My continuing cat saga (pics!): my poor, poor stray has some troubles

[Political Heretic]

So some of you have been reading my stories about the stray cat that "adopted me" after I took her in one night, and how I've come to love her. Jewel is her name now, and she is the most affectionate cat I think I've ever known.

However, having never had a pet of my own before as an adult, there are a lot of things I don't know about cats, so sometimes I may be a little slower to figure stuff out than some of you all. Anyway, I've been getting the money together to take her to the vet for a wellness check. I know my cat has a tooth that sticks way out, and she has some pretty bad breath, which I've read can sometimes be a sign of bigger problems (or could just be a sign of her likely bad diet as a stray. I noticed that her mouth looked a little different to me, and I kind of thought maybe she had been in a fight or something. But I loved her anyway.

Last night while I was starting to fall alseep, she was eating some food in her bowl just outside my room. And I was listening and thinking - I hardly ever hear this cat chew - it just seems like she takes it out of the bowl and that's it. Then I remembered that a couple nights before she'd had a bad stomach, and thrown up a little food (normally she doesn't) - but I remembered that it was barely chewed.

I don't know why I didn't think to do this sooner - maybe because she hates it so much so I didn't try - but today I finally forced Jewel to open her mouth so I could really look and see what was going on. She hated it of course, but I was as gentle as I knew how to be without her squirming away. This poor, cat hardly has any teeth at all. :(

I feel so bad for her. I've been feeding her dry catfood, but now I'm thinking maybe I should be doing something else. I need to get her to the vet, but I can't do that any faster than I am doing... I have get paid so I can afford to do it.

Anyway, I just felt bad for my little girl. :( I hope the vet will be able to give me some insight into how to best care for her. The good news is that she still seems able to have some joy in her life. She will romp around my house sometimes chasing the little toy balls I got for her. But mostly she just wants to be wherever I am, close to my face. She climbs the back of my high-back computer chair and lays around my neck when I'm at the computer. :P

Anyway, I hope I can get her fixed up.

Jewel demands attention :)


Jewel attempts to pounce on the camera cord while I take a picture

[Lil Missy]

1. Try some wet food. Maybe that will be easier for her to eat if she doesn't have teeth.

And thank you for adopting her. Do get her a vet visit and some medical advice. And keep us updated.

[Dangerously Amused]

2. Awwww, sweet kitty!

Bless you for taking her in. :loveya:

My advice is ask around to find a good, compassionate vet and then call and let them know the situation. Tell them up front how much money you have already set aside for her care, and ask if they will allow you to go on a payment plan for whatever the balance might be.

One of my little kitties lost a number of teeth. My vet assures me that tooth loss it is not uncommon, especially in smaller and older kitties. He said he has several kitty patients with no teeth at all who do very well, and some of them still prefer dry food to canned.

Best of luck to you and pretty Jewel.

[havocmom]

3. there are books with recipes for cat food you can make

soft, nutrious food will help her. Any idea about her age? If she is not real old, she may have had some injury that caused her to loose her teeth.

Glad she found such a caring human. There are ways to take care of special needs pets and they seem more than worth the extra trouble, as you are finding out!

From pics, she looks otherwise healthy. Lovely coat.

Special blessings on those who adopt critters who have been down on their luck.

[stuntcat]

4. yeah! this sounds right!

She's is such a sweetie :loveya:

I'm glad for her that she found someone who cares about her, she sounds like a fantastic cat. She's probably got infections in her mouth that could make her very sick. Surgery to remove all the rotten teeth will be expensive but if she's healthy otherwise (she looks it!) then it could save her whole life I bet.

[Political Heretic]

8. aww thanks friends :)

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Don't feel bad. I've had kittehs all my life and I was clueless that my

little boy had bad teeth. :cry:

He is doing well with wet food, and also I add water to the kibble which it soaks it up and becomes soft enough to eat.

[emilyg]

6. Please get her wet food.

[begin_within]

7. She needs to see a kitty dentist.

I mean a dentist that treats cats, not a cat that is a dentist. They may be able to do wonders for her, but of course it will cost you. I'm the type of cat owner who will usually spare no expense to make the cat happier and more comfortable.

[KT2000]

9. I've been wondering about her

since you posted when you took her in.

I took in a stray too. She also had tooth problems - broken and chipped. It is a rough life out there and who knows what happens. (My cat was also cross-eyed but that has resolved)

I give her wet food and mix a bit of hot water with it so it's sort of soupy.

Sounds like the vet needs to look at Jewel's teeth in case there is an infected tooth.

She is a really pretty cat! Glad you have been adopted by her.

[Biscottiii]

10. I would stop by the Vet in person, just so they can see you look like a regular hardworking person

Not just some voice on the phone. No need to haul the kitty for the drop-in discussion. Better than waiting until next payday. Might even take the pictures with you, so they can see the unique tooth.

I was new to this part of town. Needed help for my kitty. Told the Vet Assistant that I didn't have credit cards but needed someone to check out my furbaby. They let me write a post-dated check for the following payday, and IIRC would have let me do a few post-dated checks if it had been a larger bill. Vet might even be willing to work with you when they hear it's a stray. Worth asking about, at the very least. (My Mom always said: "If you don't ASK, the answer would be AUTOMATICALLY no.")

They don't want a kitty to suffer, plus THEY ended up with a bigtime customer for the future. Not to mention all the word-of-mouth advertisements I've given them for any pet loving newcomer in the neighborhood. She's a BEAUTIFUL kitty, Good Luck & Much Happiness with her!

[Political Heretic]

11. That's a good idea. I found a close vet that was well recommended.

I think its a very good idea to go in myself and talk to them, so I will do that monday.

[lligrd]

12. Start The Wet Food And Call Your Local Animal Shelter For

a low cost vet. There are plenty who will help you out.

[Heidi]

13. She is lovely.

I hope you can work out some kind of payment plan and get her vaccinated, spayed (if she's not already spayed) and a dental checkup as soon as possible. Our Wiley and Excellent Boy Cat Named Ginger has some dental problems (his gums are easily infected), so he gets checked a couple of times a year and gets his teeth cleaned about every 18 months. (We're very cautious about getting his teeth cleaned because the procedure requires general anesthesia; so we do it only when the vet says it MUST be done.)

Good luck to you and Jewel. :)

:yourock:

[Maraya1969]

14. I'm glad you two found each other.

She looks healthy to me. She's not skinny so she must be keeping most of the food down. Cats throw up a lot for some reason.

I second the wet food and if you can't get to the store right away you can always add a little water to the dry stuff and put it in the microwave for 10 seconds and then mush it up, let it cool and give it to her.

There is also gel vitamins you can put on her gums. Maybe wait until you talk to the vet about that one.


Thank you for taking in a fur baby who needed a home.

[MrsMatt]

My daughter's cat Stanley, who'll be five this year

has TERRIBLE teeth. He's been in our home since he was 4 months old (his mother was in foster care when he was born) and he's always had good food. We brought him in last December for teeth cleaning and extraction of one decayed tooth. The vet ended up extracting five teeth, because they started to come out while they were being cleaned. It appears that for this cat, genetics was the culprit - the vet said he'd never seen anything quite like it (and he's been our vet for over 16 years).

My vet figures that he'll end up losing most of his teeth by age 10 (hoping to save the canines, as that keeps the tongue in the mouth). But, he says that toothless cats are quite able to handle dry food.

Good luck with Jewel!

[stuntcat]

16. our Percy's like that

He recently had to have 5 teeth extracted and the vet said we'll need to have him checked again sometime later, like his teeth are just weak or something. Tonka is 5 years older than Percy and he's never had tooth problems.

Jewel looks like she'd be just fine otherwise though, she's so cute :loveya: I love black cats.

[MrsMatt]

15. oops - double post n/t

[applegrove]

17. You are a good mom for taking her in and fixing her up. She obviously is very grateful.

Try some wet catfood until you get her to the vet. That may help for now.