution to stop the pain as well as treat his gingivitis and pharyngitis. 2/ Would extracting his teeth help?

My 10 years old cat was diagnosed with Proliferative Gingivitis and Pharyngitis. He sometimes has difficulty swallowing and eating, he’s salivating when asleep, keeps licking his mouth and pawing at it. His gum is very red and his mouth smells very bad, and the vet does not suggest any methods or meds to help with the pain and the inflammation. 1/ Is there a solution to stop the pain as well as treat his gingivitis and pharyngitis. 2/ Would extracting his teeth help?

Updated On June 21st, 2022

Pet's info: Cat | Norwegian Forest Cat | Male | neutered | 9 years and 4 months old | 13 lbs

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Answered By Dr Stafford, BVetMed, MRCVS

Veterinarian

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I'm very sorry to hear about Taiga, this is a horrible condition. With the combination of gingivitis extending into the pharynx, it sounds like your vet has diagnosed what we would know as gingivostomatitis in the UK. Which basically means the mouth as well as the gums gets horribly inflamed, ulcerated and sore. It is a tricky condition to treat but very much needs to be tackled head on as it is so painful. It would be a great idea to get your vet to run bloods first as a general health check for possible complicating factors thsy could effect treatment options, also an FIV FELV panel would be useful. Regarding treatment the key is to reduce the bacteria in the mouth and try and suppress the immune system. Various drugs combined with oral rinsing can help to achieve this, however results can be unsatisfactory and any benefit is temporary. You could certainly try and see how well Taiga responds. The other option for severe gingivostomatitis is full extraction of the teeth as you mention. Although it sounds extreme once the teeth are fully removed the mouth heals and there is no more inflammation as the source is gone. I would strongly recommend approaching a vet with extensive experience in feline dentistry as it is imperative that all teeth are removed fully. This may end up being the best option, but in the mean time bloods and meds will help. I hope you find a comfortable solution for Taiga.

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