Feline Tooth Resorption

When I shared that Ashton was going to have a tooth pulled, it was surprising how many friends commented about cats having teeth removed, too. What’s up with all these cats losing teeth? Feline tooth resorption.

Tooth resorption, where the cat’s own body begins to break down a tooth, happens more often than you would expect. It is one of the most common diseases in domestic cats, with about 29% of cats having at least one resorptive lesion.

What is feline tooth resorption?

Tooth resorption happens when odontoclasts, cells in the cat’s mouth, gradually destroy the tooth by digesting it at a cellular level.

Holes – or lesions – form in the outermost layer of the tooth, sometimes starting in the root, and other times in the visible of the tooth, called the crown. Because tooth resorption can be hidden beneath the gums, you may not be able to see when tooth resorption begins.

The only way to detect below-the-gumline lesions on teeth is with x-rays. Your veterinarian can only see this kind of resorptive lesion after it spreads upward into the crown. Sometimes the holes in the crown of the tooth are visible on examination, and other times, a cat’s gums become inflamed and will cover the area of the tooth with the lesion.

Ashton’s gums were inflamed around her damaged tooth, and the gum seemed to be stretching up to try to cover her tooth, as soon below.

Resorptive lesion on tooth. Photo courtesy Bay Hill Cat Hospital.

What her inflamed gums were hiding was a tooth that had a huge hole in the side. Look at the x-ray image that shows what was hiding under the gum. Doesn’t that look like it must have been painful?

Radiograph showing tooth resorption courtesy Bay Hill Cat Hospital

If left long enough, tooth resorption will destroy the tooth entirely, until nothing remains above the gumline. Ashton’s same premolar on the other side of her mouth was completely gone, as seen in this image.

X-ray of tooth completely destroyed by tooth resorption courtesy Bay Hill Cat Hospital

Signs of Tooth Resorption

Once the lesions above the gumline can be painful to your cat. Cats are good at hiding pain, so it may not be obvious. Signs that could mean tooth resorption include:

Difficulty eating or dropping food outside the bowl
Chewing with only one side of the mouth
Bleeding from the mouth
Excessive salivation
Overall withdrawal or change in mood
Bad breath

Ashton never misses a meal, so the only clue we had at home there could be a problem was her terrible breath. It’s a good thing we knew what her regular breath smelled like so we could tell when there was a change. It meant the vet needed to take a look at her teeth!

one-eyed brown tabby cat with mouth open wide

What causes tooth resorption?

The exact cause of tooth resorption isn’t understood. Researchers have a list of conditions that happen around teeth with resorption, but they have not been able to establish whether these conditions cause resorption or whether they are an effect of it, including an acid pH and the fact that there are more vitamin D receptors in the tissue around the teeth.

Some cats, especially purebreds like Siamese and Persian, are more prone to tooth resorption, so there is a genetic component to the tendency for the condition. Plenty of mixed-breed cats, like Ashton, get tooth resorption, too, so genetics isn’t the only factor at work.

How do you treat tooth resorption?

Tooth resorption is progressive. You can’t stop or reverse it. Once it is detected, the only treatment is to extract the tooth.

Veterinarians don’t yet have an adequate way to prevent tooth resorption. Brushing your cat’s teeth at home with toothpaste meant for cats is a good way to detect issues with your cat’s teeth and gums early so you can bring them to your vet’s attention.

Cat with toothbrush. Photo credit depositphotos/RasulovS

Research and further reading:

DVM 360, Dental Corner: How to detect and treat feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions
DentalVets, Feline Tooth Resorption Lesions
Vetbook, Tooth resorption
Banfield Applied Research & Knowledge Team, Literature Review – Feline Tooth Resorption
American Veterinary Dental College, Tooth Resorption
Tooth resorption and vitamin d3 status in cats fed premium dry diets
Merck Veterinary Manual, Nutritional Requirements and Related Diseases of Small Animals

False Advertising

Newton: We have a new tunnel, and it has strings! I’m sure the humans will cut those off as soon as they notice, so I had better enjoy them while I can.

orange tabby cat plays with string on fish tunnel

Newton: Besides the strings, I was pretty excited when the tunnel showed up, because it has fish in it. It has fish on the outside, so that must mean there are fish in it, right? But this is the only fish I can find.

orange tabby cat inside fish tunnel

Newton: Yes, this is still the right tunnel. Fish on the outside.

orange tabby cat looks out of tish tunnel

Newton: Now I know how the humans feel when they complain about cat food that is called something else but has fish ingredients. I have the opposite problem with my tunnel. There are fish on the outside, but it is just false advertising.

orange tabby cat exits fish tunnel

Pet Identification: Microchips and Tags

It’s National Pet Identification week, and we are sharing this information again, because it’s so important. Do you know if your cat has the right ID to help kitty find her way home to you?

Your cat doesn’t have pockets to carry a wallet, so ID for cats takes the form of a microchip and tag. Only two percent of cats who end up in shelters have some form of ID, and until your cat learns to talk, that’s the only way your cat can tell people where she lives.

“A pet’s looks and fur can change drastically in only a few days or weeks on their own,” says Kim Freeman, pet detective and owner of Lost Cat Finder. Cats covered in dirt or wet can look surprisingly different than a nearby lost cat sign that has their photo on it, so ID is the best way for someone to tell it really is your cat.

Microchips

A microchip is a small transponder about the size of a grain of rice that is has with a unique identification number. The chip is implanted by a simple procedure at your vet or even at a local shelter. Reduced-cost and sometimes even free microchips are available at events in your community at various times during the year.

Be sure to register your chip so that if someone finds your kitty, they can get your contact information. Your chip isn’t registered automatically!

If You Move to a New Home

Update your contact information with the microchip registry so that if someone finds your cat, they will be able to contact you. Animal shelters run into heartbreaking dead ends when they scan a cat for a chip but the phone number on the chip is disconnected. Don’t let this happen to your cat!

After moving, access your cat’s microchip registry to update the information. Photo: depositphotos/ots-photo

Collars

If your cat will wear a collar, make sure you use a breakaway collar that will come off if your cat gets it caught on something. Safety first!

Include daytime and evening contact information on your cat’s tag, since you never know when someone might have to try to call you. If your cat has a medical condition like diabetes, you can include that on the tag, too, so that if your kitty is lost, he can get the appropriate care until you are reunited.

If the noise of a metal tag bothers you or your cat, there are lots of options available, including silent silicon tags and metal tags that slide onto a collar so they don’t dangle.

If You Move to a New Home

Make sure your cat’s tag includes a cell phone number or the number of someone who knows how to reach you.

Microchip Plus Collar

The ASPCA recommends your cat have a registered microchip and also wear a collar with personalized ID tag. Anyone who finds your cat can read an ID tag, while the microchip reader requires the good Samaritan to go to a veterinarian or shelter where they can read the chip.

Collars with tags make it easy for anyone to get your cat home to you. A microchip, hidden beneath your cat’s fur, won’t be lost like a collar can, so it’s a great way to be sure your cat won’t “lose her wallet” and not have any ID when lost.

We all hope our cat never gets lost, but make sure your kitty has the best chance to get back home to you as quickly as possible by chipping and collaring your cat with ID for your cat.

A cat with both microchip and collar has the best chance of getting home and back into your arms again. Photo: depositphotos/elwynn

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Ashton’s Good News – Bad News Day

It was time for Ashton’s wellness visit to the vet, and she got some good news, and some bad news.

Ashton: Any trip to the vet that interrupts my beauty sleep is bad news!

one-eyed brown tabby cat peeks out of carrier at vet

The Good News

Ashton has a very friendly relationship with food. Any and all food. So it wasn’t surprising that her previous vet visit identified that she needed to work on losing a little bit of weight.

This vet visit, her first to our all-cat vet, she weighed in right where she should be.

Ashton's vet results April 2017 - ideal weight

Ashton: Did you read that? I’m ideal, so we don’t need to be here. Let’s go!

one-eyed brown tabby cat at vet

Visiting an all-cat clinic made a big difference in her level of fear during the visit. She will always be a fearful cat, but it was nice to see her less frightened. She was even willing to sit out in the open when no one held her there. She did keep a tight hold on the edge of the table, just in case.

one-eyed brown tabby cat holds edge of table