Tooth has fallen out...!

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Dearlouise
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Tooth has fallen out...!

Post by Dearlouise »

Whilst cleaning my bedroom this evening I’ve found a fang tooth on my floor!
I’ve searched my 5 kitties mouths & found it’s my oldest, Poppy.
I’ve checked her mouth properly, am scratched to shreds, but she’s lacking in the tooth department! She has the ones at the front, minus a fang and some at the back. It looks like she’s lost some...
the fang “hole” doesn’t look particularly fresh, maybe looks like it happened a couple of days ago. It seems clean & not swollen in any way.
Doing some research on the cause, some places say it’s common in older cats, as long as there’s no sign of disease or whatnot. She *is* 14 years old... do you think it appears to be normal?
I’m worried... but she seems absolutely fine in herself!!!
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Lilith
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Re: Tooth has fallen out...!

Post by Lilith »

Hi, I've seen this happen too, especially with older cats. I once found a tooth embedded in some rather overcooked meat that I'd left to the cats to gnaw.

As long as there's no inflammation or discomfort I don't think it's much to worry about. One of my ferals moved in with most of his teeth missing, poor chap; he needed a dental after a few years which is how I knew. One of my older girls has a fang missing too, and I really don't know how that happened either.

I'd keep an eye on her, and if you're still worried, ring the vet for their views on the subject, but my own experience is that cats seem to weather the loss of a tooth in this way without too much trauma - all the best to her :)
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Janey
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Re: Tooth has fallen out...!

Post by Janey »

I noticed that one of my old ferals has a tooth missing, one of the lower large fang ones at the front, and I could see where it had been when he was having a chat to me when I was feeding him earlier in the year. He seems none the worse for it though and probably feels better. Thinking back, he did seem to be doing a bit of grinding when he was eating prior to that though. As Lilith says, just keep an eye and if he doesn’t seem in pain when he eats etc I would think he should be fine.
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MarySkater
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Re: Tooth has fallen out...!

Post by MarySkater »

I once had a cat who started losing her teeth when she was 5. Now and again I'd find a fang on the floor. Maybe she swallowed the smaller ones, or maybe I hoovered them up without noticing. Eventually she lost them all except one small incisor, but it never bothered her, and she was happy to eat wet or dry food even when she was toothless.
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Ruth B
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Re: Tooth has fallen out...!

Post by Ruth B »

I've had it happen with a couple of mine.

The first we noticed had a snaggle tooth showing so we took her to the vets and they took her into the back of the surgery to have a better look and she came back lacking the tooth. She was a placid cat and would let them open her mouth for a good look and they could just pull it out is was so loose.

Blue also lost one of his canines after he had had all the back teeth out, we never did find it, but he never had any problem, we kept an eye on him for a few days after we noticed it had gone but he was fine, he could have lost it days before we noticed.

I you vets have normal surgery tomorrow it might be worth ringing in the morning to see if they think it is worth bringing her in, but to be honest if it isn't bothering her then she is probably fine without it.
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