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Gingivitis is the term for inflammation of the gums, which mostly manifests itself through redness and swelling of the mucous membrane surrounding the teeth. This usually painful gum disease is very common amongst cats and can be triggered by numerous causes. Thus, a detailed diagnosis is important in order to treat it correctly and at an early stage.
Along with gum inflammations caused by the impalement of foreign bodies (e.g. blades of grass), general inflammations of the periodontal apparatus (periodontitis) or other organ diseases (e.g. with renal insufficiency), infectious diseases are amongst the most well-known triggers of gingivitis in cats.
In veterinary circles, the disease is also divided into different forms of gingivitis, some of which differ greatly in their origins and symptoms:
Along with the typical distinguishing features described above, gum inflammations can lead to further concomitant symptoms from a certain degree of severity:
If a cat eats less or redness or bleeding can be recognised, a trip to the vet is usually advisable. During the owner interview (anamnesis), the vet can already rule out infectious diseases triggering gingivitis based on the cat’s vaccination status. There is always a general clinical examination of health check-up afterwards. The oral cavity is then thoroughly examined by the vet, including the teeth and gums:
In many cases an anaesthetic is necessary if the cat won’t allow its mouth to be examined or the cause is suspected to be found in the back of the mouth. Imaging procedures like X-rays can also be necessary in order to more closely inspect bony structures like the teeth or jaw for changes.
If a cat isn’t vaccinated against certain viral pathogens (e.g. feline caliciviruses), specific tests (e.g. antigen or antibody tests) also make sense.
Treatment of a gum inflammation in cats must on one hand be specifically against the cause itself and on the other hand be supportive, i.e. to improve symptoms:
Cats can also be helped with the following supporting measures:
Not all gingivitis necessarily has to lead to severe pain or complications such as exposed tooth roots, teeth falling out or other parts of the mouth mucosa becoming inflamed (stomatitis). Despite this, it should be examined by a vet at an early stage so that it doesn’t become chronic and to allow previously unrecognised causes like infectious diseases to be acknowledged and treated.
Unfortunately it is difficult to prevent the impalement of foreign bodies or the presence of tumours. In contrast, however, hygienic measures and vaccinations can prevent cats from gingivitis caused by infections. According to the guidelines for the vaccination of small animals issued by the Standing Vaccination Commission of Veterinary Medicine, there are vaccinations against the following feline-specific infectious agents:
At the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen I was extensively trained as a veterinarian and was able to gain experience in various fields such as small animal, large animal and exotic animal medicine as well as pharmacology, pathology and food hygiene. Since then, I have been working not only as a veterinary author, but also on my scientifically driven dissertation. My goal is to better protect animals from pathogenic bacterial organisms in the future. Besides my veterinary knowledge, I also share my own experiences as a happy dog owner and can thus understand and enlighten fears and problems as well as other important questions about animal health.
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