Conference misery::feline_v1

Can you tell exactly where Cinamon is bleeding?  Try to locate if it's gums,
or sores inside or around the mouth.  If it is, see a vet.  It it's outside 
mouth, like a skin wound, just treat it to stop infections and watch it
closely.  Our cats get outside sores from bug bites, playing, etc.

Are you feeding him the same food he usually eats?  If it's harder food,
it could be irritating his mouth.

    Have you checked inside his mouth to see if any teeth are missing?
    Jesse lost his upper canines first, and his lips kind of sunk in,
    giving him a funny expression.  I don't remember any blood when
    he lost his teeth though.
    
    Jo

	I called the vet and they suggested that he may just need to
	have his teeth cleaned.  They told me about some type of
	polishing where the cat would have to be anethesized and I
	told them of the cats age so we can't knock him out.  The
	only other thing they can do is show me how to clean his
	teeth myself.  Rather than paying $30+ to have this demonstrated
	to me, I'd prefer to find out how to do it on my own.  If I
	don't see an improvement, then I'll take him to a vet.

	This doesn't seem to be paining him at all.  The blood is
	DEFINATELY coming from inside his mouth.  I'll have to take
	a closer look when I get home to see if I can pinpoint the
	bleeding.

	Karen

    If this has been going  on for months, I would say a vet's visit is in 
    order.  Cinnamon is probably in pain or at least discomfort, and
    maybe they could treat whatever is wrong and reduce his discomfort.
    

    Our 14 yr old Peaches and 15 yr old Doobie have a lot of tartar build
    up and due to age, the vet doesn't want to put them under for a 
    thorough cleaning, so we have a toothpaste (CMT brand, I think) which
    is a dual enzyme formula that is applied with a piece of gauze.
    Doobie is very mellow and suffers the indignity reasonable well.
    Peaches is a bit flightier and struggles at first, but finally realizes
    we are trying to help and then goes into his imitation of a "flatworm"
    and puts up with the procedure. We do this about once a month and it
    seems to be helping.  Neither cat has had any bleeding from the gums
    so I don't know if it would be applicable in your case.
    
    Chuck
    

    A few years ago my cat (aprox 16 years old) started to drool, stoped
    grooming himself, and had trouble eating. I checked his mouth with
    great care and saw nothing. When things kept getting worse I took
    him to the vet. The vet found a tumor under his tongue.
    
    If I ever see the same symptoms again, or the ones you are seeing I 
    would get to the vet as fast as I could.
    
    Kirk 

    
    
    Karen, please, take this cat to the vet as soon as you can.  Bleeding
    is always a serious situation in a older cat.  Also it could become
    a real health risk if the cat stops eating all together.  
    
    You don't want him to end up with anemia or worse over what could
    turn out to be a simple problem.  
    
    But please let your vet do the diagnosis, that is what they are
    trained for.  Better to catch any problem in the early stages anyway,
    and if follow up treatment is required at home, your vet is the best
    qualified to show you how it is done.
    
    Thirty dollars isn't so much money to spend on friend of such long
    standing is it?
    
    Feline Concerned,
    
    Sue & Panther & Spot
    

    re: anesthesia -  We had a dog that used to develop a benign tumor
    on the inside of her mouth.  Because of her age the vet couldn't
    anesthetize her to remove the tumor.  Instead he tranquilized her
    and used local anesthesia.  Perhaps your vet could use a tranquilizer
    on Cinnamon and then do the cleaning.
      Nancy DC
    

    
    we (stanley,stella & yourz truly) echo the sentimentz expressed in .7
    
    please take the cat to the doc. you may end up feeling foolish later if
    it turnz out to be something simple.  but wouldn't you rather feel a
    little foolish than what you might be feeling later if it turnz out to
    be something serious?
    
    please forgive me if i seem to be moralizing. it'z just that our furry
    onez can't tell us what is wrong. they trust us to find out.
    
    good luck...
    
    diane (dr. feline)
    
                                      

    	A different question on losing teeth.  I was playing chase the
    string around the living room when I decided that I had enough so
    I let the female chew on the string by herself.  I laid on the floor
    and I let her crawl on my stomach and she started to chew on the
    edge of my tee shirt.  I wasn't really paying attention but when
    I looked at the shirt, there was blood on it.  I was panic stricken,
    but I picked her up to see if she had caught a nail on something,
    but she didn't but when I looked on the rug a tooth was there (the
    large one on the bottom right of her mouth).  She didn't appear
    to be in any pain and she is currently eating okay, but what I'd
    like to know (or at least be at ease with) is is it normal for them
    to lose their "baby teeth" like us humans.  She eats and plays with
    all her toys, and she runs around and attacks her brother like nothing
    was wrong.  What does anyone think?
    
    
    	Paul (and Pixie and Dixie)

    
    
    Hi Paul, yes it is normal for cats to lose their baby teeth, just
    like us!  When Panther and Spot were kittens, I found little teeth
    all over the place.
    
    Spot even went around for two days with one of her canine teeth
    (baby variety) sticking out of her mouth at a 45 degree angle, she
    wouldn't let me pull it.  But believe me nothing gets in the way
    of that cat and her food, she still ate!  The tooth finally fell
    out on it's own.
    
    But any time an elderly cat has trouble with it's teeth or mouth
    it could be serious, especially if they stop eating.  So don't worry
    about your little ones.
    
    If the the origional noter is reading, please give us an update
    on your cat, we are concerned.
    
    Feline fine,
    
    Sue & Panther & Spot
    
    

    This morning one of my 6 mo. old kittens started acting like it was
    trying to get something out of its mouth.  At first I thought he was
    trying to cough up a furball, but then I saw him trying to put his foot
    in his mouth like he had something in his mouth and was trying to get
    it out.  He would then move his jaws around and I could hear his teeth
    making a grinding noise.  I picked him up and tried to look in his
    mouth (as much as he would let me), but I didn't see anything.  He
    wouldn't let me look long enough to see if there was a loose tooth.  
    
    Could it be that he has a baby tooth that is loose?  I have found a
    tooth on the bed before that one of the kittens lost, but I've never
    seen them do this.

    And my guess is that when you go home and if you
    search hard enough...you will find another tooth.
    
    My little kitty acted the same way when he lost his
    baby teeth. He would take both paws and rub the sides
    of his mouth....and I would hear grinding. Of course...
    I called the Vet panicking because I thought something 
    was wrong with his mouth.
    
    Sandy
    

    A lot of the time the kittens will swallow the baby teeth and you will
    never see them.  So don't worry if you don't find the tooth.
    
    Jo

    Tabitha was doing the same thing a few months ago. I thought she had a
    piece of dry food stuck between her teeth or something! She only did it
    a few times one day, so I figured it was out & all was well! I guess 
    that when Callie starts doing it in a few months, I'll REALLY know what
    it is!!!
    
    Bonnie