camera shy Sadie relaxing in her carrier during one of her visits to CCP
When Linda adopted Sadie from Meow Village, a local feline rescue, she had no idea she would learn so much about a cat’s mouth in the coming months. Originally, Sadie was found at a feral cat colony in 2014, and she was taken to Meow Village by a kind caretaker. At her first veterinary visit at the rescue, they found that she had a severe type of gum inflammation called stomatitis, a bad upper-respiratory infection, and lots of parasites. First, they started her on medications to help her stomatitis and treated her for parasites. Then, they removed the teeth that were causing the most discomfort in her gums. After Sadie healed from the dental procedure, she was placed for adoption, and Linda soon welcomed her into her “furever” family.
Generally, rescues and shelters do a great job of preventing the spread of disease and send cats out to their new homes as healthy as possible, but it’s inevitable that many of them will have health issues once they come into a home because of stress or other conditions that are impossible to prevent like cat “colds”. For Sadie, Meow Village helped her feel much better while she was under their care, but her stomatitis did not completely resolve. So, just a year later, Linda returned Sadie to the vet seeking help for her painful mouth. This veterinary clinic provided Sadie with medications to help control the pain and inflammation, but it just wasn’t the right treatment for her, and she was still displaying symptoms of discomfort and had become reluctant to eat which was causing her to lose weight.
After the previous treatments weren’t effective, Linda decided to bring Sadie to CCP in May of 2015, and Dr. Barkley was able to take a detailed profile of Sadie’s history and her current physical condition in order to develop a new treatment plan that was able to manage her condition to make her more comfortable and (finally!) free of pain. Her mouth felt so much better that she was able to eat and gained two pounds in just a few months, putting her at a much healthier weight. Much of Sadie’s success, however, can be attributed to her guardian, Linda, and her commitment to helping Sadie feel better. Linda said, “She is getting such great care. I wouldn’t even take her anywhere else. I love how sweet you all are with Sadie….. Only place I will go with my cats.” We are so happy to have been able to help Linda and improve Sadie’s quality of life. And, as with all of our patients, we look forward to seeing her for many years to come!
Want to learn more about general dental care for your cat? Click here!