Treatment For Stomatitis

Treatment for StomatitisFinding out that your cat has stomatitis can be scary. I know, I’ve been there. You will probably wonder what options there are for treatment for stomatitis. There are many ways you and your vet can attempt to treat stomatitis, but I have to be honest and tell you that there is no sure-fire cure for this painful disease.

The problem with treating feline stomatitis is that there is no way to know the exact cause of the disease. It is often believed to be caused by a reaction to plaque, but it isn’t always.

Vets will usually start with the easiest treatment options, with the hope that one or a combination of several may be enough to resolve the stomatitis. They will eventually work their way up to the more advanced treatment options if the easier ones do not help.

Treatment Options For Stomatitis

Before I get into the various methods of treatment, I want to say something about tooth removal. Having teeth removed is always to be a last-ditch effort at controlling stomatitis. If your vet says that your cat’s teeth need to be removed without trying anything else first, then you need to find another vet and get a second, or even third, opinion. Try any or all of the following treatments before going to the extreme of removing teeth.

The treatment options listed below are not in any particular order, with the exception of tooth removal, which is listed last because it should be the last thing you do.

Antibiotics

This is likely to be the very first thing your vet tries. If your cat is lucky, a round of antibiotics will clear up the stomatitis.

This was the first treatment option we tried with Lily. At first it seemed to help, but the inflammation returned after we stopped giving her antibiotics.

Diet Modification

The inflammation seen with stomatitis may be the result of food allergies, so your vet may recommend that you change your cat’s diet by eliminating foods made with grain or grain-fed meats.

I did not try this option. We have five cats, two of which have food sensitivities and do well on the Iams dry food that they all eat. Changing the food for one of our five cats but not the other four would have been a nightmare for me, which is why I skipped this method.

Supplements

There are over-the-counter supplements that you can give your cat that may either resolve or minimize the symptoms of stomatitis. You can talk to your vet about what supplements might be helpful to your cat.

I currently give Lily two suppliments, and they help her tremendously. She takes L-Lysine in the morning and at night, and PlaqueOff just at night (PlaqueOff should not be used in cats that have Hyperthyroidism). Other people have had success with AquaDent, but this needs to go into a source of drinking water and Lily wouldn’t drink the water that had AquaDent added to it. Obviously, it won’t work if your cat won’t take it.

Steroid Cream

There are different types of steroid creams, but this helps by controlling and minimizing the inflammation in the mouth and throat. Using steroids long term may lead to diabetes, which has the potential of becoming a death sentence to your cat. The reason for this possibility, according to my vet, is that a cat cannot be given steroids and the medicine needed for diabetes. If your vet recommends steroids in any form, be sure to discuss the potential harm that the steroids may cause.

I give Lily a steroid cream called Prednisolone. I apply it to the inside of her ear every morning and night. I am aware that giving Prednisolone to Lily may lead to diabetes, but the alternative is having her live in severe pain. I had to choose between giving Lily a possibly shortened life where she spends most of her days in as little pain as possible by giving her the steroid, or not giving her the steroid and knowing that she is in horrible pain. It was a very easy choice for me to make.

Update: I was able to wean Lily off the Prednisolone steroids in early 2015. The PlaqueOff and Lysine that she takes daily have kept her stomatitis under control.

Pain Medicine

Despite all that you may do for your cat, there may be days when your cat is in so much pain that she needs pain medicine. These days will be easy to see because your cat will start to drool.

Whenever Lily starts to drool I give her a small dose of a pain medicine called Buprinex. Buprinex is like morphine for cats. These days I don’t have to give this to Lily very often because everything else she takes does a fairly good job of controlling her stomatitis, but every now and then I need to. Buprinex makes her tired, so be aware that acting tired or spacey after taking Buprinex is normal.

Tooth Removal

And now we come to the last thing that should be attempted when it comes to controlling stomatitis – removing teeth. When all other treatment options fail, your vet may recommend having most or all of your cat’s teeth removed. The reason behind this option has to do with the most common cause of stomatitis, which is a cat’s inability to tolerate plaque. The thinking here is that if the teeth are removed, there will be a huge decrease in plaque, thus (hopefully) curing the stomatitis.

According to my vet, 80% of cats respond well to having their teeth removed, meaning their stomatitis goes away. That also means that 20% of cats continue to suffer from stomatitis after having their teeth taken out. It can take up to six months after teeth are removed to know if the surgery was a success. The reason it takes so long is because it takes months for the mouth to heal from stomatitis.

IMPORTANT!!! If you DO decide to have your cat’s teeth removed, it is critical that your vet performs an x-ray after the teeth have been extracted to make sure there are no tooth fragments left behind. Cats teeth are very brittle and break easily. Any fragments left in the gums can easily lead to infection, causing a whole different set of problems and pain for your cat.

Ask your vet before you agree to this surgery if he takes x-rays when he is done. If he says he doesn’t and tries to convince you that this is not needed, run as fast as you can from this vet and see a new one!

Lily fell into the 20% of cats who do not improve after having teeth removed. To clarify, there was improvement, but she still very much has painful inflammation in her mouth and throat, as you can see from the pictures on this site.

How I Treat Lily’s Stomatitis

Lily was first given antibiotics, but that helped only temporarily. I did not know about supplements until after her teeth were pulled, so I didn’t try that next. Lily’s stomatitis was very bad and our vet recommended that her teeth be pulled. I consulted with another vet, and he agreed. So, we had her teeth pulled.

During her first surgery Lily had all but her canines removed. The canines were left to prevent Lily’s tongue from flopping out of her mouth. Apparently some cats are unable to keep their tongues in their mouths after their canines are removed.

About six months after her surgery it was obvious that the four canines also needed to go. The redness in her mouth was much more severe around her canines than in the rest of her mouth. The canines were removed, and the gums improved some where the teeth had been.

However, as I said above, Lily still has stomatitis. After getting all her teeth removed I learned about the supplement L-Lysine. In cats, Lysine acts as a booster to their immune systems, which often helps them fight off stomatitis. It did help Lily, though not enough to prevent her from having pain. My vet said that there are no problems with long-term use of Lysine. It is like people taking Vitamin C daily.

When my vet saw that Lily still had a bad case of stomatitis despite having her teeth pulled and taking Lysine, she decided to start her on the steroid cream Prednisolone. That, along with the Lysine gave Lily quite a bit of relief, but she still had a lot of painful days. These days were marked by drool that was often tinged with blood.

My vet then suggested that I try AquaDent, but Lily wouldn’t drink the water that contained this supplement. In desperation, I went to Amazon.com and searched for anything that mentioned stomatitis and cats. That is how I found PlaqueOff and decided that I was willing to spend the $30 or so dollars that it cost. If it didn’t work, I wouldn’t be out much. If it did, then Lily would be happier and more comfortable. Fortunately for Lily, it worked very well and gave her back her quality of life.

These days Lily has very few bad days, but they do still crop up. Whenever she starts to drool I give her a small does of the pain medicine Buprenex.

To sum it up, here is what we have done to treat Lily’s stomatitis:

  • Antibiotics
  • Teeth pulled
  • Lysine
  • Prednisolone
  • PlaqueOff
  • Buprenex

04/28/2015 Update: It has now been over two years since we started treating Lily for stomatitis. Today (04/28/2015) you would never know there is anything wrong with Lily. Her stomatitis is completely under control and she doesn’t show any signs of pain. She no longer needs the Buprenex (pain medicine) or Prednisolone (steroid cream). She takes Lysine and PlaqueOff daily, and I now give both of these supplements to all five of our cats.

Comments

Treatment For Stomatitis — 732 Comments

  1. My cat, Bran, has been suffering from stomatitis since he was about 6 months old. We tried everything from steroid injections (to which we were warned about the diabetes risk) to topical steroids, teeth pulling, and even the AquaDent stuff. Bran’s sister (actual littermate) Arya also suffers from stomatitis but to a much less degree.
    After a couple of years of treating Bran with semi-frequent steroid injections coupled with at-home treatments that he was not too keen on, we finally decided to pull his teeth, minus the canines as my Vet was concerned about him not recovering well without them due to how young he was. After the first teeth removal, my vet asked if they could try out a new therapy that was supposed to help with inflammation. It was called cold laser therapy. It has made the difference between a sickly cat and a healthy cat and though he requires it every couple of weeks, it is the reason that my Bran is still alive today. Due to the severity of Bran’s case, we eventually needed to remove his remaining teeth, which included the canines, and when Arya’s stomatitis reared its ugly head in her mouth very rapidly, we decided to remove her teeth as well due to the genetic link between the two cats.
    It has been about 5 or 6 years now that we have been treating Bran’s stomatitis with the cold laser therapy every 2-3 weeks along with the occasional topical steroid treatment. I do not think that Bran would be doing nearly as well without the teeth extraction, but I do think that the cold laser therapy has made all the difference in his quality of life.
    For anyone new to this disease, I would recommend discussing cold laser therapy with your vet to see if it is something they offer and if they would be willing to try it for your pet to see if it helps manage the stomatitis before any drastic measures are taken.

  2. I have a few cats with Stomititus and this is a virus and it can be passed around. The virus could be with the cat since a kitten. Ellen, which part of the USA are you in? I have been treating my cats with VET CBD oil. It seems to manage the pain somewhat and I was hoping to manage the infection but I have not seen much help in that. There are not any cures and full mouth extraction is only good in 30% of the cases. The stomituts will start attacking the teeth by forming assportive leasons and then dental diseases. It isn’t that pulling teeth stops the stomitus the teeth are pulled to stop the attacks on teeth and then pain. Steroids and suboxone for pain are the only treatement right now besides full mouth extraction. UC Davis is in the 7th year or clinical trials on curing this dreaded disease and thay have been having a lot of success. Google UC Davis clinical trials stomititus and you will find a lot of information there. I have one of my cats in the trial.

    • I must respectively disagree with your assertions that Stomatitus is a infectious virus. Perhaps you meant to say a good number of cats with Stomatitis have what is called Feline Leukemia or a immune deficiency which are contagious and viral. If this information you have in your comment gained from individuals conducting the clinical trials I would have second thoughts
      Best Regards

      • I just logged in and saw your response and I do not take esception to your comment. Everyone on here has one goal and are friendly. The cooment about virus was my understading in that calcivirus seems to be the cause. Someone explain that please. As for the dentist I use UC Davis and the head teaching instructor as my go to for this problem. Not name dropping but he is as good as I think I can find right now. I know there are a lot of very good dentists and a lot even better but a teaching hospital for people or animals gives us access to state of the art procedures and modalities that are very current.

      • I believe it is a virus that can be passed. My cat had stomatitis and I did not realize it. I acquired another cat that was perfectly healthy and within a few months the new cat had the same symptoms within a few months, but much more server than my first cat.

        • Richard,

          I have heard that before, so it is possible. I had a total of four cats when I had Lily, and they ate from a communal food bowl. None of my other cats got it, so maybe we were lucky. I’ve also heard that stress can be a factor in cats getting it, but who knows if that’s true.

          Rochelle

    • Stomatitis itself is not a virus. It can come from calicivirus and that is contagious if not vaccinated.

  3. I READ ONLINE THAT PEOPLE ARE USING “COLLOIDAL SILVER.” A DOCTOR IN NEW ZEALEND DID SOME CLINICAL TRIALS AND THE OUTCOMES WERE GOOD. THIS STUFF TREATS MANY DISEASES. AMAZON HAS IT. GET AT LEAST 99% SILVER. IT IS TASTELESS AND ODOR FREE. YOU CAN ADD IT TO THEIR FOOD OR HOWEVER YOU CAN GET IT IN THEM OR ON THEM. (TREATS SORES). I AM TREATINF A STRAY WE “ADOPTED” AND HE IS IMPROVING. IN THE OLD DAYS, WOMEN DROPPED A PIECE OF SILVER IN THEIR BABY’S MILK SO IT WOULD NOT GO BAD. ANYTHING IS WORTH A TRY TO HELP THIS POOR CATS/DOGS IN PAIN AND MISERY! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

      • Could u tell me how much silver was in the one u used and how much do u give your cats. Do the cats have stomatis?? Where did u get your products from???

  4. I am “fostering” a 17 yr old Exotic Shorthair that has stomatitis. The owner had Eggy for years but told me Eggy was miserable at her house with all her new kittens. I am also the only one that Eggy ever let pet her. She asked if she could bring Eggy to my house for a little while to de stress. I told her I could not take on another cat especially a geriatric cat that needs probably $1500 in dentistry work. She was not planning to get her teeth done so the options were either she lived in pain and miserable from all the kittens tormenting her or she was somewhere with other senior cats (Mine) and still miserable in pain. I figured it was the lesser of two evils but told her that she was responsible for the bills. Needless to say That is not going to happen. I have three cats of my own. One of which is on prescription food, another one that is on prescription eyedrops and supplements and the third one that has a growth that the vet and I are keeping an eye on…. when I adopted my own cats I understood that they will be with me for life especially in their senior years when they need you the most. I definitely cannot afford to pay for a $1500 dentistry on a 17-year-old cat that probably has beginning stages of kidney disease(Just a hunch)… however a cat and her circumstances is not really adoptable. The owner will not take her back and even if she did the cat would not get the treatment she needs so now I am stuck with the guilt of trying to treat this cat with extremely limited funds that should be going toward my own cats….Thankfully I have insurance on my three now but there are still deductibles etc….Does anybody have any suggestions on reduced cost dentistry’s for a situation like this? I don’t know if I would consider her owned or not because I had explained to the owner that I did not want her but she won’t take her back. So I believe this cat has become my responsibility. She is an unbelievably sweet cat she is just very nervous but once she does allow you to pet her which is once in a blue moon she can’t get enough of it LOL. Although she’s not showing signs of pain and she still eating I do see blood tinged drool and the smell of death coming from her mouth. Does anybody have any suggestions for me on what I should do? She was diagnosed with stomatitis right before she was dropped at my house pretty much which was about two years ago …. I have finally excepted the fact that she is not taking her back …😞…. I would surrender her if that would get her comfortable but I think she will just be put to sleep at her age and with her extreme nervousness and shyness and her age ……

    • Kimberly,

      My apologies, as it’s been a little bit since you wrote and I don’t know if you still need information about low cost dental care. I don’t know of any, but hopefully someone else seeing this can offer a suggestion. I admire you for taking on this special needs kitty.

      Rochelle

    • i finally remembered how to reply, kimberely i think the first thing to do is get a vet to check her out yourself, i have a vet ive used for so many years now he is the 3rd owner of the clinic, he still is quick to say stomatitis. that smell can also be from a bad tooth or an infection. over the years ive had about half my guys actually with the disease, and several i treated along with them, just easier. i got involved in rescuing because of my wife and we would just keep the ones we couldn’t place or didn’t belong to a colony. we had 21 at one time. in fact my last feral is almost 18 and he diagnosed her also, she had been having problems with her teeth for years off and on so with my age and her being in good health i had all her teeth pulled, the first one we did, instead of leaving the two so the tongue doesn’t hang out. took her a couple weeks to learn how to eat and its been almost 2 years and she is doing great, eats well, loves being petted and brushed, and the tongue stays in. and i have the same problem with high dental, some cities ive heard have help in place but not my area.

      i just wanted to tell everyone again about the silver water, ive used it for years but you have to be very careful, im sure you’ve run across lots of the con artists online but the ones that want to use need to do the research, i know the ones ive had good luck with but some sound as good, one thing for sure, read carefully what you are buying. its a little hard because i want to say don’t buy from someone that claims you can make it and will even sell you a kit, but then you might think i was discouraging the mix your own. i buy mine from a wholesale company, i think thats the right word, you can buy it in large quantities, gal, + gal’s, and mix it with distilled water, and use glass bottles, they even sell the bottles or i think with some orders its free. and the company will give you the exact mix to make the parts per million you need. when i was looking before i think i would see at least 20 or 30 suspicious to each one that sounded good. hope its okay to pass this on to you or someone, i hate for someone to think they are using a quality product and it turn out to be no better than plain water.

  5. I have a 6yr old male Tabby that we rescued from a shelter 2yrs ago. Little did we know he has stomatitis. Last July he had 13 teeth removed, seemed to calm it down a bit but then this July had a flair up which resulted in another Dental which removed more teeth. After researching this subject I have learned Coda is in the 20% that really doesnt benefit from teeth removal. After his second surgery the stomatis came back with avengence and attacked what teeth he has left. My Vet is trying to find a solution but of course the pain meds, steriod injection & clyndamicin has been the solution for now. My Vet has told me there is another liquid medication that is quite expensive that you give orally. I have read so many stories about Feline Stomatitis since Codas experience. So, as of right now we are just 1 week out after his second tooth extraction and had to take him back to Vet today because he wasent eating. Mouth was all inflammed once again from the Stomatitis. Just wanted to share my story, and I feed Coda very good canned food, Grain free. I have been giving him lysine since I got him but are also willing and open to other suggestions. Thanks

    • Annemarie,

      My apologies for not seeing this before today. How is Coda doing?

      Your story mirrors Lily’s up to a point. We initially left her four canines but the stomatitis attacked those teeth so we later removed them, too. Although she fell in to the 20% of cats that weren’t cured by having her teeth removed, doing so did make it better and I was able to control it for the rest of her life with a combination of Prednisolone (a steroid cream that I rubbed in her ears and was able to wean her off of after a year), PlaqueOff, and Lysine. She always had a small amount of inflammation at the back of her throat but it didn’t seem to hurt her anymore.

      I recommend reading through the many comments on this site to see what has worked for other cat owners so you can decide what to try for Coda.

      Rochelle

  6. My female cat was diagnosed with Stomatitis today. She had been having trouble eating for 2 weeks and I decided it was past time to see the vet.
    She was given a steroid shot and put on antibiotics, however I may have to return to vet for injectable antibiotic if I can not get the pill in her.
    The vet suggested have in her teeth removed. This isn’t something I want to do. Are there supplements that will work with the antibiotics to get the stomatiy under control.

    • Kathlyn,

      My apologies that I didn’t see this until now. How is your kitty doing? To answer your question, there are several supplements that you can try. What worked for my cat Lily was a combination of Prednisolone (a steroid cream that I rubbed in her ear and was able to wean her off it after a year of taking it), PlaqueOff, and Lysine.

      Other people have had success with other supplements, such as Colloidal Silver. I recommend reading through the comments on the various posts on this site to get ideas on what you might want to try.

      Rochelle

  7. My cat is suffering from stomatitis as well. She had all her teeth removed 2 months ago, but seems to fall in that 20% bracket. We are trying antibiotics, prednisolone, and gabapentin again to see if it will help her mouth heal.
    I am very interested in trying l-lysine. How is this dosed for cats? Do you think she will benefit from the plaqueoff even though she has no teeth left?

    • Alexis,

      The lysine that I bought for Lily is marketed for cats and includes a dosing spoon inside. I scooped out the amount on the spoon, which is (I think) about 1/8 tsp. As for PlaqueOff and no teeth, I can share my experience. Lily also didn’t have any teeth and I bought it out of desperation. The container says that it takes up to eight weeks before you will start to see improvement and that was true with Lily. To my great surprise, it helped. Not just a little but a lot! You can see pictures of how well it helped here (you’ll need to scroll towards the bottom to see pictures of Lily’s progress on it) – http://stomatitisincats.com/review-of-plaqueoff-for-cats. It doesn’t make sense that PlaqueOff would help a cat that doesn’t have any teeth but it did for Lily.

      Rochelle

  8. I may have posted this in the past but will once again. My 14 year old boy cat came down with Stomatitus or actually the symptoms are visible. I have been through everything the vet could offer and have read all that I could find on the net. In my desperation to help him I am currently using a CBD product, one formulated for vet use. The amount of THC is just trace so there is not any psychoactive properties. I am using a product VetCbd 20-1. I started this because I have heard that CBD has anti inflammatory properties. After many months I am not certain if the anti inflammatory has worked but I seem to have pain relief from the product, enough that we have not been on any prescription products for months. I have notice that he eats well, is playful and loving. Then on another treatment we are on a waiting list for a clinical trial at UC Davis. The Vet school is doing clinical trials using stem cell treatments. That may cure it, who knows, but in the world of medicine it seems that they are trying to put out fires rather that stopping them from occuring.

    • Bob,

      Several people have commented on the UC Davis trials and whatever they do there seems to be helping. As far as I know, UC Davis is the only location actively and continually looking for ways to help cats with stomatitis, so that’s a very good thing. I hope they notify you soon that you are moved up from waiting list to treatment.

      Rochelle

  9. I have just lost my 4 year old Exotic shorthair girl while under anesthetic having her teeth removed. Lucy had bad stomatitis for some time and was given a long course of antibiotics last year which did help somewhat. The idea to have her teeth removed was the only chance my vet believed to help her with the stomatitis. Even though she still ate, her throat glands were very swollen and had a lot of problems with swollowing and has been awful to see her suffer. I finally agreed to have her teeth removed, though with not much hope of better results (I had this done to another of my cats years ago, which never helped to remove stomatitis). I regret what I have done, as now I have lost her, after having such a short life. The vet said it all happened so quicky and there was no chance of saving her while removing her teeth. The hours beforehand she showed no other signs of illness, so it it such a shock what has happened….it must had been cardiomyopathy. Is stomatitis hereditary, only I have her daughter…..Lucy never had this illness when she was a kitten?

    • Carol,

      I am so sorry to hear about what happened to Lucy. That is beyond heartbreaking, especially for a cat that young.

      Not enough research has been done on stomatitis to know for sure what causes it, but my vet thinks that there might be a genetic link to it. She also thinks that stomatitis is triggered in some cats that live in very stressful situations, such as with hoarders or foster homes with a lot of cats.

      Even if it is genetic, that doesn’t mean that Lucy’s daughter will get it, but you might want to start looking in her throat every couple of months to see if there is anything inflammation on the back of her throat or on her gums. If so, then start treating her. Or, you can be proactive and treat her before. I give Lysine and PlaqueOff to all my cats, and it has actually helped improve their gums and tartar, so that’s a bonus for me.

      Rochelle

  10. My kitty Milo is only about 5 months and has a pretty bad case of stomatitis. Of course the vets went straight to teeth removal but after readying this i want to give these things a try. But I’m also worried that that’s what they went to because he is so little. They also said it was mostly genetic and that he has enlarged lip-noids.

    • Lacey,

      I am sincerely sorry for not seeing this sooner. Did you try anything? If so, how is Milo doing?

      My vet agrees with yours that stomatitis is probably genetic, although not enough is known about it to say for sure. She also thinks that it can be triggered in cats that live in very stressful situations, such as hoarders or foster homes with lots of kitties. I hope you are able to find relief for Milo.

      Rochelle

  11. Thank you for the information on supplements for help with stomatitis. I’ve been searching for products that would help without having to spend $350+ a few months for a dental. My cat is 16 years old with low level kidney disease so I’m not expecting him to live another 10 years but I want him to be as comfortable as can be for what time he has left. Thank you.

  12. I am currently fostering a cat which has been diagnosed with Stomatitis. Spearmint doesn’t have any outward signs of the stomatitis. He eats fine, drinks, cleans himself, a healthy weight and doesn’t mind having his chin rubbed BUT his gums are very inflamed. The vet at the shelter starting him on depo ( a steroid), its supposed to last for six weeks. I had asked what else I could try for him. He came from a hoarder situation with 32 other cats, so I am very sure his diet was horrible. I have noticed he does not eat dry food at all, he will only eat the wet food. This is where I am little confused, since he is asymptomatic, I really don’t know how much I should try for him.

    • Tonya,

      I am sincerely sorry for not seeing this sooner and realize that you might have already found help for your cat. Knowing what I know now that I’ve dealt with full-blown stomatitis, if I was in your situation then I would treat my cat even if he didn’t have extreme symptoms. The reason for this is because this disease can progress quickly and is horribly painful for cats. I encourage you to read through the comments because there are owners who have found relief with a raw food diet and it sounds like your cat might be the perfect cat for this, given that he doesn’t eat dry food. I wish you much luck.

      Rochelle

  13. My cat Holly is 11 years old. She is a small Asian Blue Tortie, I bred her, so have had her since birth, number six out of a litter of ten, three of whom died at birth. I kept her and her tiny brother as I felt I could not guarantee the long life and health of the two kittens “six” and “seven” to a new owner.

    So she has never left her birth home, and has always had access to a safe garden full of interesting sights, smells, and sunny patches. She has always been regularly vaccinated, had good quality food and has been cuddled and played with, with the freedom of the house and no harsh words. So she is a confident cat of loving temperament, without a mean bone in her slim blue body.

    Holly started having trouble with her mouth about four years ago. For a long time it was controlled with a minimum dose of steroids, or of Metacam, Her quality of life at that time was still pretty good and she clearly enjoyed most of it. This regime gradually failed.

    It was a miracle that I had thought to insure her to top level from birth – “Covered for Life”.I could afford the 20% percent excess on her treatment but more would have bankrupted me. Seeking always the best advice we started a trail through a whole raft of treatments. Most of her teeth were removed, she had a full dental at the Royal College, and another visit to a specialist centre who offered no new avenues to follow. We tried Loxicom, acupuncture, steroids, Metacam, Fentanyl patch, lots of Gabapentin, Metronyzadole antibiotics of all kinds, Lysine and Plaqueoff, – no result.

    I cursed the horrible infection that had robbed my cat of her strength, her health and joy, and became totally focussed on her cure.

    I researched and researched, Googled and Googled. I read blogs and learned papers and talked to anyone who might help (and would listen…..). I tried every kind of food to get her to eat and every kind of pain killer to help her sore mouth. I found a way to massage her jaw and the back of her neck, which did give her relief, but it was only relief, just that, for a time.

    No cure.

    I became rather unsocial and found it almost impossible to leave her, even for one night.

    My family were sad for me, thought I was overdoing it, and all the time actually believed I was in a losing game.

    There was a point where everything had failed save for the treatment which sounded the most extreme, as told by vet Diane Addie in her online description of her “Treatment Protocols.” It cost £500, but in the world of vets’ bills £100 (the excess) was, relatively, peanuts. I spoke to my vet, who, having tried everything was, as ever, willing to try, but it did feel as if this was the last hope.

    The treatment highlighted below worked when all (and I mean everything) else had failed. We gave it as described below – all details drugs and protocols homework again for my vet, who proved to be a good scholar!

    Holly had one treatment only, recovered well from the anaesthetic and came home the same day. She lay in bed (mostly mine) and for three or four days there seemed no change. I began to squash my hopes, but could not quite abandon them – they had kept me going for so long. I watched her closely, was there a difference? Was I imagining a difference? By the end of the week I was becoming convinced that there was a subtle change in her behaviour, but did not dare to believe it. There was nothing really. She just felt different.

    So I squashed the hopes ever more firmly. The change might mean anything. I was afraid to find out.

    Then, a day or so later she really did seem a bit different, and a few days after that she was definitely moving about more. I began to wonder.

    After two weeks there was a clear change. I summoned up my courage and took her for a check-up to my vet. The moment came. My vet’s forefinger deftly exposed Holly’s now pale pink throat, covered with quite a large number of whitish spots.

    I gasped. Infection! So that was what it was! The white spots! Poor Holly had survived the treatment only to succumb to a horrible new infection. My heart sank.

    My vet however had a big smile on her face.

    “What are those nasty spots?” I cried. “That’s an infection isn’t it – she’s got another infection……………”

    Lindsay continued to grin.

    “That’s not an infection” she said. “It’s scar tissue. The whole thing has cleared – disappeared. That treatment – it worked! It really looks like it worked!!!

    That was nearly a year ago. We have had check-ups and my cat remains obviously, and perfectly, well. She eats happily and normally and is full of life. She had a great summer, which I most wanted for her – a proper cat summer patrolling the garden boundaries, stalking the undergrowth, napping and rolling in sunlight and waking me at a quarter past four in the morning.

    Another day has come and she’s ready to go. “Wake up”-she insists as she smacks me on the nose with her paw. “It’s going to be a good one”. Drat it, Cat!

    My girl is now frisky, hungry, eats plenty, controls the garden space, plays with catnip mice and catches real ones, gives and gets a lot of love, and pushes her little face right up close and personal when she requires attention. She still sleeps in my bed, but for only part of the night instead of being pretty much immobilised night and day. It’s truly wonderful.

    Oh – and she does a fair bit of yowling round the house. This is annoying.

    I am delighted.
    This is the procedure that cured my cat. It can be found on line. Google Diane Addie.

    Diane Addie – Treatment protocols
    Feline chronic gingivostomatitis information factsheet for veterinary surgeons
    Aetiology: multifactorial – feline calicivirus (FCV), idiosyncratic immune response to oral antigens, food intolerance, Bartonella henselae have all been implicated. These cats occasionally have feline leukaemia virus or feline immunodeficiency virus.
    Diagnosis: biopsy of lesions, demonstration of FCV (preferably by virus isolation).
    Treatment: extraction of teeth curative in 80-90% of cases, but may wish to begin with conservative treatment consisting of most or all of the following:
    Drug doses in FGS treatment Feline interferon omega*
    Subgingival use: A dose of 1 million units (0.2ml of a 5 million unit vial, 0.1ml of a 10 million unit vial) locally into the junction between healthy gum and diseased gum given when the cat is anaesthetised has been reported to have excellent results. However, some cats require more than one treatment and if they are poor anaesthetic risks an alternative may be preferable.
    Normal use: 1million units Virbagen Omega per kg every other day subcutaneously for 5 injections, thereafter monitor calicivirus shedding and reduce frequency of injections until cat stops shedding FCV or until a comfortable state has been achieved.
    Reconstituted solution can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, or can be kept frozen for longer. Antibiotics
    Antirobe (clindamycin) 5mg/kg bid for 6 weeks
    or Azithromycin* 10mg/kg sid for at least 21 days.
    or Doxycycline 20mg/kg sid for 6 weeks
    or Rifampin* 10mg/kg sid for 21 days
    Painkillers
    Fentanyl patch (Duragesic, Janssen) *
    Ensure strength of patch is appropriate for the patient. Apply the patch in an area that is out of reach of the patient’s mouth and ensure that it is securely bandaged over, and labelled with the date of application and patch size (dose). Ensure the cat is not on a heat pad since that will increase drug absorption and may result in signs of overdose (respiratory depression, bradycardia). The patch will take effect in 6-12 hours and remain effective 24-72 hours. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
    Metacam*
    Day 1: 0.3mg/kg sid with food
    Days 2-7: 0.1mg/kg sid with food
    or Ketofen
    1mg/kg sid per os for 5 days

  14. Im struggling to write this right now because im so heartbroken but thank you for writing this article because its gave me hope that my gracie can improve. Ill talk to my vet about the supplements and surgeries. My baby is in so much pain right now even with the antibodies.

  15. I looked up “Plaque-Off” and it said that it is clinically proven to significantly reduce bad breath, plaque and tartar………but if all the teeth have been pulled, then what is the benefit of reducing plaque and tartar??????

    Here is what I don’t understand. Lily does not have ANY TEETH. What exactly is the Plaque Off taking the plaque “OFF OF”?

    • Sunny,

      I understand your confusion as I wondered this very same thing before I bought it for the first time. Honestly, I didn’t think it would work because Lily didn’t have teeth but I was desperate and willing to try it. It DID work, but I don’t completely understand why it worked. Apparently the plaque is still created even if there aren’t teeth and some people believe that stomatitis is partly caused by the cat’s body fighting off the plaque, almost like a plaque allergy. So using PlaqueOff prevented the creation of plaque (I think), which is apparently why it worked for Lily. You don’t have to take my word for it because you can see the pictures I took showing the improvement from PlaqueOff.

      Sincerely,
      Rochelle

  16. Questions for Cat Lover: Are FCV Support and Boost from Phytopet in Great Britain? If so, it seems FCV Support is a homeopathic treatment primarily for cat flu respiratory symptoms. Why for stomatitis? Also are the agrimony and yellow dock (you mentioned in your cat’s treatment) herbal tinctures, flower essences, or homeopathic? Agrimony seems to be for stress which makes sense but yellow dock for ear mites. Im a little confused but encouraged that your regimen seems to have worked for your kitty. Thank you so much for your earlier reply to me with your information. I wish my cat was getting healing from the Plaqueoff and Lysine but not so far. Perhaps 2 1/2 months is still too soon.

  17. UC Davis is in fact having clinical trials using stem cells to fight/cure stomititus. The did a trail for cats that already had full mouth extractions with the stomititus returning. They have 70% full cure rate and then some relief on the 30%. I do not know if this trial is still in progress. The next trials are for cats with stomititus with teeth intact. I do not know how this trial is progressing or if it has started. This is the only information I have on these trials and my statements may not be entirely correct however they are close. I have my cat in line for the next trial.

  18. I would be careful about eucalyptus oil, even in a place like the back of the neck where cats are not supposed to be able to reach. I have heard it as a flea remedy by holistic sources, but it is listed as toxic to cats by the ASPCA (as are many other essential oils). I just used to take some diluted Dawn detergent and use a flea comb. I’d then drown the fleas in the bowl of diluted detergent. Of course vacuuming is good. I also applied Zodiac Carpet & Upholstery Aerosol Spray and then vacuumed, but you may not want to use something so strong all over the place.I have indoor-only cats but have had a flea problem this year…not sure why.

  19. I am getting every post that comes through on my email, can you tell me how to disable this feature?
    Thank you

    • Cathie,

      At the bottom of any of the emails you get there should be a link that says something like, “Unsubscribe.” I’m not exactly sure what the wording is, but it says something about stopping the emails. If you commented on multiple pages then you may need to do that a few times to unsubscribe from each page’s comments. I hope this helps.

      Rochelle

  20. Three years ago one of the vets at the practice wanted to put my cat Polar to sleep, I said no I need to try some different things before that I had he had had interferon injected into his guns that didn’t work he had all his teeth removed except the four front ones and he was on Metacam which is a pain killer, then I went down the herbal route and I haven’t looked back his mouth is a very dusty pink he is not on pain medication anymore, this is what I use and how I do it.

    Cats Medication (Two small glasses required)

    You can make up the morning 1st dose in the evening, so that it will save some time in the morning. (ALL MEDICATION TO BE SHAKEN, APART FROM PILLS AND ENISYL-F ) ( PREPARE IN ORDER SHOWN AND GIVE ALL WHEN NUMBER 1 IS READY )
    To make up the following you will need two small glasses and some cold boiled water from the kettle.
    Morning
    1, In a small glass add FCV support, (use tweezers to get one out), Five drops of Boost, one drop of each, Agrimony & Yellow Dock Root and add 1/2 tea spoon of cold boiled water; syringe this out when dissolved (approx. 15 Mins)
    Colloidal Silver water in blue bottle, shake well, use dropper, use just one squeeze of bulb and put into mouth, half one side and half the other.
    2, Enisyl-F, put syringe on nozzle and pump nozzle twice into syringe, make sure cap goes back on when done.
    3, In a separate glass put two pumps of ArthriAid Omega, syringe up in three lots and give it to him, one at a time, you may need to rub his chin and neck to help him swallow.
    Evening
    As in number 1 above but without the BOOST.
    In a small glass add FCV support, (use tweezers to get one out), one drop of each, Agrimony & Yellow Dock Root and add 1/2 tea spoon of cold boiled water; syringe this out when dissolved (approx. 15 Mins)
    2, Enisyl-F, put syringe on nozzle and pump nozzle twice into syringe, make sure cap goes back on when done.

    The Slippery Elm Bark (three to four times, if possible, per day)
    Give the made up liquid in the fridge, draw up to top mark of two syringes (2ml), give 15 mins before the rest of medication above, up to 3 – 4 times a day, the last one, give it to them just before you go to bed.

    To make up new batch of slippery elm bark
    Put 1 ½ tea spoons of Slippery Elm bark into a saucepan with 8 ounces of cold water, bring to the boil stirring all the time and continue for three minutes.
    Let it go cold and put in a small container, this will keep in the fridge for five days.

    Hope this helps

    • I haven’t heard of many of the ingredients. What is Boost? Are they easy to find? Health food stores or where?

  21. I don’t want to sound negative, but stomatitis seems to be impossible to cure. The most one can hope for is to keep the cat comfortable. I have gone the gamut of having my cat’s teeth pulled ( not possible as he almost died in surgery ), all kinds of antibiotics,plaque off, colloidal silver, lysine in all forms, and now he is existing on steroid shot once a month, antibiotic every 2 – 3 weeks, and pain meds. I can suggest” Delectable Squeeze up bisque ” available at Walmart if eating becomes difficult. I am now going to try Coq 10, but I am not expecting much.

  22. Has anyone had their cat’s stomatitis seem worse after starting the PlaqueOff? Katy has been on it since 7/17/17 along with continuing the lysine. Her mouth no better and actually seems to have some newer redness along back molars. Just need more time?

    • This is a response that was emailed directly to me from Diane B.. She said:

      “II’m sorry, ’ve not heard of stomatitis getting worse with Plaque off. –But I do have another question…What do you all use for Flea protection? I have a small case of fleas in my kitty. I washed him in Dawn and bought some Sentry flea stuff, but it was really BAD and he wasn’t tolerating it well, so I ended up washing it off. Now he has nothing and it seems the fleas are back! I haven’t seen an actual flea, but he has the “flea dirt”. Not sure what to do!!”

      Diane – You can get a flea comb that has teeth very close together, and use it to comb the fleas off your cat. It takes a lot of patience but it is possible to get the fleas under control with this. You will also want to vacuum thoroughly and regularly, including things like sofas, to get up any eggs to prevent a second infestation. There might be natural remedies (way back in my memory I seem to recall my mother putting a drop of eucalyptus oil on the shoulder blades of our cats but please look into this before doing it yourself) but I haven’t had a problem with fleas in decades – ours are all indoor cats – so am unable to recommend any. No doubt someone else can offer a suggestion.

      Rochelle

      • DO NOT USE SENTRY, it can be deadly. As for the plaque off don’t waste your money. Stomitus goes far more than simply a response to plaque. A treatment for stomitius is full mouth extraction and this only works as low as 30% of the time. So if pulling all the teeth,which is where we would find plaque, doesn’t work then why would simply removing plaque work? Cat dentist will remove the plaque but that won’t work. I am using Petlab dental formula to fight plaque and gingavitus in my cats. I am not endorsing it and I am waiting to see how it works. For cats that have had full mouth extraction and the stomitus does not go away then steriod treatment helps a lot. I have 4 on steriods right now. UC Davis did clinical trials with stem cells and it cured stomitus in cats with full mouth non responsive stomititus but not cats with all of their teeth. If you do a full mouth extraction you do not have to take the canines out. Doesn’t help with the canines in or out, it is the molars and then the pre molars. If you wish to use a topical flea med then use activl flea med for dogs. Get the one for the big dog. DO NOT GET THE ACTIVL PLUS FOR TICKS, IT WILL HARM YOUR CAT AND THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. The activl for dogs is the same formula as the one for cats. Buy the dog dose because you get more doses for the same money. Each caplet contains 5-7 doses. Use a Ml syringe and draw out .07Ml and apply it to the back of the cats neck. 4 dog caplets is 55 dollars and it contains about 50 doses for a cat(s). apply about every three weeks during flea season. Do not use advantage anymore, it wouldn’t kill a flea if you tried to drown it in it.

        • Bob,

          I don’t use Sentry, so I’m not sure why you said that. I was responding to someone else who said she used it.

          As for PlaqueOff being a waste of money, I 100% disagree. I took pictures of Lily’s mouth, which shows the progress made while taking the PlaqueOff. You can see them by scrolling near the bottom of this page: Pictures of Lily’s Progress with PlaqueOff.

          A full mouth extraction works for about 80% of cats, not 30%, according to my vet. I agree that it doesn’t make sense that PlaqueOff should work if all teeth are gone, but it does. Lily is proof of that, as are many other cats mentioned on this site. She isn’t the only one who had success with it.

          You probably already know this, but be careful with long term use of steroids. It can lead to kidney problems. I was able to wean Lily off of steroids, and kept her on the PlaqueOff and Lysine. Both of those worked well together for her.

          Rochelle

  23. Thank you for the info. My boy is almost 2 now, he has a pretty bad case of stomatitis. I give him doxycycline and atopica alternately 7 days on and 7 days off. He does much better on the doxycycline weeks, the atopica seems to work only a little. I read your post about 6 months ago and he has been getting the plaque off and lysine 1x daily. Not sure if it does anything. I only give him 1/2 scoop of each, how much do you give your girl Lilly? Wondering if I should increase the dose. He actually prefers dry food but I give him a teaspoon of soft food first thing in the morning when he is hungry and can get everything into him pretty easily. The vet recommended a dental consult to remove his teeth, this concerns me bc we live in the woods and although he is an indoor cat, he has been known to escape and spend the night outside on occasion. I don’t want to leave him with decreased defenses. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

    • Cathie,

      Do you mean that you give half a scoop of the spoons that come in the Lysine and PlaqueOff containers? If so, that’s probably not enough. Lily has since passed away but when she was here I gave her a full scoop of each.

      I completely understand your worry about your cat not being able to defend himself without teeth. Lily’s teeth were removed and, although it felt strange when she bit me, she couldn’t hurt me at all. Ask your vet about Prednisolone. It is the steroid cream I used for Lily and it is rubbed inside the ear. It has to be made at a specialty pharmacy, the kind that makes their own medicines, but that, along with the Lysine and PlaqueOff, worked wonders for Lily.

      Please keep us posted as to how your cat does.

      Rochelle

  24. To Ruth with the feral cat:
    My 16-month-old was feral 14 months ago. He has been clawing at his mouth and growling after eating. Yesterday the vet told me he has stomatitis. They sold me a powder called viralys, which is L-lysine mostly, and palatable to cats. He also got two shots, which I realize you can’t get without the vet visit, but if you can get the lysine powder and also they told me to squirt his gums with black tea. Cooled, of course. That part is difficult but I wrapped him in a towel tightly like a burrito, and do it fast. Be careful not to get tea in his nose.

  25. Thanks for all the suggestions on my Ferule cat. We left town for a few days, and I had run out of the Clavmox for him. sooo… as you can guess, he is in a lot of pain and I don`t even know if I will be able to get him to eat any meds in his food. I am going to pick up some L-Lysin… my guess it is in pill form and hopefully he will eat is. I will quarter it…I certainly can`t give him any meds that you rub on his gums… I have a call into forgotten felines and they are going to get back to me on what to do….. I doubt he will go into a trap. Hopefully they will get me some meds… I just want him to be comfortable and pain free…..No vet will give me anything because the want to see the cat….. WTH…. he`s ferule !!!! I need help !!!!! I hate to see him grabbing at his mouth… If I just leave him, will he just go off and die ??? I’m just sick !!!! help…help…

    • This response was sent by email to me from Jimmie Roan:

      “for Ruth, no you get lysine in powder form or in a gel, you can buy viralys, it is flavored and in a tube, they also have viralys oro gel that will give the dose of lysine and numbe the gums a little.”

      Rochelle

  26. Has anyone dealt with a cat with stomatitis and with urinary crystals?
    I just found out the awful news today with our inside/outside cat, Jeffrey. I already lost a semi-feral to this terrible condition, and now four years later, his sister has it. Now, Jeffrey. He’s been on supplements for his immune system since he came to us with an excess saliva problem. This has just developed. While I can put him on his back, he fights to have anything put into his mouth. I’ve contacted Dr. Don Hamilton, the homeopath who’s helped me with the other stomatitis cats. Once he’s on a remedy, though, he won’t be able to have anything with peppermint in it, and at least one of the anti-plaque products has it. His new integrative vet prefers we feed him raw, but I’m not crazy about doing this with an immune-compromised cat. I’m in overwhelm. This is our fourth special needs pet, and I thought his only problem was his crystals. Thanks.

  27. To Ruth,

    Re: your feral cat. I hate to say this, but euthanasia may be the kindest course of action. It is so hard to treat ferals. When their mouths get bad, they are impossible to re-trap because they are not as hungry. I’ve had 3 ferals with stomatitis put to sleep in the past 10 years of doing cat rescue and trap-neuter-return. In each case, the vet told me releasing them would be cruel. Your situation is different than most on this board who have housecats that are easily handled. Ferals are always a challenge. Their plight in life can be heartbreaking. I wish you luck in treating the cat and peace in whatever decision you make.

  28. Has anyone tried Feline Interferon treatment? Not the human form, but feline. I know this is not available (yet) in the US, but just curious if anyone has had experience with this?

  29. UC-Davis (near Sacramento, California) has conducted clinical trial with felines using stem cells taken from their body fat, ‘tweeked’, and reintroduced in their system. I live in Carson City, Nevada (3 hours drive from Sacramento) and have contacted them to see if they can treat my cat. I’ve ordered lysine gel and treats and will consider removing teeth as appropriate. I feel *very* confident my veterinarian knows her business regarding all matters oral! Still, I greatly appreciate the wealth of experience provided here! Thank you!!!

  30. Ruth, Thank you for being concerned about this feral kitty and his stomatitis troubles–and for being persistent to trap him and take him to the vet. As Rochelle suggested, the best thing you can do now is try to get the L-lysine and the Plaque Off into him in food. The Plaque Off is available fairly cheaply (the non-brewers yeast version) and lysine is inexpensive. I work with a large cat shelter locally and we work with ferals frequently. The way to try to get him to accept these in food is to start slowly and gradually increase so that he is less likely to reject the food with the things added. Also you could try to find something he really likes (sardines, tuna, special wet food, etc.) to entice him and also further disguise his meds.

  31. This is all good info. BUT…….. I have a ferrule cat. I can pet him and I do put flea meds on him. I MIGHT be able to shoot some meds in his moth, but maybe only once. He will get wise. He is friendly to a point. I had to trap him, as he kept digging at his mouth, so I thought he had a fox tail or something caught. Took him to Forgotten Felines, as they do a wellness check. It took me weeks to get him in the trap. They knocked him out and said he had this disease. They gave him a cortisone shot…. worked great. ,, for about 6 weeks. I see he is grabbing at his mouth again. My heart is just broken. NOW WHAT >>>>???? I can give him Clavomox pillis in cheese and canned food…. but vets won`t prescribe it with out seeing him,,, cant do that…….. Do you think treating him with Antibiotic is enough to help him ??? Also, how do you treat with the l-lysine ??? I need it to not taste and to be simple. I am open to any suggestions,… remember he is mostly ferrule… Simi touchable.
    Also, is the disease hereditary ??.. wondering if maybe his mom had it….. now that I think about it…

    • Ruth,

      Wow, that’s a difficult situation. From what I’ve heard about feral cats, if you’ve trapped them once it will be incredibly difficult to trap them again.

      I have no idea if antibiotics would be helpful to your cat but it can’t hurt to talk to your vet about this situation and see what he (she) has to say and suggest. If your kitty has stomatitis then Lysine alone probably won’t be enough to help. You can try mixing Lysine and PlaqueOff, or any other powder supplement, in wet food. Here is a video that I made of how I gave it to Lily.

      http://stomatitisincats.com/how-i-give-lysine-and-plaqueoff-to-lily

      As for being hereditary, no one knows. One thing vets to agree on is that stress can bring it on or make it worse. If the feral cat cat colony in your area is large then it is possible that the cat is experiencing stress that is contributing to it.

      Rochelle

  32. Thank you so much to Shawnee CatMother, Cat Lover, Jimmie Roan for your informative replies to my colloidal silver question and to Rochelle for keeping up this site and forwarding emails she receives. I will take it all into consideration in my regimen for Katy Joy and post updates here. She currently has quite a regimen from my holistic vet (as detailed as Cat Lover’s altho different products) and I’ve decided to try some changes to hopefully make better progress after giving the current recommendations (which are also very expensive) several months. Thankfully, Katy isn’t worse during that time but hasn’t made much progress either. She has been on the Lysine all along but I’ve recently added PlaqueOff and am cautiously decreasing some supplements on her current plan. Since I have the colloidal silver I’ll try that too. Thank You all so much for your help.

  33. Jimmie Roan sent this email to me to post here for Linda B.:

    “ive used it for years, but for flushing the mouth out, just a squirt of whatever you feel like as far as amount, i used a soft tip syringe or baster, i have one i wash his eyes with it, i use it for myself and my granddaughter, scrapes bites, mouth sores etc, the biggest problem is getting the right thing, do some research, don’t take my word or anyones word for where you buy it,use common sense, lots of people are buying some wholesale and diluting it with water, not distilled as required, and selling it off amazon and ebay, there are two main sites ive used for about 10 years now and if anyone wants the names im more than glad to share, i can’t swear that the silver water “cures” anything,but i can tell you for sure i could see the difference, and my 6yr old great granddaughter has insisted her mom keep some around since i introduced it in her life. one other thing while im on my soap box, i read every comment i can find about stomatitis, and have for several years, especially after i found your story about lily, it’s good for so many that care so much share all they do to fight this disease, but everyone needs to remember the basics, no matter what new treatment you heard about or want to try, make sure you do something for the plaqlue, i’m hoping i live long enough to see them find out what causes this disease, and/or cure it, but meanwhile use the suppliments that have proven themselves to work after several years of use, the plaque off and the lysine, these are basically supplements, same with some of the others.”

  34. This is for Linda B
    This is how use it
    Colloidal Silver water shake well, use dropper, use just one squeeze of bulb and put into mouth, half one side and half the other.

    and this is all the other bit I use and the stomatitis has gone
    Cats Medication (three small glasses required)

    You can make up the morning 1st dose in the evening, so that it will save some time in the morning. (ALL MEDICATION TO BE SHAKEN, APART FROM PILLS AND ENISYL-F ) ( PREPARE IN ORDER SHOWN AND GIVE ALL WHEN NUMBER 1 IS READY )
    To make up the following you will need two small glasses and some cold boiled water from the kettle.
    Morning
    1, In a small glass add FCV support, (use tweezers to get one out), Five drops of Boost, one drop of each, Agrimony & Yellow Dock Root and add 1/2 tea spoon of cold boiled water; syringe this out when dissolved (approx. 15 Mins)
    Colloidal Silver water in blue bottle, shake well, use dropper, use just one squeeze of bulb and put into mouth, half one side and half the other.
    2, Enisyl-F, put syringe on nozzle and pump nozzle twice into syringe, make sure cap goes back on when done.
    3, In a separate glass put two pumps of ArthriAid Omega, syringe up in three lots and give it to him, one at a time, you may need to rub his chin and neck to help him swallow.
    Evening
    As in number 1 above but without the BOOST.
    In a small glass add FCV support, (use tweezers to get one out), one drop of each, Agrimony & Yellow Dock Root and add 1/2 tea spoon of cold boiled water; syringe this out when dissolved (approx. 15 Mins)
    2, Enisyl-F, put syringe on nozzle and pump nozzle twice into syringe, make sure cap goes back on when done.

    The Slippery Elm Bark (three to four times, if possible, per day)
    Give the made up liquid in the fridge, draw up to top mark of two syringes (2ml), give 15 mins before the rest of medication above, up to 3 – 4 times a day, the last one, give it to them just before you go to bed.

    To make up new batch of slippery elm bark
    Put 1 ½ tea spoons of Slippery Elm bark into a saucepan with 8 ounces of cold water, bring to the boil stirring all the time and continue for three minutes.
    Let it go cold and put in a small container, this will keep in the fridge for five days.
    Hope this helps

  35. This msg is for Linda B. Have already sent you 2 but not sure of how to get around on this website, hope you get them. Just in case you don’t, perhaps this one will reach you. If you scroll back to Nov 09, 2015, Jimmie Roan has a post on that date that tells how he uses colloidal silver and it’s helped me. There are several others from him, me, and Laura in the date range before and after Nov 09, 2015 that you may find helpful. Sounds like you’ve learned a lot about stomatitis, I would love to talk to you more, esp about grinding meat for kitties.

  36. I have colloidal silver but don’t understand how others here have used it for their stomatitis kitty. Asked that question previously but no one replied. I’m thinking you have used it topically on the mouth soreness? (Perhaps with Qtip?). Would also like to know from Melinda how she’s using the Melissa hydrosol for Piper– topical, drops in food, how much, how often? Replies would be appreciated. I have recently switched my Katy from ubiquinone that vet prescribed the last several months to the ubiquinol form of COQ10. Hope it helps. She is also in her 5th week on the PlaqueOff but no noticeable change yet. Being patient as I know it takes time.

    • You can put the colloidal silver in their water. My cats won’t take meds and that’s how they get them.

  37. Sherrell emailed me the following reply to MsBliss:

    “My cat suffers from severe stomatitis- for several years. He gets steroid injection monthly – antibiotic every few weeks, and pain med every day. I have been adding Colloidal silver for a month or more and it has done no good. Will now try CQ10 as per instructions below. Thanks MS Bliss for suggestion. You never know what might work. Lysine has not helped either. My main goal at this juncture is trying to keep him comfortable.”

    • Try Vet CBD oil. The dosage by weight is on the bottle. I was using this with my cat and it seemed to help with the pain. I was hoping it would get rid of the inflamation but it did not. I think that over all the CBD was as effective as the pain med and steriods

  38. I was on Amazon shopping for lysine for my kitty who has an URI. I noticed a reference to this site. I wanted to post something very important: Ubiquinol, not ubiquinone, also known as COQ10, can help heal gums and the mouth. Used in conjunction with other remedies, it might help make the difference for some cats. Be sure to use the ubiquinol form and NOT the ubiquinone form. Ubiquinol helps the gums and mouth heal, aside from it’s other properties. About 30 mg per day may help advance recovery from stomatitis in addition to other treatments. Some cats who are not responding with other treatments will turn a corner with this addition. Give it at least 2 weeks to help.

  39. When I grind my own meat or use frozen pre-ground, I’m adding the various supplements (5 or 6 including fish oil and taurine), organ meats, sometimes egg yolks and/or cooked vegetables according to recipes. The premixes have most nutrients in them but do also want you to add yolks and/or fish oil (omegas).

  40. Natascha, I’m 7mo into this so still somewhat of a newbie. But I’ve done a lot of online reading/research (info mostly from holistic natural vets) and learn more everyday. Right now I’m varying meats and several recipes with the idea that variance is more likely to cover the nutritional needs while I continue to learn. I can give you links I trust but it’s important to educate yourself if you want to try to make your cats food. You are already way ahead of most people because Dahlia is already eating meat and no kibble. Now it’s finding what she will accept that has the needed nutrients added to the meat. The easiest thing to start with (which I did) is to order some samples of premixes and start to add slowly to what Dahlia currently likes. I still use premixes at times but also have progressed to either grinding my own meat (with or without bone) and organs or buying preground meat with bone and organs from a company that specializes in pet meats and delivers frozen orders monthly in my town. Costco is a good source for fresh chicken and beef stew meat. I have a nice electric grinder that will grind raw chicken bones but none larger. Never feed cooked bones to cats-they splinter and are dangerous. Premixes from Alnutrin (knowwhatyoufeed.com) and TC Feline (thetotalcat.com). They also have a lot of raw feeding info on their sites. Also check out (google) Dr. Lisa Pierson (catinfo.org), info/videos (online and also on YouTube) from Dr.Karen Becker on feeding pets, CatNutrition.org, and fnae.org. Good luck. I’d be glad to help any way I can.

  41. Linda B, do you have a recipe for your raw food? And do you use different meats or only stick to one? Rochelle, thank you so much for creating this page. After talking to the vet I felt hopeless. She didn’t really offer any suggestions other than steroids from here on out. After reading here for a while I feel like I can help her manage this.

  42. My cat, Blackie, has just been diagnosed today. He apparently has been in pain for some time because his stomatitis is soooo severe. I only realized this week when he started growling like something was attacking him. The vet has put him on something to boost his immune system with pain reliever in it and antibiotics…both liquid. I look forward to him feeling better. Blackie had been eating up until about a day and a half ago and when we got back from the vet, he went straight to the food bowl. I generally feed him dry cat food, but gave him some wet cat food and he ate it up without expressing any discomfort. I’m glad I searched and found this website. I will try L-lysine and plaque off, too. The steroid cream on the ears seems to be an easy treatment as well. What brand of L-lysine do you recommend

    • Scotta,

      I’ve only had experience with one brand of Lysine, so that’s the one I recommend, but there are others that probably work just as well. We use Vitoquinol Viralys.

      Rochelle

  43. Natasha, I have been feeding mostly homemade raw meat cat food since January and it has made a big difference in the health and activity of all 3 of my cats–including Katy Joy who was diagnosed with stomatitis a couple weeks before I made the switch. I was already feeding 2 wet grain free canned meals a day but took away a bedtime meal of kibble cold-turkey st that time. I feel getting rid of the kibble was the best decision and made the most difference. Cooked chicken is a good meal for Dahlia BUT she will quickly become deficient in vital nutrients unless you also add supplements which give needed calcium/phosphorus or bone meal, taurine, vitamins (especially E and B’s), omegas, etc. You can buy premixes that are meant to be added to raw or cooked meat to made the diet complete. Alnutrin is one of the ones I use and it is good because it isn’t a large amount to add so is less detectable. You just mix it with a certain amount of chopped meat chunks or ground meat..Of course plain chicken, other plain meats, canned tuna, even baby food are useful and Ok for a short time when a cat is refusing food–but once they are eating well, they have to have more nutritionally complete food. Cats do not need veggies but they do have to have certain nutrients beyond plain meat in order to maintain health. In the wild they would be eating the whole prey which would include bone and organs which supply those needed nutrients.

  44. My 8month old kitty, Dahlia, has been diagnosed with stomatitis. I can tell she hurts. My vet has tried antibiotic injections and steroid injections with no luck. Also apoquel with no luck. We have changed to a pill antibiotic now and another round of steroids by mouth. I hate the thought of her being in pain her whole life. I just ordered l-lysine and plaque off. Also a problem, she is a rescue that was starving herself at the shelter. She eats now but only meat. I currently bake chicken for her every day. Has anybody had luck with a raw diet helping with stomatitis? Is there something I can buy for pain management other than narcotics from the vet.
    Any suggestions appreciated, and yes, I have tried over 30 different cat foods, wet and dry. She will not touch it

    Natascha

    • Natascha,

      It sounds like you are a wonderful caretaker to Dahlia.

      I haven’t tried a raw diet but others on here have and will probably chime in to help you out. It’s good that she is eating chicken, so keep it up until you find something else she is willing to eat. You can sprinkle the Lysine and PlaqueOff on the chicken and she will probably eat it without noticing anything has been added.

      As for natural pain management, I do not know of any but have also never looked into it. Hopefully someone here can offer advice.

      Please keep us posted on Dahlia’s progress.

      Rochelle

  45. Thank you Rochelle for your encouragement and reply to my question. I’m continuing the PlaqueOff (basic one without brewers yeast) and am so grateful that Katy Joy accepts it in her food as she can be picky about such things. Also glad to hear from Melinda with her positive update on how Piper is healing. I am really interested too in the essential oil treatments she is using and would like to know more. I have been using different blend from my holistic vet but wish were more effective. Melinda–how are you doing the Mellissa hydrosol and what brand is it? Sounds very effective against viruses. Also is the mouthwash from Young Living the one that’s called Theives Mouthwash? Do you just apply topically with a Q-tip?

  46. Piper update from May 10th and May 28th post: Piper (11 year old female) continues treatment of homeopathic liquid, Mellissa essential oil hydro-sol, and essential oil mouthwash daily as well as eating Pet Tao wet food. Stomititis greatly reduced. Will continue treatment until September. Holistic vet anticipates treatment will eliminate stomititis all together.

  47. I did start the PlaqueOff for my Katy Joy right after I posted mid July. I’m giving 1/2 scoop twice a day in food as the bottle states (the one without brewers yeast) and she is accepting well. Is that the dose you gave? Did you say it takes awhile to see any results? What did you notice with your Lily after you started the PlaqueOff? Katy has already been getting L-lysine for several months. Im still interested in information from anyone who has used colloidal silver topically for stomatitis,too.

    • Linda,

      It can take up to eight weeks for PlaqueOff to work so keep giving it to Katy Joy. I fed it to Lily once a day using a full scoop, but since it’s the same amount I don’t know if it matters.

      Rochelle

  48. Plaque Off is seaweed meal. Does anyone know if this is same as carrageenan, which I have been trying to avoid in cat foods? A lot of info by natural and holistic vets consider carrageenan bad for cats—inflammatory etc.

    • Linda,

      My understanding is that carrageenan is made from red seaweed and PlaqueOff is made from green, so I do not think it is the same thing. But it might be worth contacting the company that makes it to find out for sure.

      Rochelle

  49. So grateful to find this site. Have 4yr Siberian female kitty, Katness Joy (Katy) who was diagnosed with stomatitis in January 2017. Her lacerations are in the parental folds behind back molars. Vet recommended dental exploratory but I didn’t do. First changed all 3 of my cats to mostly raw homemade diet-80 to 90% with small amount wet canned mixed in for flavor. They were already on 2 wet grain free meals and one grain free dry meal at bedtime. Was surprised how easy the transition by slowly adding the prepared raw food to their usual wet. Took the dry completely away cold-turkey and they accepted that within couple days. It’s made a big difference, especially for my IBS cat who no longer throws up at all. For Katy, I’ve been doing a regimen from holistic vet–which includes gemmotherapy, herbal mixture, and COQ10, as well as probiotic,fish oil, lysine. Her ulcers are a little better, appear gray now instead of red,she’s eating well, but I’d like to see more healing. I’m interested in the homeopathic and essential oil treatment mentioned by Melinda on May 28. Would like to know how she is doing those. Also want to add Plaque-off. Was concerned it may have some potential side effects (thyroid or liver) but see most posting here are using and over long term. That’s encouraging.

    • Linda,

      It sounds like you are making great changes for your cats. I’ll add my experience with long-term PlaqueOff use. My five (now four after Lily’s passing) cats have used PlaqueOff daily for about four years. The only problem I had with it was with our elderly girl, Sasha. She is now 17 or 18 years old (we don’t know for sure since she was a stray when we got her) and recently lost a lot of weight. Blood work showed that she now has hyperthyroidism so I had to stop giving her PlaqueOff, since it shouldn’t be given to animals with hyperthyroidism. The PlaqueOff didn’t cause it, but it would have made it worse if I had continued giving it to her.

      As for the other cats, they are all doing great, and get good marks from the vet on their gums and teeth each time they see the vet for their annual exams. In fact, one year the vet said that Sid was developing gum disease and would probably need to get at least one tooth removed. I didn’t get it removed and the following year she said that his teeth looked good. I can’t help but wonder if the PlaqueOff cleared up whatever problem was going on with his gums.

      I hope this helps,

      Rochelle

  50. My cat was diagnosed with Stomatitis and I think she got it from losing her twin sister. Her sister got out and was hit by a car and I think depression caused it. She is a beautiful pure white cat. She had always kept herself perfect and I noticed she was looking a bit rough am going to try the plaque off and lysine before the teeth extraction. Her teeth don’t look that bad. It is more in the edge of mouth and outside. My question is is canned food good for this condition? Or does it matter what kind of food they eat?

    • Kathy,

      I’m so sorry about the loss of your cat. Yes, that could have triggered the stomatitis – my vet and our cat rescue group think that stress can cause stomatitis.

      You’ve asked a great question regarding what food is best for stomatitis kitties. A lot of people here have had good luck with raw food, which would be like wet food, in clearing it up, along with various supplements.

      As for wet vs. dry, it is my opinion that dry is better. I originally was thinking that wet food would be better but my vet explained to me that wet food causes more pain because a cat uses the tongue much more when eating wet food. If the stomatitis is in the back of the throat (as it was with Lily) then the movement of the tongue is likely to cause pain as it touches the inflamed skin in the throat area.

      We had all of Lily’s teeth removed so I looked for a healthy cat food that came in small enough kibbles that Lily could easily swallow them. The food that Lily ate was Iams, which has very small kibbles and is healthy. I originally tried Evo, which is considered a very healthy cat food, but it gave Lily and another of our cats diarrhea. She never had any problems with the Iams.

      I hope that helps,

      Rochelle

  51. Thank you for sharing stomatitis treatment. Our Forrest (14yrs/male/neutered) had 8 teeth removed over 2 surgeries about 5-6 years ago and it seemed to help with the stomatitis. Early 2017 his gums are inflammed again. As he has higher creatinine values (kidney) & higher than normal blood glucose level, steroid treatment is not the first line option. It could be age or illness (perhaps lower immunity) and it may have brought on a flare-up despite remission of several years. He had the Convenia antibiotic injection when necessary. At one point Ovarid (to treat rodent ulcers) was used sparingly but it no longer worked. Do use with caution especially on diabetic cats. Pain relief is Buprenorphine injections when cat is drooling n unable to eat. I give Immunregulin jab / NS Immune Stimalator and Enisyl-F (L-lysine paste). I will try Plaqueaoff though i have only used that for my dogs. It is on-going trial for the poor kitty. TY for your help.

  52. Our year-old rescue cat was diagnosed with stomatitis when we took him to the vet for the first time. He was very head shy and wouldn’t let us get our hands anywhere near his mouth. He had been at an outdoor cat rescue center for several months with other cats and had sustained some other injuries that left him with a limp on one shoulder, and a ragged ear. (I mention this because I have read there is some evidence that cats can develop stomatitis as kittens if they are exposed to stress.) The vet told us immediately about the possibility of removing all of his teeth, but agreed we should try other options first. We tried a non-grain diet and steroids for about 3 weeks, but he continued to get worse and he had almost stopped eating.

    We decided to have his teeth removed, understanding that chances were good it would resolve his condition, or at least improve it. We could not have asked for a better outcome. The surgery was traumatic (for all of us!), but he bounced back pretty quickly. Within a couple of days he was eating soft food, and within about 5-6 weeks you wouldn’t have known he had had surgery. After about 6 weeks, he started eating small kibble, and he still prefers that to moist food. He went from about 8 pounds to 13 in the months following the surgery. His mouth looks perfectly normal and you wouldn’t know he doesn’t have teeth unless you opened his mouth. We can rub his mouth and his gums now and he doesn’t even remember that they used to hurt him. He even tries to play-bite us and grabs at toys and feathers with his mouth (and he can hang on pretty well, even with no teeth!). He has had no recurrence of the stomatitis symptoms, and he’s just a happy, chubby kitty now. It seemed like a horrible and radical thing to do at the time, but I’m sure we would have lost him if we hadn’t taken that step! We’re very happy about the results.

    • Karen,

      I know from experience how difficult it is to have all the teeth removed and I’m so glad that your cat had his stomatitis completely resolved! I recommend opening his mouth to look at the gums and throat every so often, just to make sure that the inflammation doesn’t return, but hopefully it never will.

      Thank you so much for sharing your story!

      Rochelle

  53. Kathryn, I, too have heard great success stories with raw diets. They come in so many frozen commercial varieties these days, and many manufacturers sell sample packs. There are even freeze dried versions where you just add water. One tip to entice kitty to eat it is by sprinkling FortiFlora, a probiotic, on top. Or you can start mixing it in very slowly to kitty’s normal food. Transitions aren’t always easy. I’m still working on my cat.

    As for getting the lysine and Plaqueoff into your cat, buy Gerbers baby food, the chicken in gravy flavor. Make a little paste with the supplements and just swipe it across the side of your kitty’s mouth while scruffing her neck. I have to do this with my cat who needs a pill every three days. I just pulverize the pill and mix it with the cold baby food…cold is better to make the paste. Works like a charm. Hope that helps!

  54. So Plaque Off is both recommended and helpful, EVEN THOUGH all the teeth have been removed, therefore no plaque?? My cat has been through many treatments, except cold laser.
    He still has tissue inflammation & growth, drooling at times. He seems to still be enjoying a “good” life, eats well, does cat stuff, cuddles, purrs, like walking around outdoors, though not playful most of the time.
    I will add Lysine and plaque off, easy to do, if it’s thought that it can help even with no teeth. He’s now getting 2.5 – 5 mg Prednisalone/day, and son homeopathic treatment.
    Thank you!!

    • Kathy,

      I know it sounds like it shouldn’t work but, yes, my experience with PlaqueOff and a toothless cat was that this works. I was desperate to find something that would help Lily so tried this not expecting anything. It takes about eight weeks to help but help it did. You can see pictures of how well it worked on Lily here – http://stomatitisincats.com/review-of-plaqueoff-for-cats

      I can tell you that it helped Lily for the several years that she took it. About a month before Lily died I looked in her mouth, something I did every now and then to make sure the stomatitis wasn’t coming back, and her mouth looked as good as it did in the final picture on the page I shared above. She lived five of her six years pain-free in large part (I believe) because of the PlaqueOff.

      I hope that the combination of Lysine, PlaqueOff, and Prednisalone help your cat as well as it helped Lily.

      Rochelle

  55. After finding this site, I was so excited and started giving Koshka the L-Lysine and PlaqueOff. I was mixing it into wet food and he took it well for about 2 months, then refused to eat it. I’ve tried it again here and there without much success. I changed him to high quality grain-free wet food only, no dry at all. His horrid breath is gone and he’s eating well with no pain. I’ve been researching wet foods and hope this diet change will help his Stomatitis. Cats need more water than they can drink when on dry food alone to maintain bladder health. My past cats had only dry food and always eventually had crystals in their urine and needed special food. I’ve read about raw diets but haven’t tried it yet. Has anyone tried a raw diet with a Stomatitis cat?

    • Kathryn,

      I personally never tried a raw diet because I have a daughter with health problems and I didn’t want raw food to potentially make her sick (I keep a very clean kitchen but I didn’t want to take the chance, a decision that came after discussing this possible diet with my vet, and she agreed with my reasons for not trying it). However, other people on this site have tried a raw diet and had great success with it. I wish you luck if you decided to do that, and hope that it helps Koshka.

      Rochelle

  56. Our Thomas, an eleven year old Siamese, was first diagnosed about a year ago. At his annual check up I requested a dental clean which he has had before. Also asked her about the enlarged lymph node in his neck, which she had missed! He was booked for dental work and aspiration of the node. While under anaesthetic she phoned to tell me he had an inflamed throat and a growth that didn’t look good, did I still want his teeth done as he would probably have to be euthanised in the near future. I said yes to the teeth and biopsies were done. He had the rest of his back teeth removed and came home fine. At no point had he been showing signs of pain prior to this. Results of biopsies were that he had stomatitis, not cancer. We then set about a plan of treatment with steroids. These didn’t do what the vet expected he was still convinced this was cancer in spite of the negative results. We saw a specialist dental vet, who confirmed this was stomatitis and set out a treatment plan. Initially steroids and when that didn’t appear to help, Interferon for three months. All this time Tom showed no outward signs of discomfort as he was eating, grooming and playing perfectly normally – no drooling or pawing at mouth either.

    Then in the spring he succumbed to his usual ‘hay fever’ and looked quite poorly and I took him back to the vet as I have always done for this recurs every year. However this is a different vet practice, as my regular one retired, and this vet said it was linked to the mouth/throat problem. He booked him for exam under anaesthetic for the next morning. Long story short, he said growth was much enlarged, was cancer and did I want him euthanised there and then? I said no, I’d like him to come home and he could come out next day and do the deed at home. Next morning Tom was right as rain and back to normal and I cancelled the visit. Next stop was MRI and biopsies again. Different vet did MRI and said it wasn’t so bad as he’d expected, in fact not too bad at all, just enlarged and inflamed tonsils and pharyngeal arches. I’m still waiting for a treatment plan going forward! But in the meantime Tom is well, has no outward signs of pain and continues to thrive, so I’m not unduly concerned.

    Tom however recently developed a sensitivity to commercial wet foods, the cheaper brands which he so much prefers, making him throw up intermittently but frequently. I now feed him and his sister grainfree high protein wet and dry food which is not their favourite,and, after reading a lot about stomatitis maybe this will help his mouth too. BTW: His sister is his litter mate and has no signs of tooth/mouth trouble and eats only food which Tom doesn’t like, and visa versa. Typical Siamese!😁

    Sorry for long post but really just saying that vets sometimes get it wrong and a second or third opinion does no harm. Hopefully research will get to the bottom of this condition but it won’t be before Tom crosses the Rainbow Bridge I’m sure 😟 If the vets can’t agree on cause and treatment for stomatitis what chance do we have? Hope I haven’t gone too off topic here?

  57. Thank you for the very informative posts on here. My 12 year old cat, Oscar has just been diagnosed with this condition . He’s had his teeth cleaned and 3 removed with little improvement . It has been very challenging getting him to have pain meds and antibiotics. He is now suspicious of any food that has them in. He is a very sensitive cat and much prefers to be outdoors . He’s traumatised by his several trips to the vets and being kept in for these appointments. He can’t go on like this . The vet has now recommended the rest of his teeth be removed in 2 stages. At first I was horrified but now I believe it to be the best option as he is not happy and it’s difficult to medicate him. He’s not eating much at all now despite me trying all his favourites . He is booked In for surgery in 2 weeks.

  58. My rescue cat will be two this fall. Her gums were bright red when we found her. She has been diagnosed with stomatitis and was first given Convience (2 week antibiotic) and a shot of a 6 week steroid. She was also pulling out her fur so the steroid helped both issues. She has been fine for several months when I noticed her red gums again. Again, she got the antibiotic shot and the steroid. I told my vet I was concerned with the steroids causing diabetes, but she said if she only gets two or three a year she should be fine. I feed her Nutro dry food twice daily and boiled chicken breast every evening. Is chicken an inflammatory and should I not feed he chicken every day?

    • Loretta,

      I’ve never thought of chicken as an inflammatory so I did a little research (emphasis on “little”). What I saw is that chicken itself is not an inflammatory, but it is possible that it becomes inflammatory because of the antibiotics and diet given to the chicken. Based on that, you might try feeding your cat with chicken that is free of antibiotics (which might be hard to find) and has a natural diet.

      Regarding steroids and diabetes, I was also worried about that with Lily. My vet told me the same thing yours did, and she also said to look for an increase in water intake. She said that is a tell-tale sign of diabetes or pre-diabetes. She said that it increased water intake is most obvious in the litter box, especially if you use clumping litter, because there will be huge clumps of urine.

      Rochelle

  59. My sisters cat got his teeth cleaned and 2 teeth pulled. He went home with antibiotics and pain meds. Fast forward a week and he is back in pain and does not want to eat. More pain meds and steroid shot. This lasted another week. Would like to try Lysine but how do I know how much to give him? Have not been told he has stomatitis but all signs indicate he does. In the process of looking for a dental vet but funds are limited. Thank you in advance for any advise.

  60. I was able to trap a feral cat from a colony I was feeding back in April. She has stomatitis and has had 15 teeth removed in 2 different dental surgeries (5 teeth removed on April 12 and 10 teeth removed on April 28). She is on L-lysine gel, duralactin and plaque off daily. It seemed like her drooling had stopped and we were making some progress. But today, when I rinsed out her mouth using oral syringe of diluted chlorhexidine gluconate this morning she was crying and had active bleeding. This really bothered me. She’d been doing fairly good since her last dental extractions on April 28 but now I feel so frustrated that her mouth is still SO RED and actively bleeding a month after her last dental surgery. I know that she was in pain due to her crying out this morning. She is still eating for me twice a day (canned food) but sometimes I have to coax her to eat. I know you had mentioned that it may take up to 8 months for healing to take place. Since you’ve been through this horrible disease with your dear Lily, I’m asking you if I should just give it some more time (again it’s been 1 month since her last dental extractions of 10 teeth removed) or should I return to the vet for full dental extractions ? I really HATE to put her through that again so soon….any advice you can offer would be appreciated. Thank you for this blog !

    • Rose,

      My experience with Lily’s tooth extraction was somewhat similar to yours. My vet removed all but her four canines in the first surgery. She improved but within a few months the gums around the canines started to get red and inflamed, so we had those removed, too. I don’t remember how long it was between the two surgeries but I think it was about six months. That’s where the similarities between Lily and your cat end because Lily improved after the second surgery. She still has some redness in the back of her throat but it no longer seems to bother her. After the second surgery Lily stopped bleeding and drooling, ate like she’d been starved for years, and played like there was no tomorrow. One of the most significant changes, though, was that we could touch her on the face and mouth, which was something that caused her severe pain before the surgeries. If I were you, I would take my cat back to the vet based on what you’ve described. Yes, it can take up to eight months for the tooth extraction to help, but it doesn’t sound good that your cat seems to be regressing.

      Rochelle
      s

  61. Update from May 10th post: Piper finished antibiotics and is now on a homeopathic liquid, Melissa hydro-sol, and Young Living essential oil blend (thieves, peppermint, and carrier oil) all prescribed by the holistic vet. I am also in the process of changing her wet food source from a chicken, shrimp blend from Life Abundance to a pheasant mix from Pet Tao. Already the inflammation is decreasing and she is a little bit better every day. It’s a slow improvement but I know it will be a lasting change. Wanted to share in the process.

  62. My cat has been fighting stomatitis for several years. Surgery to remove teeth failed as he almost died being sedated. Have tried many things- many rounds of various antibiotics, prednisolone. Now we are settled on painkiller daily ( Torbutrol 10 tablets $19.00, Last 20 days at 1/2 tablet- and a steroid shot monthly ( Depo-Medrol INJ $20.00.)
    He eats well most of the time, but I give him very soft food ( Sheba packets, etc.) The Torbutrol we give him crushed – in a syringe. If I put Lysine anywhere near his food, or anything else he will not touch it.
    I don’t think his mouth is better, but he is spunky, and eating. My main goal is to keep him comfortable. He has Feline Aids. He was a stray with a bad leg injury when I came upon him in 2010. Also Walmart has a Delectable Squeeze up package that is a pure bisque and very easy on their mouth.
    Hope this helps someone with a cat with similar problems.

  63. Hi,
    Over the years I’ve had many cats with the stomatitis diagnosis. Years ago the treatment, if meds didn’t work, was always to pull the teeth. It worked in a few cases but overall the majority of my cats continued to suffer from the condition. I’m fortunate to have a veterinarian as a close friend who took great interest in this disease so she was always up for trying new ways to treat it.
    At one point one of my cats had so much scar tissue built up in her throat that my vet suggested going in and reducing the build up because it was beginning to cause problems with swallowing. She described as being like a tonsillectomy where she would scrape off all the diseased tissue. My cat came through it fine and once she healed, her mouth and throat looked 75% better. I’m mentioning this because it’s not a routine thing most vets do, it was just an idea my vet had and it worked! Another thing I wanted to say is that my vet was corresponding with the college she got her degree from (Davis), because she had seen so many cats with the condition and she felt that it is of a viral nature and was mostly seen in cats who had previously been outdoors. She wrote some paper on it and the college was interested in her findings. She also said that it is quite possibly a condition that is contagious between cats. I have to agree with her on that because so many of my cats, and I’ve had a ton of them, go along fine for years and then suddenly develop the disease. Right now I have one of my 8 cats that has developed stomatitis and for 13 years showed no signs of it. All of my cats are strictly indoor only however, she was outdoors as a kitten before I rescued her. It makes sense that like many viruses do, they lay dormant in the body until something triggers them to become active. In my cat’s case, she caught a bug probably from a foster kitten I had and that might have been the trigger. She has had a couple of teeth pulled due to decay but the rest are fine. It’s not so much her gums but rather further back in her mouth where the redness is. I have her on antibiotics which has cleared the infection for now anyway but I know it will soon be back. I am giving her the Lysine, as well as buprenorphine as needed but I’m holding off on the steroids because she doesn’t respond to them. I came here just to see what, if anything, was new in treatments and am now going to try the Viralys to see if there’s more improvement. Sorry for how long this is.

    • Bev,

      This is the first time I’ve heard anyone mention removing a buildup of scar tissue so thank you for sharing your story.

      Lily has been “free” of stomatitis now for about two years. I put “free” in quotes because she, like your cat, still has inflammation in the back of her throat, but her gums look great. I take a peek in her mouth every couple of months to make sure it isn’t flaring up but so far it has stayed at bay.

      That is in interesting theory about the possibility of a virus causing the disease, and the potential reason for it being contagious. My vet told me that this is a disease that hasn’t gotten very much research among the medical community so maybe your paper will help change this.

      Rochelle

  64. Hello, I rescue Zack when he was 4 months and since day 1 he is been suffering and in pain for all his life ( 6 years old),I spend close TO $ 7.000 trying to help him, many x-RAYS, a lot of blood test, even a IRM, finally I found a vet who give me the terrible diagnostic, and said that probably the best is euthanize my cat. I just found this page and I literally crying on relief.I will try everything that you sugest, please keep posting about Lily, and thank you, very much is many people like me and Zack that you help with your page .

    P.S.(I apologize for my english,I do not speak english, but I was so desesperate to help my cat that I traslate every word of your page and traslate this for you.)

    • Cristina,

      What a wonderful fur mommy you are! Zack is very fortunate to have you in his life. I am happy to say that today you’d never know anything had ever been wrong with her. She is full of energy, loves to play and get into mischief, and cuddle. We are so grateful she is in our life.

      Please let us know how he does and what works for him.

      Rochelle

  65. What a tremendous resource and encouragement. Thank you for creating this. My Piper is 11 years old. Never had a problem up until recently. According to her last few dentals. Something was wrong in September 2016. According to my vet she was fine. Now she claims severe stomititis. Cortizone shots was her recommenation followed by teeth extraction. I call check-mate on her and refused to believe this wasn’t overlooked. I refuse to believe there weren’t alternatives. I am lucky to have a holistic vet in town that already sees my pitbull. Piper will see her this friday. I plan to add your recommendations to my discussion. I’m thankful I have hope to not have to watch my cat starve to death in pain or put her down unneccessarily. Because a vet isn’t willing to seek alternatives. I knew this had to be treatable.

    • Melinda,

      It sounds like Piper is in good hands. Please let us know how she is doing and what works for her.

      Rochelle

  66. Hi, our Hosannah, about 10, was hiv positive when we found her. She stopped eating dry food about a month and half ago, and I started giving her wet food. Then 2 weeks ago, she stopped eating altogether. I took her to a vet, and he did blood work on her, and he thought she had cancer and it would be too far along to do anything. So, I went for a second opinion and it is stomatitis. The second vet gave a skin anti biotic and then Hosannah started eating a lot of wet food. However, she stopped eating a lot of wet food, and now is eating dry food and drinking a lot of water, she might eat a tiny bit of wet food here and there. We went back for a check up yesterday and she did gain back 1.4lb back. I am afraid of her losing weight again. She is scheduled for dental surgery next Tuesday, the 16th, it is Monday, the 8th now. My question, is Fresh Breath feline teeth gel okay to use for her teeth? Also, now reading this blog, I am wondering if I should hold off on the dental procedure and go with anti biotics first. Her gums look really bad. TIA for any advice.

    • Mary,

      Getting a second opinion for Hosannah was a good idea.

      I apologize for not responding sooner and see that your dental appointment has passed. Did you have the procedure done? How is Hosannah doing?

      Had I seen this prior to your appointment I probably would have encouraged you to keep it, since it might be exactly what your cat needs, as opposed to antibiotics. As for Fresh Breath gel, I’ve never heard of it so I have no opinion. Perhaps someone else on here can give you information about it.

      Rochelle

  67. I have just taken over feeding a feral colony where 1 cat has stomatitis. The previous feeder has been putting medication in her food, but it is still bad.
    This cat cannot be handled. I am thinking the only solution will be to trap & have a vet remove teeth & hope it works. Any other thoughts for a ferel cat?
    Thanks

    • Susan,

      Oh boy, that sounds like an incredibly difficult situation. I think it would be best to discuss this with a vet but it sounds like that might be the way to go if you aren’t able to consistently give medicine to the cat or otherwise help her.

      Rochelle

  68. Dear Rochelle,
    My cat is about 15 years old. He has chronic kidney failure and is on Semintra for that (it’s working well). He also had hypothyroidism and is on the special Y/D diet. That is also working fairly well. We just took him in and were told that he has stomatitis in the back of his mouth. It’s not wide-spread but we want to do something for him. Do you know whether we could use l-lysine in his special food? I used to give it to all our cats but, with his special diet, stopped giving it to him (he can’t have anything with iodine in it).Would PlaqueOff be Okay as well? He has no teeth where the inflammation is, but we aren’t thrilled about doing radiographs and surgery to see if there are pieces of teeth remaining given his age and medical conditions. Thanks for your informative site. Jane

    • Jane,

      I am so sorry for not seeing this sooner. How is your cat doing?

      To the best of my knowledge, you would be okay to give both Lysine and PlaqueOff to your cat, but you might want to check with your vet to make sure there isn’t a problem combining it with his food.

      Rochelle

  69. Are there any nonprescription pain meds or any way to get the prescription ones for less? 65.00 for 4 days of meds is killing us while we try to get our kitty under controll… he is is too much pain to eat without it though… Buprenorphine/Buprenorphine Oral .6mg. Still has his teeth, but vet says remove asap. My son who is the primary owner of our beloved Endeavor wants to try anything else first. He is doing grain free wet food with mushroom immune supplements. No idea how to tell if anything is working. It’s been a week since diagnosis and he’s at a very bad place with pain without the meds every 12 hours.

    • Cindy,

      Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about pain medications for cats, prescription or other-the-counter. It has been several years since Lily was on the pain medicine Buprenex so I don’t remember what we paid for it. Did you talk to your vet about alternative pain meds?

      Rochelle

  70. I recently adopted a Snowshoe kitten, got him when he was 6 months old, and noticed a few months later, that he was sneezing, drooling, had a crusty nose and and inflamed mouth. Took him to the vets and she confirmed he has a stomatitis on his gums. She gave him Convenia, and followed up in 2 weeks with another injection of Convenia. He responded well to it, but it was short lived. Now he is 11 months old, and once again, he is drooling and his gums are red and sore, and his mouth is swollen and inflamed. I have had him on Lysine since the start. I am also wiping his mouth with DentaChlor Oral rinse. It is such a struggle to wipe his mouth with this, and he runs and hides when he sees me. The vet says to try to keep him stress free, but hard to do when you have to hold him down to do this. I recently purchased Oratene additive for his drinking water, and am waiting for the Oratene antiseptic gel to arrive in the mail. The vet has not really offered to much help or advice, and did give me some pain meds to administer to him if needed. The vet is not sure what the cause is, but thinks it might be feline herpes. I have him on a high quality dry food, and feed him wet food as well. No tests have been done yet as currently I am not able to afford blood work, etc. Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated. Any other product suggestions would be great. The Lysine is from the vets. Not sure if it is doing anything though. I have some photo’s of his mouth when it was really bad, if you would like to see them, email me. thanks

    • Wendy,

      I apologize for not seeing your email sooner. How is your kitten doing?

      Rochelle

  71. Rochelle,
    Thank you for sharing your battle with stomatitis. I have been fighting this problem for about 4 years now. I have 3 cats, previously ferals, that I brought into my home. By the time I was able to bring them indoors, their stomatitis had progressed to the point that all their teeth needed extracted.

    I recently had an outbreak of stomatitis again in the 1 cat that still has 3 bottom front teeth. The vet was able to clear it up with a steroid shot and 10 days of antibiotics. So far so good.

    However, I obviously want to keep this from happening again. I started adding Lysine powder to the wet food. I have a total of 7 cats that eat wet food so they’re all getting the Lysine but I know that won’t hurt them.

    I’m looking into a water additive. My vet recommended Healthy Mouth. Are you familiar with that product? it’s expensive but I’m told it’s the “best” one out there.

    Thank you for your help.

    • Debi,

      No, I’ve not heard of Healthy Mouth so have no opinion of it. Having said that, it might be wonderful but there is no guarantee your cat(s) will drink the water that has it. That’s what happened with us. I bought AquaDent, which was recommended by my vet, but none of our cats would drink the water I put it in. That’s when I looked for something else to use and found PlaqueOff. I’d love to hear if your cats drink it and if it seems to help.

      Rochelle

  72. I brought my cat to the vet severapl months ago for teeth problems, no mention of stomatitis. He had several bad teeth pulled. Not too long after surgery, maybe 2 months, he was pawing at his mouth again. His gums were red and swollen, we took him to vet. She said he has stomatitis. She gave him an antibiotic and pain med shot. He was better for about a week, but now hes pawing at his mouth and when he does that, he meows like hes in pain. My vet recommended removing all his teeth. Im nervous about that. Right now hes on a pain medicine, its day 1 of that but hes still pawing at his mouth. Hes still eating and grooming. But i know hes in pain. Teeth surgery is expensive and risky. I dont want him in pain.
    Is stomatis contagious? I read on the internet somwhere it is, . I have 8 cats in my house. And i also was told it can be hereditary. Is that true? The cat that was diagnosed with stomatitis, he has 2 brothers that we have.

    • Amanda,

      No one knows for sure stomatitis is contagious but some people think it is. One such person is the woman I adopted Lily from. She thinks that it is contagious when there are open sores in the mouth of the stomatitis kitty. Having said that, I never kept Lily away from our other four cats in any way and none of our other cats came down with it. It is possible, though, that stress might play a part in how contagious it is. Cats in a high stress situation (i.e. an animal shelter) might be much more susceptible to catching stomatitis, whereas the cats in our home are happy and stress-free. I’ve not heard anything about stomatitis being hereditary so I don’t know about that.

      Rochelle

  73. My cat has stomatitis. We tried antibiotics and Atopica. He ended up having all teeth pulled and has a perfect mouth now after 8 months of stopping Atopica. So I’m crossing my fingers he stays well, because he’s doing great! Hope some of you have the same outcome.

  74. Thank you for your interesting site and all the information provided. My 10 years old cat has stomatitis , had all his teeth removed on Octomber , and has a steroid shot every month, the other option from the vet is to put him on a drug called cyclosporine.. After i found your site and read a few things on line , i put him on plaque off and L lysine , plus some Salmone oil. I was wondering about lysine , because on the box it is written that he shouldnt take that more than one month. How long have you been giving Lily the lysine? Also about the medication, do you have any suggestion? I am really worried about the steroid injection that might do him harm in the long term, but no vet here uses cream or anything like that. Thank you 🙂

    • Maria,

      Lily has been taking Lysine for about three years now. My vet knows that all five of my cats are on Lysine and she has never told me that long term use would be a problem. In fact, my vet explained that Lysine in cats is much like Vitamin C in people.

      I wish I could recommend a medication but I wouldn’t know what to suggest. You might contact a cat rescue group in your area and talk to them. I have found that animal rescue groups are very knowledgable because they’ve dealt with just about anything you can think of many times over.

      Rochelle

  75. I am so happy to have found this site with so much supportive information. Our adopted 13-pound Maine Coon mix, Koshka, is a most 4 years old. He’s one of the sweetest cats we’ve ever owned…quite a lap baby. We got him from a “Humane Society” which was not a very Humane environment…easily 30 or more cats in the home, all ages, some sick, and He was extremely sick with a severe respiratory infection causing the loss of one eye. He recovered from that, but had horrible breath, finally leading to the Stomatitis diagnosis. He’s had 2 rounds of extractions 1-1/2 years apart, but still has more to go as our Vet won’t take out “good” teeth, only the infected ones. No X-rays have been taken either time, so I’ll be requesting that to check his mouth. My vet has him on 5mg Prednisolone every other day and only dry food. After much research, this week I changed his diet and started him on a holistic grain-free set food, no dry at all. He loves it and is eating really well. Am waiting on an order of Plaque Off and L-Lysine to arrive to add in. I also found a Probiotic with Wild Salmon Oil Supplement which I added to his food tonight and am so happy he ate it all. Fingers crossed these changes will help his condition and immune system. I’ve read other sites which recommend limiting vaccines. I’m in a smaller city and love my vet but they require all vaccinations. Koshka is an only house cat. I know rabies vaccines are required by law, but I am not eager to get him re-vaccinated for the other things. I’m waiting on a phone consult with the vet to discuss the changes in diet and supplements with him. Am hoping he’ll approve of the changes. If not, I may be vet shopping. Any thoughts on over-vaccination affecting Stomatitis cats? Also, do those supplements seem okay to use together? I don’t want to over do or give him a wrong combination of things. Thanks for any comments back!

  76. hi rochelle, thank you for maintaining this webpage to help us. after your cat started on lysine, how soon did you notice any improvement and felt the lysine was helping? days, weeks? thank you and i hope you are recovering well from your surgery.

    • MaryB,

      I’m so sorry for not seeing this sooner. I regret that I don’t remember how long it was before Lily showed improvement with Lysine (it’s been several years since I first started giving it to her) but I do remember that she started to get worse within just one week when I ran out at one point.

      Thank you, also, for your kind words about my surgery. I’m much better now.

      Rochelle

  77. Thanks for sharing your story! I rescued a cat and he has stomatitis and I was told by a Vet he would need his teeth pulled. I am leaving this for a last resort. He eats just fine but his gums are red and swollen so I’ve purchased the Lysine and PlaqueOff. Can both be mixed in his wet food at the same time?

  78. We just adopted our cat Handsome Hansel from the shelter and were told he has very early signs of Stomatitis. The vet team recommended a grain free diet, and to offer him both wet and dry food so he can decide based on pain level. I’ve had elderly cats and learned to make things more cost effective- I mix a tablespoon of wet food with the dry food we got (which is high in zinc and vitamin B & grain free like they recommended) and it helps soften the dry food. My mom used to add a few drops of water onto our dry food for our older cats to soften it which I do as well. The vet team also recommended 1cc of Lysene (it also helps the body combat viruses such as Herpes) per day mixed into the meal. An added benefit of getting the liquid is that it can soften dry food if getting just wet food is too high in cost. Also, when selecting which grain free food that fit the dietary recommendations for Stomatitis, I did a pinch test and selected the food which broke down the easiest when I squeezed it between my fingers. Animals respond to dietary changes much more quickly than humans do- so I would recommend anyone with a cat struggling with Stomatitis to splurge on a diet change first (it beats expensive vet visits). Obviously, maintaining a clean environment is also important. Don’t leave food out for too long and clean the litter box at least once a day! Shelters and adoption groups have great resources available when looking for a good vet and trying to find advice (the collective knowledge that pet owners, vets, and animal lovers bring to the table in these settings is great). Our cat is small so please ask a vet for proper dosing recommendations for Lysene. Also- any immune boosters or supplements that help the kidneys will also help Stomatitis. The more questions you ask your vet the better- including “would another vet make this recommendation?” “other vets have said tooth removal should be a last ditch effort- why are you recommending this?”

    Hope this helps!

    • Josh,

      This is all great information. Thank you for sharing it! I hope that you are able to stop the progress of stomatitis in your Handsome Hansel, and it’s so good that it has been caught early.

      Rochelle

  79. My 10 year old indoor cat Rascal has severe stomatitis and the vet thinks it is due to feline calicivirus. I have read about lysine and plaque off to help symptoms but when it a due to a virus like calici am I fighting an uphill and unwinnable battle? Is stomatitis always a chronic condition or can it be a passing symptom of the calici viral infection? I just want her to have comfort and a quality of life- and it is all so confusing.

    • Angie,

      Your confusion is understandable, and it doesn’t help that stomatitis is a disease that vets don’t know much about (that’s according to my vet, not my opinion).

      I regret that I don’t know anything about the calicivirus so I don’t know if Lysine or PlaqueOff will help, but you are probably okay trying them.

      As for stomatitis, from what I have seen in my cat and heard from other cat owners, it is usually a lifelong battle with the disease. My cat Lily had all her teeth pulled and is on Lysine and PlaqueOff, but there is still a small amount of redness in the back of her throat. However, the disease is being controlled by the supplements and she appears to be completely pain-free now. She plays, runs, eats, drinks, grooms, and lets me touch her face. I will continue to give her the supplements for the rest of her life to keep the swelling and pain from flaring back up. I hope this helps.

      Rochelle

  80. We were told today our 3 yr old kitty Winter Mittens has stomatitis. I was shocked! We just took her in because of bad breath. The vet said it’s a severe case and our only options are pulling all her teeth or doing nothing and she will die. I was devastated. I am wondering if the lysine and plaqueoff will help her if we don’t pull teeth or do the cleaning but just start giving her the supplements. Also, Winter is very playful, runs around, plays, loves tummy rubs and to be petted. She eats very well, although she does throw up frequently, but is at a perfect weight according to the vet. If she was a horrible pain, wouldn’t she be acting different?

    • Laura,

      I am so sorry for not responding sooner. I had surgery in December that has kept me from doing almost anything.

      First, if you haven’t already, I would get a second opinion. Tooth extraction surgery should only be done as a last resort. There are several things your vet can try first, such as antibiotics or steroids. Honestly, based on your description, Winter’s case doesn’t sound horribly severe, so it is possible that Lysine and PlaqueOff might get it under control, but keep in mind that it takes eight weeks for PlaqueOff to start working. When my cat Lily was at her worst she stopped playing, didn’t eat, and had blood tinged drool. Your cat sounds happy and in minimal pain.

      Please let us know what you end up doing and how Winter responds (Winter Mittens is an adorable name!).

      Rochelle

  81. I have a cat that is going on 21 years old. In the past few months she has really declined. She smells so bad she stinks up an entire room, she stopped grooming herself and now has stinky mats all over her (she has never allowed us to brush her and there was never a need), and she plays in every bit of water she can find and then rolls in the litter. She also has what appears to be bloody slime dripping from her mouth/nose at times. The past 2 days she has stopped eating and I haven’t seen her drinking water – just playing in it. After reading this info I think this may be what is wrong with her. We considered having her put to sleep since we don’t want her to suffer but wonder if anyone knows if it’s too late to get help for her. I don’t have thousands to invest and at her age, I’m not sure she could come through any kind of operation or tooth extraction. Any advice?

    • Melanie,

      Please accept my apology for not responding sooner. I had surgery in December and am only now getting caught up on everything. I realize that a lot may have happened between the time you posted your question and today.

      To answer your question, I doubt that any vet would be willing to put a 21 year old cat under anesthesia due to the risks involved. It sounds like whatever your cat was suffering from was pretty severe. My advice (assuming you haven’t already done so) is to take your cat to your vet. Hopefully it was something simple, such as an infection.

      Please let us know how your cat is now.

      Rochelle

  82. Everyone NOTE! If your cat won’t eat because of the Stomatitis, get him/her “Delectable Squeeze up” packages ( sold at Walmart.). It is a creamy bisque like food — and the cats love it. I crush up his pills and mix it in. It is a miracle way to give the pills — for me anyway.

  83. Hi a stray cat came to our house and has all the symptoms of stomatitis. What antibiotic did you use to help treat your cat? I’m going to go tomorrow and pickup some lysine for him. His poor mouth is horrible. Is there anything at Walmart I can get him for his mouth? I can’t afford to take him to the vet. He’s in bad condition and I know it would cost a fortune. I hate seeing him like this even though he’s not ours but we feed him so he sticks around now. Please let me know if there is anything I can buy without having to take him to the vet. I know the right thing to do would be to take him to the vet but that’s not an option. Any info will help. Thanks!

    • Keegan,

      I regret that I don’t remember the antibiotic that Lily was on, but it didn’t help with her stomatitis. It sounds like you are in a very difficult position by not being able to take the cat to the vet. Lysine may help but if he has a bad case of stomatitis it might not be enough. The other thing you can try is the PlaqueOff, but it takes up to eight weeks before it makes things better if it’s going to help. Those are the two things that helped Lily the most. Someone else might offer more advice.

      You can call around to the vets in your area and explain the situation. See if any of them can work with you on helping the cat without being a financial burden on you.

      I wish you luck as you help the cat.

      Rochelle

      • Keegan,

        I just got a reply from Diane B. who said this:

        “The antibiotic is Azithromicyn. However, I believe if you take him to a shelter, they are usually able to get him the help that he needs. You’d have to give him up– but they have access to the help he needs. Maybe others will have additional ideas for you….”

        If you decide to take your cat to a shelter make sure it is a no-kill shelter.

        Rochelle

  84. Thank you for all the great information on the stomatitis disease. My cat is a 2 year old bobtail and so incredibly sweet. She is a lap cat and so affectionate. She has gone through 2 bad episodes of the stomatitus. She is scheduled for surgery in December to have all of her back teeth out. I would like to try her on the lysine and plaque off. Do you recommend one brand over another? What about the lysine cat chews? What brand do ypu use? Keep up the great work. All of the testimonies and information has calmed my nerves down. I have frequent bouts of fever blisters when I am stressed and even asked my vet if I could have given it to her? They assured me it wasnt contagious from humans. I was so worried I had exposed her to it. I know how she feels with the pain it can cause. It is miserable!

    • Debra,

      I’m sorry to hear that the stress of caring for your cat has given you fever blisters.

      There are several brands and forms of Lysine for cats and I think any of them would likely be just fine. I use the powder form made by Viralys and have used that for almost three years. As for PlaqueOff, I think there is only one brand (PlaqueOff) made for animals. It’s primarily seaweed but I personally wouldn’t be comfortable using another form or brand since I don’t know if it would be the same dosage. I hope this helps.

      Rochelle

  85. I meant to mention that the ” Delectable Squeeze up” packages can be purchased at Walmart. I give this to him with his pills crushed, and then he eats regular wet food. Once I know he is more stable, I will put him on Lysine and Plaque off again.

  86. My cat lost almost two pounds quite rapidly. When he was finally diagnosed, decision was made to pull his teeth. He developed a problem during surgery so it was stopped immediately and no teeth were pulled. I now give him 1/2 tab amoxicillin in am and pm, and prednisolone – 1/2 every other day. For cats that won’t eat or take the pills, do try “Delectable Squeeze up”. It is a soft creamy bisque and my cat loves it. He now is eating regular wet cat food also, and is much, much better. I don’t know how long he will last though. My main goal is that he stays comfortable.

    • Sherrell,

      I’m so glad to hear that your cat is okay right now! That must have been very scary. Thank you for letting us know about “Delectable Squeeze Up,” which is something I’ve not heard of before. I’ll remember that if any of my cats won’t take their pills the normal way.

      Please continue to let us know how your cat is doing.

      Rochelle

  87. hi rochelle, i haven’t posted in quite a long time for various reasons, i intend to update you on all my cats soon, it hasn’t been a good couple years but it was to be expected, the one you might remember i first posted about was scardy cat, and his brother otis. they came to us more dead than alive years ago. but this post was to add to the lysine info, my cats would not eat the food when i put it in, not sure why but after trying to deal with it i ran across viralys, it is a gel and gives directions as to the amount of lysine in the dosage. i just pull the amount up in a syringe and squirt it in their mouth, no guessing about if they got it or not and once they figured out it didn’t taste bad it was easy. you can buy it on amazon or even walmart. thanks so much for this site, i know because of it my guys life was extended, i have also shared this information with my vet, dr proctor here in san antonio, he uses lots of the information i provide him from you and the others that post. he is very open minded and welcomes any info that helps him treat his patients. he has several cats that belong to long time clients that he treats for stomatitis using any tools he has. my last 2 outside cats have now come down with the disease, one is feral and im still working on a plan for her, the other is a stroke victim and it hasn’t got to bad so far. im still working out a long term plan for the both of them, ill let you know how it works out.

    • Jimmie,

      I remember your posts about Scaredy Cat and Otis. I’m so glad to hear that my site has been helpful to you and your vet. My vet once told me that most vets have no idea how to treat stomatitis because there hasn’t been a lot of research on it. It sounds like you’ve got a good one if he’s willing to try different things. Hopefully you will be able to get the stomatitis under control in your other two kitties.

      I just looked on Amazon and found the Viralys Lysine gel (thank you for telling us about it). Here is a link to it for anyone who is reading this and wants to see it – http://amzn.to/2fCEHEV

      Rochelle

  88. My cat has this disease. He stopped eating. What can I give him. I’ve tried everything . Please help. He has lost 1.3 pounds in two weeks.

    • Judie,

      1.3 pounds in two weeks is too much for your cat to lose so quickly and could become life threatening. Please take him to a vet right away. This is something that a professional needs to diagnose.

      You will be in my thoughts.

      Rochelle

  89. Hello Rochelle

    Thank you so much for taking the time to provide this site and to respond to everyones questions.

    My cat Chaila was diagnosed with stomatitis 3 months ago. Each time she was treated with antibiotics and a steroid shot and each time it returned within three weeks. The last visit the vet put her on a chemotherapy drug called Chlorambucil .5 ml every other day and prednisone 5mg every other day on the days she isn’t taking the Chlorambucil. This is the longest she has stayed healthy since first getting stomatitis but the vet is recommending teeth removal for long term. I took her to certified dental vet and have an appointment set up in one week but I’m just not feeling comfortable with the decision to remover her teeth. Do you know if I can give her the lysine and plaque off with the current meds she is on. I’m very concerned about the long term effects of the Chlorambucil and prednisone. Thank you so much

    • Darlene,

      That is an interesting combination of drugs that I hadn’t heard of before for cats. I wish I knew if Lysine or PlaqueOff would cause any problems but I don’t. My guess is that Lysine would be okay since it boosts their immune systems similar to Vitamin C with people, but I’d ask your vet instead of taking my word for it. PlaqueOff is basically seaweed so you can ask about that, too. Please let us know what you find out.

      Rochelle

  90. All of this information about Lysine & Plaque Off is very interesting. Our Bart just had 6 teeth removed today, All were loose with a ton of plaque, I watched the procedure. He’s antibiotics for now and soft food diet. My question is how much of these two do you give to your cat? I am assuming that direction are on the bottle/jar of power? Bart is on a duck/green pea formula dry/wet food for most of his 3 short years. These products will not interfere with his food allergies? Thanks for any information, I want to help Bart keep his canines!!

    • Linda,

      I cannot say for sure but I don’t think Lysine or PlaqueOff would interfere with food allergies. It would be best to check with your vet by bringing the ingredients to your vet and checking with him/her.

      Both containers include dosage spoons so you don’t have to figure out how much to give Bart on your own. I hope this helps.

      Rochelle

  91. As far as all these comments on convenia…it is actually one of the weakest antibiotics used in the field. Is it the absolute weakest, no. But there are 100 more that are a thousand times stronger than it. Every animal reacts differently to any medication, just as any human does. Convenia is a great drug that can be used for multiple different problems. Don’t listen to everything you hear on forums most of it is lies or from people who have no experience or knowledge in the veterinary field. You want an accurate answer ask a veterinarian they won’t give your animal a medication that will kill them and can give you the real side effects of each individual drug used. Take it from someone who works in the field.

  92. Our 14 year old Mojo has this condition. He eats well, plays and grooms himself-which causes him to smell horrible. He does drool sometimes.
    His favorite place to sleep is on our bed.
    We use plaque off and a dental cleanser, but his breath smells so bad and he is very good at grooming himself!
    Any tips??

    • Mary,

      You might want to discuss this with your vet because I’m wondering if something else is going on. In my experience when a cat has stomatitis so bad that his breath smells horrible, the disease is so advanced that a cat doesn’t want to groom because of pain caused by grooming. Please keep us posted.

      Rochelle

  93. I have a cat with severe stomatitis. We tried to have his teeth extracted, but he almost died in surgery ( before they started the extractions) so that is not a possibility anymore. I have had him on antibiotics, and Torbutrol. Now giving him the Lysine you recommend daily, along with plaque off. He eats 4 – 5 times a day ( special urinary soft food) He seems to be okay otherwise -he is positive for Feline Aids. He was a stray that came to me 6 years ago and I have seen him through two serious bouts of illness ( leg injury when he arrived, and then a respiratory problem). That was the first year he came. Since then he has thrived. Now has lost 2 lbs. His age is a guess, but I think at least 12-13. Any suggestions.?

    • Sherrell,

      It sounds like you are doing a great job with your kitty. It’s been a little while since you posted this (my sincere apologies for not seeing this sooner). Have you seen any improvement with the Lysine and PlaqueOff?

      Rochelle

    • Kathy,

      There is a small spoon that comes with the Lysine that I buy and I think it is a 1/8 teaspoon.

      Rochelle

  94. I haven’t read every single post here, but any cat with gingivitis should be tested for bartonella, which is a low grade infection cats can get at the shelter or on the street. It can cause serious inflammation in the gums, as can poor nutrition.

    My Olive scored a 4+ on her bartonella test, the highest one can get. As she’s just coming off of a ringworm infection, I haven’t medicated her yet for it, as she’s pretty asymptomatic other than the gingivitis. But to be honest, that has gotten much better by adding these supplements: FortiFlora, a feline acidophilus that gets the appetite going; Prozyme, a digestive enzyme that helps nutrient absorption; and omega3 fish oils. When I adopted her as a two year old, her coat was like hay, and now she’s got bunny fur! 🙂

    The poor baby also has hypercalcemia, but that’s another topic altogether. 🙂

    All just food for thought.

  95. Thank you for this site! It has been so helpful to read what others are doing for their cats! I have just ordered the Plaque Off from Amazon and and hoping it will work for my Bubba just as it worked for your Lily. I am also getting Lysine powder as well. He was diagnosed with autoimmune disease after we had his teeth cleaned (he had bad tartar) and his gums never quite healed (redness, etc.) He did have minimal teeth pulled, I believe it was a larger tooth and two smaller teeth. He struggles at times with food, if a piece of food is too big and he tries to eat it, he will yelp in pain and run away. He is on steroid liquid every other day as well as Buprenex. I currently have him on a grain free wet food diet. I will let you know how the Plaque Off works for my Bubba.

    • I’ve been told that Lysine is good for cats with autoimmune issues so hopefully it will help Bubba. Please keep us posted on his progress.

      Rochelle

  96. If your cat is geriatric (my ally-Beena is 18) is the vet likely to advise euthanasia? Her son had stomatitus and was euthanized at the age of 10.

    • Susan,

      I don’t know. I guess it would depend on how bad the stomatitis is and whether or not your cat has responded to treatment options. The one thing I feel fairly sure of is that most vets wouldn’t want to do surgery on a cat that age.

      How heartbreaking that her son was put to sleep at age 10! 🙁

      Rochelle

  97. hi Rochelle,
    I read your story and I am interested in the lysine. Do I need a prescription for this? My cat had his teeth removed but not the canines. he has been doing very well for over two years, but now I have noticed a darke pink at the edges of his tongue and in his mouth. he is off and on hiding under the bed and running frantically at times. he still has a healthy appetite and even eats hard food. Originally I knew something was wrong when he had his surgery because he would try to eat and then run away. He is also chewing his skin a lot and scratching. he has patches of skin(strips of areas with not fur on them) He does not seem to have any fleas! He is not user friendly and I dread taking him to the vet. plus it is traumatic for him. I am thinking of calling the vet and asking for these supplements. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

    Debbie

    • Debbie,

      I am happy to say that Lysine can be bought without a prescription. I buy mine on Amazon. I have five cats and give it to all of them so I buy the largest container possible, but if you have just one then the smaller container will work. Click here to see Lysine on Amazon.

      It sounds like something else is going on with your cat based on what you described with his skin chewing and patches of skin. It is definitely worth a call to your vet to see if he (she?) has any ideas without having to bring him in. Please keep us posted.

      Rochelle

  98. Tks for this information. I have had many felines in my 70 yrs. Sampson is my 1st cat with the dx of Stomatis. He is an outside cat who found his way to me since Sept 2015. Eventually will try to bring him inside but cannot do so at present. We have done x-rays & teeth cleaning 8-20-16. Last yr, 11-15 this was not found in him til this visit, his yearly visit. I was also told that teeth pulling is last resort & I do not want to do this. He will have a follow up in 6 mo & I will be asking my vet about what you have provided. At present we are to brush daily & use dental treats & watch him.
    Please keep my e-mail if possible. Would appreciate any followup on this.
    Once again, thank you.
    Suzanne Solberg, Sacramento, Calif
    suzicat09@yahoo.com

    • Suzanne,

      Yes, teeth pulling is certainly a last resort. It is wonderful to hear that Sampson lets you brush his teeth! It also shows how much he trusts you. Please keep us posted on his progress.

      Rochelle

  99. Thank you for your informative site! I’m wondering if you know of the Stem cell research and if you think it’s working and will become an option?

    • Holly,

      No, I don’t. I think someone might have mentioned it but I don’t know which post the comment was on. Hopefully someone with knowledge of this research will see your question and respond.

      Rochelle

  100. Thank for providing such upfront and helpfully information. We spent 3 years and $5000 fighting this problem in one of our cats. Our cat still has his canines with no noticeable gum infection around the canines but the gums in the back of the mouth are still red and infected. We’ve gone through 3 vets and our current one wants us to get the canines removed. But we can’t understand why removing non-infected teeth would help the gums in the back of the mouth. We give the cat daily doses of antibiotics, but no vet has ever mention L-Lysine nor PlaqueOff. I guess we need to find vet #4.

    • John and Gabriele,

      Bless you for loving your cats this much! We didn’t spend as much on Lily as you have on your cats, but it was still thousands of dollars. We’ve often said that we probably saved Lily’s life, since we don’t think many people would be willing to spend that much on a cat.

      I don’t know if removing the canines will help with your cat’s redness, but I can share my experience. When Lily had her teeth removed for the first time, her canines were left in her mouth. Our vet hoped that they wouldn’t need to be pulled because the gums around the canines were pink and healthy looking. A few months later we had the canines removed because the gums around them started getting red and swollen. That was the only reason we ended up pulling them, not because of the redness in the back of her throat. But, I’m not a vet nor do I have any kind of medical training, so take what I said with that knowledge.

      I have a suggestion on finding another vet, and it’s how I found our current vet, who is amazing. Is there a cat (or dog) rescue group in your area? If so, contact them (they can usually be found on weekends in places like PetSmart as they try to adopt out animals) and explain your situation with your cat and vets. Tell them everything. Then ask which vets they recommend. Most likely they know which vets are good and which aren’t, or they’ll know which vets are best for treating your cat’s situation.

      Rochelle

  101. I received two more emails about Convenia, and I’m sharing them here. I recommend that you do your own homework to determine the risks if your vet wants to use Convenia.

    Mary Ann
    “My vet didn’t even warn me that Olive was getting a two week shot. Olive had a small sore on her cheek so I thought the shot was a low dose preventative med, not the strong two week med that it was. To be safe, have your vet put on your cat’s file, “no Convenia without discussion!” because they might go ahead and use it without telling you.

    Convenia is used nearly every day without incident, but when YOUR cat is the one that almost dies, it’s a shattering experience. And A LOT of cats are dying from this med. Just look at the discussion boards on the Web. People are devastated.”

    Deb:
    “I have used Covenia 3 times on 2 different cats – 1 with feline herpes and the other FELV+ with excellent results each time. Please do not automatically refuse this medication as it may be the best option for your pet in given circumstances.”

  102. Mary Ann sent me the following email about her experience with Convenia:

    “My poor Olive nearly died from convenia last October. In fact, we’re still dealing from the fallout from it.”

    I’ve never heard of Convenia but any of you reading this might want to question your vet if he/she ever recommends Convenia.

  103. Lorrie, PLEASE do not have an additional injection of Convenia! From everything I have heard & read, it is known as “convenient” but has a LOT of possible side effects, including diabetes. Please, if your kitty needs antibiotics, please opt for another. Convenia is in the system for 2+ week and if there is an adverse side effect, you can’t discontinue as it’s in the system.

  104. My 10 month old rescue cat was diagnosed with stomatitis today. The vet gave her a two week injection of an antibiotic. Reading through some posts, I assume it was Convenia (?) He said that if the first shot doesn’t clear up the gingivitis, he would give a second shot in two weeks. You would never know that she has this dental disease. She eats everything and has been gaining too much weight! Someone said to stop giving poultry. My cat loves to eat baked or grilled chicken nightly. The vet did say that many cats have to have all their teeth extracted. Hopefully, Pekoe will do well on the antibiotics.

  105. Thank you SO much, Rochelle, for putting up this site, for your great information, and for actively staying involved with it over the course of time! My Sammy has stomatitis and has had all his teeth pulled but the front ones and canines. I felt horrible about it, but my very good vet thought that was the best thing to do. Sammy still has the issue, however, and the vet wants to pull the rest of his teeth, which I am really balking at. I will try your suggestions and see how he does – I have ordered and received both products and have started them immediately!

    One thing, for “Sharon on July 15, 2015 at 12:22 am” and for ANYONE ELSE who feeds their fur babies a diet other than cat food – cats MUST have taurine as a supplement if you do not feed cat food. Your cat will eventually die without it. Please do research and learn about how to properly feed a cat before you make major changes like taking them off cat food entirely.

    I highly recommend a book called “Your Cat,” by Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, for anyone who has cats. I have found it to be the most sense-making information I have come across when trying to learn more about cats and the things that can happen to them. I had a brother and sister where he developed kidney disease (diagnosed in 2009) and she developed diabetes (diagnosed in 2008), both from eating nothing but “the very best vet-recommended” dry food. I managed his kidney disease for almost five years and got her into complete remission for her last six years, both with NO medication/insulin, simply by learning more about how to properly feed and take care of cats through the Hodgkins book and a LOT of research. I lost him in 2013 at 17 to the kidney disease and her in 2014 at 18 to a seizure, and my vet was very pleased they had done so well for so long.

    My heart goes out to all of you dealing with this horrible disease, and I wish you all some peace and comfort in the knowledge you are doing your best to make life better for our little furry folk.

  106. I have a 1 year old cat. She has been drooling for a month now. Vet says she is having somekind of infection and even after few course of antibiotics her dooling didnt stop. He also said that maybe she is allegergic to the food you give to her, but I mostly give her boiled chicken and sometime canned cat food. When she is on antibiotics course she show some kind of recovery then her condition becomes just like before, her tongue sticks out and she keeps on drooling. I also noticed that she has some hard time swallowing food. Her heart is always beating very fast, when i asked about this from vet he said that she is going through heat cycle thats why, but i doubt that. Another thing kind of unusal is blood on her teeths. I think she has stomatitis, but her gums seems perfectly alright and no signs of bad breath, the problem is just their are red marks on her teeth

    • Faizan,

      Based on what you’ve described it doesn’t sound like your cat has stomatitis. Were you able to find out what she has?

      Rochelle

  107. Thanks for your reply and information. I e-mailed them – called number but had to leave a message – mine would have been lengthy. Thank you again. I’ll let you know if and what I hear back.

  108. I recently came upon all this great info. I do have a comment regarding the post by lynn on April 6, 2016 @1.41 pm – I tried to call the phone number she provided – it is the wrong area code/nonworking number. I did a search for the clinic called Dallas Animal Dental – nothing. I am very interested in trying to get my cat – diagnosed with stomatitis into the clinic trial – if possible. If non of this info is correct the comment by lynn needs to be removed. Thank you from sandy georgia

    • Sandy,

      I just searched for this clinic and what I found is that the name of the location changed and is now called Veterinarians Dental. . Here is a link to their website – http://vetdentdallas.com/, (972) 385-8400.

      It is possible that the information I shared above is wrong since I haven’t called to confirm that this is the dental clinic Lynn talked about. Please let us know if they are helpful to you.

    • Sandy,

      I received a response to your question from Jimmie but it came directly to me. Here is what he said:

      sandy, yes it is the same, i did the same as you and that is the number and it is the same place. i called them right away and you have to give them your vets information and they contact him, they will attach your name and cats name and info to the packet they send the vet. im sure hoping this treatment is successful, my scardy cat has been living with stomatitis for years and gone through so much misery and different treatments, when i ran across rochelle and lily it was a life saver, he responded well for a couple years then has gone back and forth, i change up when the drooling starts, one thing i’ve not changed, i started using silver water as a rinse about 2 years ago and i still do it morning and evening before meals. i do the other treatments after meals. i have changed brands of water is all. i was using 10ppm and now buy concentrated 120ppm and break it down with distilled water to about 20 to 30ppm.

  109. Hi!
    Your advice is really helping me to work with my vet re my cat, Rambo’s treatment. Thank you.
    Could you email me details of the supplier of the prednisolone ointment that you use, cost, % of active ingredients , list of ingredients etc?
    I can’t get it made where I live. My vet will write a prescription but only has pills which neither of us can get into Rambo. An 8kilo previously “stray” cat can fight like fury!!

    • Nicky,

      The prednisolone that I gave Lily was made specifically for her at a specialty pharmacy, so I regret that there is no information for me to send to you. I have no idea what was in it. Is there a specialty pharmacy in your area? This would be a pharmacy that makes medications specific to each customer. My guess is that your vet would know if this kind of pharmacy near you, so you might ask him/her about this.

      Rochelle

  110. I’ve read & watched the information on this site and thank you so much.

    I have 2 problems with my cat Magic.

    1. She won’t let me near her mouth to give her medicine/or rub any of the solutions on her gums.

    2. She is one of 10 cats, and even though I watched the video and tried to feed her separately, there is no way I can feed her by herself.

    I took her to the vet twice already, and each time he gave her 2 shots which temporary clears up the problem, I have medicine to give her and all these herbal medicine I’ve sent away for. Before I get her teeth removed, both the vet and myself want to try what I mentioned, but because it is sensitive, she is more skittish than normal, and even if I can catch her and get her mouth a little open, it’s not enough to treat it with the suggested items.

    I can pet her but as soon as I try to go near her mouth she runs away.

    I’d say I’m experienced with sick cats and can usually give the treatment.
    Over the years, my cats live till they are 18, 19, years old, so I’ve given subcutaneous fluids, and fed my cat 3x@day with a feeding tube for 2 months, so I’m patient and gentle.

    I feel hopeless and inept that I can’t treat Magic and don’t know what to do.

    Any advice/suggestions would be much appreciated.

    Thank you.

    Sylvia

    • Sylvia,

      I’m not sure what to suggest since you aren’t able to feed Magic separately, which I understand. Hopefully someone here will be able to suggest something. Also, if you haven’t already, it might help to ask your vet about this.

      Please keep us posted, especially if you find a method that helps Magic.

      Rochelle

    • Sylvia,

      A woman named Monika sent me an email that she asked me to share with you. Here it is:

      My cat Joey was semi feral.
      I could rarely catch him.
      He is one of 22 cats in my house who are all rescues.
      Joey got stomatitis nearly 2 years ago. I noticed that he kept
      getting thinner and was afraid of his food. He was 15.

      After a wait I got an appointment at an veterinary dental surgeon
      in Guelph Ontario about an hour and a half from where I live. Joey got
      a total extraction which took about 2 hours.

      When I got him home I put him in a very small room by himself.
      He got metacam for pain and also a cream with codeine that I rubbed into
      his ear. He also got L lysine. I fed him ad from Hills with a syringe several
      times a day. He stayed in this room for 7 months and now goes in there
      by himself at night.
      Because I kept him cooped up he couldn’t run away and he let me handle him.
      As a result he actually became tamer and gets quite affectionate with me in
      his little room. When he is loose in the house however he still runs away.

      It took Joey about 7 months to get better. The sores kept returning .
      He even had laser treaments which didn’t really work. He finally got a
      prednisone shot (medium strength) and suddenly was better. He’s been
      good for a year now. He does normal cat things and even goes outside.
      He is 17 now.
      I still keep him in his room at night. That way I can give him his L lysine 2x a day
      and can see how much he eats. Also he gets to have his own food and doesn’t
      have to share. If I have to take him to the vet… he is easy to catch.

      So if you have a multi-cat household and your stomatitis cat is skittish..keep
      it isolated for a while. I was lucky insofar Joey’s isolation was from Nov. to May.
      That way he only missed mostly cold weather and was able to enjoy summer

      I hope this will help.

      Monika.

  111. The Clinic called Dallas Animal Dental has a medicine that works amazing on Stomatitis. I have one cat that has been on it for two years now and another for 6 months. My Benny had Stomatitis so bad and was in so much pain until I found this. It is in clinical trial phase so your vet has to sign a nondisclosure statement. It cost $48.00/mo. and the side affects are hair balls because your cat can finally clean himself and sometimes they get fat because they can finally eat. Their phone number is 972-385-8409. I highly recommend it and I have no connection to the clinic except that my cats are patients. If anyone has any questions feel free to email me.

  112. Wanted to thank you for the information you wrote on stomatitis. I have an almost 3 year old Persian, Lilya (Lillie) who came from a top breeder. Lil had just terrible breath from day and and got quite ill about a week after I got her. Her gums were fire engine red and vet kept saying it was because she was teething. Once she passed the teething stage, this continued so we tried many different courses of anti-biotics. I took her to a different vet who diagnosed her with herpes, and on my own research, I started L-Lysine. At one point in my research, I came across stomatitis and made a point to ask vet, who quickly said no. This has gone on for over two years now and about 5 weeks ago, Lillie seemed to have a sore mouth, her gums were red and she wan “off” her food. That is when I came back to stomatitis again and found your web site. I have been giving her the Lysine all along but thought, what the heck, I’ll order the Plaque Off – what’s another $16?!!! The Plaque Off came, I looked at it and saw it resembled course black pepper and thought to myself “no way” she won’t touch this! But, she did. Not only did she like it but her brother who is the biggest pickster ever became interested in “her” food so I started sprinkling his as well. It has now been just over a month and Lillie is like a crazy kitten! She has never been this alert, this playful, and is bright eyed & bushy tailed. Her mouth is so much better already and for the first time in her little life, the red gums are fading. I am not sure that Lilya had “full blown” stomatitis, maybe she did but the Lysine was helping a LITTLE. But I owe you a HUGE THANK YOU for sharing this information!

    • Bernadette,

      I’m so glad this site has been helpful to you! And I’m thrilled to hear that the PlaqueOff has helped your Lillie. Please keep us updated on her progress.

      Rochelle

  113. This is a very informative site, thank you.

    One thing I would like to point out, is that diabetes is not a death sentence. In fact with the right care, it is quite manageable. I’m not sure why your vet told you that you cannot give a diabetic cat steroids, because that’s not true. It is certainly not ideal, but if your cat needs prednisolone and is also diabetic, you can give it to them. It will most likely increase the amount of insulin that they need, but it may be your only choice to treat an even more serious condition such as asthma or pancreatitis.

  114. Rochelle, this is an email I sent out to my friends who love cats to tell them the good news and I thought of you and wanted you to know how much you and your website have helped me to deal with Frankie’s affliction. I first contacted you back in 2013—-at that time — when he first appeared in our garage, he was estimated to be about seven years old and was in very poor condition.

    I had never heard of stomatitis, and your website was a blessing! Thank you so very much!
    —————————————————————————-

    Frankie was in for his 6 month checkup (Tuesday. 3/1/16)and his mouth and throat were perfect, actually beautiful, and all his vital signs were normal. Dr. Allred was out in the cow pastures so Dr. Locklar, who substitutes for him when he’s out, said Frankie is doing grrrreat! Told me to Keep up the good work. She gave Frankie a very through examination and a blood test that covered everything in his little body. (12 pounds)

    Frankie Loves those Temptation Salmon Treats he gets after his medication Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

    When blue-eyed Frankie first appeared in our garage in August of 2013 he was in awful, terrible condition, the vet, at the Gila Animal Clinic Doctor Diedre, said it was the worst case she had ever seen.

    His mouth and throat were so red & sore he could hardly eat.

    They prescribed Amoxicillan and said he should be kept in isolation. Thinking it was contagious.

    They tried a bunch of stuff, I have it all listed on a 4×6 card.

    I went on line to a website called http://www.stomatitisincats and Rochelle said if your vet says your stomatitis cat is contagious go to another vet, which I did. Went to Dr. Allred and said I wanted a medication a bit stronger than amoxicillin. He suggested azithromysin. So in August of 2014 we started Frankie on 1/2 ml every other day (1200mg). And its still every other day————–Until the last six months —Now its Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, my days off.

    Frankie has been out and about in the large cat fenced in yard running around, chasing Smokie, our 3 year old Russian Blue that arrived in our garage along with Frankie! Frankie is a happy fellow!

    We have no problems with stomatitis being contagious he’s been out and about and doing great for two years, eating out of the others dishes and drinking out of the same water fountains. No Problems with any of the five others. Keeping him in confinement was not an option I could go with.

    He is stomatitis free right now, but we are still staying with the three times a week routine —– It is a horrible disease, but now we know it can be containted and he can live a pain free normal life!

    Thank you Rochelle for your support!

    Whoopie!

    • This is absolutely wonderful to hear! I’m so glad that Frankie is a healthy kitty these days. Thank you so much for sharing this. 🙂

  115. My big red neutered boy, TomTom, was diagnosed with Stomatitis today. He had his teeth cleaned and they were in need of cleaning, but they were not infected. His mouth and throat however are terribly red, swollen and painful. His head – where his temples are – appear swollen and puffy and the inside of his ears were also fire red. Tommy spent yesterday and overnight at the vet’s office. He is on an antibiotic that passes the blood/brain barrier, a steroid, eye gel and we have a moraphine type drug for pain when necessary. I have lysine in gel and chewies and will start them now based on what I’ve read on this site. Great site.

    • Nancy,

      Oh, your poor boy! Stomatitis is difficult enough for cats, but TomTom has several battles to deal with. Please keep us posted on his progress.

      Rochelle

  116. Hello All – this forum has been very informative and I hope to get some advice on my 12 year old cat. She had all of her teeth extracted about two months ago and after about two weeks, started eating and gaining weight again. About a month ago though, all of the painful symptoms (yelping in pain, clawing at month, not eating/drinking) came back and my vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory medicine. He said that there is the possibility that she may need to stay on meds long term which could cause liver shut-down. Have any of you ever had a cat stay on long term medical treatments for stomatitis that resulted in a shorter life span for the kitties? Thank you in advance for your feedback

    • Sue,

      The longest that Lily was on a steroid called Prednisolone was a little over a year, then I was able to wean her off of it. Prednisolone is not very strong, and it doesn’t look like any damage was done. According to my vet, the one you need to be really careful with is Depo (that’s short for something that I don’t remember).

      You might find it helpful to get a second opinion to see what another vet suggests. As an FYI, I found my vet by talking to our local cat rescue group. They know ALL the vets in our area and recommended two, both of whom were very good. You might also ask your local cat rescue group how they deal with stomatitis, since I’ll bet they have experience with it.

      Rochelle

  117. Hi Rochelle. I am so grateful to have found your website. We have a 2 1/2 year old cat who suffers from stomatitis. We had all but his four canines removed in November 2015 and when we took him back for a post-op check up in January, while there was a definite improvement, his gums were still inflamed. We started a course of steroids and have had excellent results, but one week after weaning Cooper off the prednisone, he is now only opening his mouth half-way when he yawns.

    The vet dentist gave us lysine gel to give him and I noticed that you use it in a powdered form. Do you know if one or the other form is more effective?

    • Amy,

      No, I don’t know if gel is better than powder for the Lysine. My guess is that it wouldn’t matter as long as your cat takes it. It would be like baby Tylenol, which is liquid, vs. adult Tylenol, which is in pill form (ignore the difference in strength for my example). I hope it helps your kitty!

      Rochelle

  118. It’s me again. Those of you who had tried the special diets and ended up having all your kitties teeth removed, did you go back to feeding them the food they liked or did you continue to try and feed them the special diet food? I can’t get my baby to like the special diet food. I don’t want her to not eat, especially now that she has not teeth to always eat just dry food.

    • I don’t remember what food I fed our cats before Lily had her teeth removed but after her surgery I switched to Iams. It has very small kibbles that Lily can easily swallow without needing to chew first.

  119. My Cheetah has stomatitis and for the past year we have been through a lot of stuff. She had her back teeth removed, then a special diet, then the rest of her teeth removed. It doesn’t seem to matter what we do it continues to come back. I was giving her both Lysin and Plaque off, but after the dentist removed the remaining teeth, she said not to give it to her anymore. Any reason you continue to give your cat Plaque off even with no teeth?

    • The PlaqueOff is meant to prevent plaque from building up on teeth so I understand why people wonder why I still give it to Lily even though she doesn’t have any teeth. Apparently, there is still plaque in the mouth even when there are no teeth, and it is believed that plaque is a trigger for stomatitis. Lily’s teeth had already been removed when I first gave it to her and I was desperate to find something that helped, along with the Lysine and steroid cream that I was giving her at the time. I tried the PlaqueOff, not knowing if it would do anything at all, and found that it worked wonders on her stomatitis.

      I documented Lily’s progress on PlaqueOff (although I didn’t take a picture when we first starting giving it to her because her mouth was too painful to open for a picture), and you can see it here, near the bottom of the page – http://stomatitisincats.com/review-of-plaqueoff-for-cats

      I hope this helps.

      Rochelle

  120. I have had many cats over the years, and they have always been healthy for the most part. I recently rescued two kittens off the streets of Hialeah, where my friend worked. He brought them to me in Pompano. After about a year one of the kittens has turned up with stomatitis. This is new to me. We take cat treats (Temptations) and a rolling pin and smush the treats into powder and add water. This is the only thing he will eat. After a couple of minutes the powdered wet food absorbs all the water, so we add more water and stir, and then he will begin to lick it again. After a couple of minutes we repeat with more water until he has gotten some sustenance. I feel so bad for him. He does enjoy licking plates at the end of our dinner, otherwise I think he would starve to death. Sometimes I make a chicken dinner using cream of chicken soup, he seems to really like this. Good luck all. I have not tried any other treatments yet. He is sweet and loves to just plop or sleep on us. But if I touch near his mouth, he will avoid me for a couple of days.

  121. i’m so glad i found this forum!

    I took in a couple cats a couple years back from a friend and had to put one of her two to sleep about a year ago (i now believe it was for a severe case of stomatitis now). now my friends other kitty, Zoey, i believe has stomatitis. She does not cry out in pain but she has lost a lot of weight, she drools a lot, sometimes theres a bit of blood mixed in. she smells terrible and is unable to keep her fur clean..

    i took in another cat to keep Zoey company and he seems well so far, hes a big boy!His previous owner had me giving him l-lysine when i gave him wet cat food but that is quite rare…but i’ve never given Zoey any…so i’m REALLY glad that should help.

    I also have read that ProDen PlaqueOff will help and its only about $14 online!

    i’m going to buy a kitty brush and tooth paste for Connor, but i’m afraid this would be too painful for Zoey right now. I was also recommended dentabites from temptations.

    I’m going to try and either find a dry cat food with no corn or gluten or just go strait to baby food in meat flavors and wet cat food..as i’ve read online for my Zoey. I believe shes 12 years old now and i’m in college so i cant really afford to take her to a vet unless these options dont work unfortunately. :/

  122. Hi Linda – human grade (Now Foods L-lysine powder) has no flavor, the Tomlyn is fish and chicken liver flavored.

  123. Hi Linda
    I found out about silver water on this site, if you scroll up and look at the older posts you will find a lot about it
    I cannot get a higher grade of Silver water as you do over in the US I’m in the UK, the highest grade I can get is 45ppm I give 3 to 4 sprays in the mouth three times a day
    http://amzn.to/1QmIKvW
    I hope this helps
    Happy New Year x

  124. Deb, is human grade l-lysine the same as the Tomlyn? I received my Tomlyn since posting above, and most, though not all, of my felines will eat it mixed into their wet food.

    Khrystian, so happy with you, that you’re baby is cancer free. You are going into the New Year happier than you were at Christmas–great news!
    However, keep in mind that stomatitis can be a really difficult illness. Very sad to say, I lost Chatterbox 2 days ago. Had been treating him for stomatitis since early this year. He had other ailments going on the last couple of weeks, just couldn’t pull out of it. Also, for weeks after he was first diagnosed, I was not dosing him regularly, as I should have. (My mother was ill, passed in mid-May 15, I was a caregiver for her, much family upset, dosing the cats was where I fell down on the job, unfortunately.)

    Val, good to know about the effectiveness of laser treatments. I am in US, so seeing your vet isn’t really an option, lol! Could you say how long after treatment/s did it take for healing to be evident, and how many treatments, how many days apart, did you get? Am so glad your girl is better.

    Catlover, how do you make your silver water? What silver, how much in how much water, etc. Thx.

  125. Val, you say you use Yogurt is it Greek Yogurt you use, do you use anything else? I have started using silver water and I have seen a lot of improvements

  126. CONTINUED.
    My Gr Ch,
    Does not mind her mouth being touched..most of the soreness has gone,,and new skin has grown.. I would urge anyone to give it a go,, Even the upset tummy has gone away since I followed up with Yogurt.
    Should you want to talk to my vet .. It is Falkland vets in Newbury Berkshire,
    Tel 01635 46565

  127. One of my vets have used laser treatment on my old Grand Champion girl for Stomatitis, I am so please she is a diffrent cat, does not mind her mou

  128. What kind of L-lysine do you use? The Tomlyn powder I use in my FELV+ cat’s wet food dissolves so I don’t think a cat could eat around it. You might try Viralysis Oral Gel (I get mine from Amazon). I sprinkle human grade dry L-lysine in the other cats’ dry food, but also give the gel to my one cat with feline herpes to be sure she gets a full dose (on finger 2x/day).

  129. My 8 year old Siamese cat was just diagnosed with ulcerative Stomatis. This diagnosis comes after the vet prepared us for mouth cancer. We are relieved that she has something that is treatable since the vet recommended putting her to sleep if it was cancer. It is severe he says. It’s on her tongue and throat as well her gums. He said her teeth are not bad so he wants to remove them as a last resort. She’s been on lysine for a week but I can’t get her to take it. She eats around it in wet food. I’ve seen an improvement with the lysine so I want to make sure she takes it. She is starting to gain back weight and eat dry food again. Any suggestions we appreciate. This cat is my 14 yearolds baby. It was a very emotional Christmas waiting for her biopsy results.

    • Khrystian,

      I’m sure it was a relief to find out your cat doesn’t have cancer, but I’m very sorry to hear that she does have stomatitis.

      I mix the Lysine with a small amount of wet food and water so that it gets completely mixed up with the food and Lily can’t eat around it. Have you watched the video that I made showing how I give Lysine and PlaqueOff to Lily? You can see it here – http://stomatitisincats.com/how-i-give-lysine-and-plaqueoff-to-lily

      If you decide to also try the PlaqueOff please keep in mind that it takes up to eight weeks to start working, so it’s best to start sooner than later.

      Rochelle

  130. Well, I am really happy and excited! I poured some of the I-5000 into a very small little plastic cup thing, then dipped cotton swabs into it–and the cats almost seemed to like my putting it in their mouths and on their gums! I was really surprised. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow. I know they’re each getting more than 1 or 2 drops, but guess it won’t kill them–at least I hope it won’t!

  131. This is for Laura and anyone else who uses Invive 5000: I have the I-5000 now, but please, tell me how you get just a couple of drops of it? I tried pouring some into a tiny little plastic cup that measures in mils, but it’s kind of thick. I don’t want to waste any, and dipping a cotton swab into the bottle isn’t an option. Please help!

    I have one poor guy, Chatterbox, who I’ve been treating since Jan or Feb of this year–almost a full calendar year of dealing w/stomatitis, and I am very anxious to try the silver on him. He hasn’t been eating well since last week, suspected that his mouth was sore again, so today, we saw vet, again. I just had him and 3 others in 7-10 days ago, and he was doing much better, so sad it flared up. Have been treating 5 (lost 1 few days ago, due to age as well as illness), with liquid prednisolone and Viralys gel, 2x/day for each med. Today, vet said to take everyone off the liquid prednisolone, that it’s not helping. Keep them on Viralys, and gave Chatterbox, who is not so Chatterboxy right now!, Clavamox and Veraflox (in?–can’t remember how it ends). So now my challenge is to get CB out from under the bed so I can medicate him! There is a place that is nicely warm and he loves it there!

    Also, somewhere online, I read a comment from a man who said that Tomlyn brand of l-lysine is the same as vetoquinal’s Viralys, that vetoq now owns Tomlyn. I called the toll-free # on a tube of the Viralys gel and talked to a company rep who confirmed that both are owned by vetoq, and that Tomlyn brand and the Viralys are identical. –And Tomlyn is quite a bit less expensive. I’ve been using the Viralys gel, but am ordering Tomlyn granules. (Ordered grans some months ago, have small bit left and tried it on several of my cats, just poured on their canned food, everyone liked it fine–hope that lasts!). Last week, I ordered 2 containers of the Tomlyn from valuepets.com, who sent e-mail saying it’s on backorder, no ship date given, and it’s not now listed on their website. They had the best price I could find, but I need it NOW, so prob will pay more, but I need it. Today, at vet’s ofc., I got a new tube of Viralys to tide me over until I can get granules. (FYI, I pay $15.00/tube for it, from the vet).

    Months ago, when I ordered the l-lysine granules (by vetoquinal), also got Plaque-Off. I will feed it to everyone who will eat it, but most of my kit-kats don’t like it, sad to say. I’m so ready for them to not have bad mouths any more. It’s been a long haul for them and me. Also, I think the vet said she thinks they are into calici virus, not sure. Need to check with her. Was so worried about poor Chatterbox, didn’t pay good attention. She did say he has an infection of some kind; his temp was 104. Not quite sure what combination of calici and stomatitis means. Apologies for long post. Looking for answers, as are we all.

  132. Someone here mentioned Convenia. Please know that this drug is highly controversial and has killed a lot of cats. A simple Google search will bring up hundreds of warning sites. It stays in the body for 65 days, so aside from the dangers of the drug itself, you must be careful as to what drugs you give your cat during this time due to interactions. My cat was given Convenia Oct. 23, and she still isn’t right. She nearly died at first. And there was nothing I could do to stop it because it’s active in the body for two weeks. If nothing else, consider that logic… That if your cat has a bad reaction to Convenia, you just have to pray that they’ll live through it. You’re playing Russian roulette with your beloved pet.

  133. Jackie,

    If your cat has been to the vet and their treatment has not helped this is what I would do for your sick kitty. Get some cat or kitten formula, add a can of goat’s milk, two eggs, a can of water and some cat vitamins. I like to use Nupro health nuggets for cats ( a couple of scoops should do it) mix all together. If your cat will drink then feed this formula that way, if your cat is not drinking use a medicine dropper. In the mean time get some colloidal silver. Put some on a cotton swab and apply to your cat’s gums at least once a day or maybe twice, morning and evening. You can probably find the silver at a health food store, if not it can be ordered online. FYI put the silver on the swab full strength.

  134. Is there anyone on here from the uk that knows where I can get colloidal silver water higher then 45ppm, as this is the highest I have found

  135. I have one almost that age. He has been on prednisone daily for several years now for inflammation. when it gets severe, he gets an antibiotic injection, usually Convenia that works for two weeks. This usually gets him eating again. Plus good soft food of course. My vet even suggested he may prefer it cold to ease the mouth pain.

  136. I have a 15 year old with Stomatitis and has not ate in days!! HELP ME PLEASE!! 🙁 🙁 🙁

    • Jackie,

      I apologize that I am unable to tell you what will help but if your cat isn’t eating you need to take him (her) to your vet asap. Cats can go downhill very quickly when they refuse to eat so you don’t want to wait in seeking medical help.

      Rochelle

  137. When my cats get diarrhoea, I give them Liquid Grapefruit seed extract in a little water it stop with in 2 days

  138. I asked my vet about the diarrhea cat. He suggested a fecal test. I had a cat with very severe diarrhea that he couln’t control at all. I turned out that he had something that could be cured with medication that I had to give him for over a month.

  139. My cat Joey had all his teeth removed a year ago. At first the stomatitis kept coming back. He got Metacam for pain and also codeine phosphate transdermal. It came in little syringes and I put 1/10 of a ml in his ear 2x a day. It seemed to help. After 7 months and 2 mild prednisolone shots it finally went away. Since June he seems fine now. Sometimes it takes at least 6 months for the extractions to work. I was lucky. The vet who did the extractions specializes in animal dentistry so he is very good. It cost $2300 and was worth every penny.He is a vet in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Monika

  140. I have a cat that’s had the lot done. Firstly she was treated with Prednisone, but it didn’t work. Next she had her teeth removed, that didn’t work, so was again given Prednisone on a daily basis. That also didn’t work, so now we have just started her on Cyclosporine. It’s only been three days, but so far, no improvement and was told it should work quickly. I’m at my wits end trying to get her pain free and as I have twelve cats here, having a specialised diet is not a viable option.

  141. That should have said make the stomatitis worse and is likely to lead to diabetes. I was having trouble with the comments section and it would not let me get to the bottom to fix it.

    I am currently looking into interferon treatment (Virbagen Omega) which, next to full extractions seems to be the best chance for a permanent resolution. Has anyone tried this?

    • Hello,

      I have changed the wording regarding steroids and diabetes. The information I shared came from my vet but I changed it from sounding like a death sentence was certain to the possibility that it could be a bad thing.

      I have never heard of Virbagen Omega, but hopefully someone can give you information about this. Please keep us posted if you learn anything about it.

      Rochelle

  142. Colloidal Silver Water
    i bought the smaller bottle with the spray nozzle the first time i purchased the product and now i just buy the larger bottle. there are several places to get this and maybe even cheaper but this is easiest for me. i’m not happy with amazon at this time because they are charging tax on some items and i do not agree with this practice, but sometimes you have to give the devil his due. i do think that the company itself sells direct too.

  143. Jimmie please can you put a link on here for the colloidal silver water, is it the 5000pph one

    Thanks
    Cat lover

  144. Thanks so much for your reply, Jimmie–I’ll look that up. I hope your little cat is better very soon.

  145. for linda painter, yeah my son and i share a name and he beat me to facebook, im jimmie roan sr, and i buy the silver water by colloidal research inc., not sure if there is a lot of difference but i’ve had good luck with this so im not one for change. my great grand daughter asks for a little spray every time she comes over and i use it for lots of ailments. i just put a little in a syringe and give the cats some whenever i think of it. ive been out for a few days because of too little time and too much to do and my little scardy cat is drooling again, im ordering right now.

  146. JIMMIE ROAN, found you on Facebook, but no new posts since July!–so guess that’s not a good way to get in touch with you, lol!! I live in Shawnee, OK, approx. 30 miles just east down I-40 from Choctaw. Please, when you can, let me know the brand of silver you use. Thx.

  147. This question is for JIMMIE ROAN. What brand silver do you use? To everyone, I’ve ordered, received, but not consistently used, TheraSilver Amber, http://www.TheraSilver.com. This is a one-man business, David, and he is very, very nice, spent some time with me on the phone. He told me to get a gallon of distilled water, remove 1/2 cup of water from the gallon, add 1/2 cup of the TheraSilver to the gallon to replace the 1/2 cup water you removed, and use this “silver water” as water for the cats. Even though I’ve had the TheraSilver for weeks, I only began doing this 2 days ago, not long enough to see results. My cats are gradually getting better, but it’s been a long haul, over most of this calendar year, especially for Chatterbox. Last Friday, took 5 of my felines to vet for rechecks, now must again begin treating 2 of them I had gotten lax with. (It can be almost a full-time job to treat everyone!!). So hopefully, this time, I’ll be consistent and in time, will have this problem gone. My vet has a protocol that has finally been great at helping. I’m sure part of it is an injection of Covenia. I will have to find my statement from Friday, and post the rest of it, later. For a long time, I was giving everyone prednisolone pills, 1 morning, 1 evening. Now, they are on a liquid version, 1 mil morning, 1 mil evening. which is much easier. When a little mouth is very broken out and so sore from the stomatitis, it’s REALLY difficult to get that little pill in the middle of the back of the mouth so it can then be swallowed on down. If it lands on an open spot, it sticks and hurts so bad! They don’t like the liquid, but I’ve now learned how to give it, and it’s much more manageable for me than the pills. I’m posting my e-mail addy, in case anyone wants to contact me outside this forum. JIMMIE ROAN, I hope to hear from you very soon, as I’m considering ordering the (yes, verrry pricey!) Invive 5000. Wish we could get several of us close together so we could order a quantity for less, and split it. (BTW, I live in Oklahoma). My e-mail is wiicat@yahoo.com. Very glad to have this forum, it’s been helpful.

  148. Hi. Just want to thank you for helping my cat out. She has severe stomatitis. It’s very hard to get her to eat prescription food but I do syringe feed her. I started to use the “plaque off” and now the redness and inflammation in her front gums and teeth has gone done considerably. even her throat is less red. She does still have diarrhea and stomach pain but i use prednisolone which helps a bit. The diarrhea is horrible and nonstop. She basically lives walking in and out of the litter box sometimes just crying in pain with nothing coming out but drops of blood. We’ve had her on several antibiotics but plaque off did a much better job on her gums.
    My veterinarian does not recommend extraction because the inflammation will still present itself and the surgery might cause more stress. I have had cats that had stomatitis and prior vets recommended extraction. Those cats didn’t last very long after the surgery. I’m sorry I had it done. If you find any other treatments for the stomach issues please let me know. I’m desperate for her. When she starts to scream I massage her belly. It’s heart breaking.My vet gave me a choice. either steroids or pain killers. I picked steroids. Her feces is like water after i give it to her.
    Thanks again for your input. Plaque off really works.

    • I’m so sorry to hear that your kitty is suffering from severe diarrhea. Have you tried giving her pumpkin? A small amount daily might be helpful with this problem. It would be best to ask your vet how much to give your cat, but probably no more than a teaspoon is what I’ve given my cats when they’ve had the same issue. And I’m really glad to hear that the PlaqueOff is helping your cat!

  149. Mary Ann, Yes it is the 5000. Not cheap I will admit, but not as expensive as tooth extraction. As far as getting it to the back of his throat just use a medicine dropper and don’t mix with water. A couple of drops will be enough. You can use this for yourself when you are sick. It works for just about everything, it’s anti-bacterial and anti-viral.

  150. Sorry Laura–one more question. So you purchased the Invive 5000 strength? It’s expensive, but their web site is very convincing, and based upon your results, I’ll invest the money with the one I know is effective. I just want to be sure I’m buying the right strength for Olive’s gingivitis. You said it was 5000?

    Again, thank you so much.

  151. i see several comments about the silver water and wanted to offer what i have done. i have two cats i treat for stomatitis , you may have seen some posts, my baby is scardy cat, no teeth and been hanging on for years. been doing better with the plaqueoff and lysine and steriods once in a while. some time back i started buying the silver water for my own use and one of my great grand daughters, sore throats, skinned elbows etc. when scardy cat started drooling again, he has flare up at times, i started squirting it in his mouth for a rinse, and when i would clean his mouth with a soft towel i would wet it with the water. and if i remember i take a syringe and give him a little drink during the day. ive read good and bad about the water, it soothes a sore throat for me, heals little cuts and scratches quicker, and helps with scardy cats problems. im not sure how much is too much or enough, but a syringe with 1 or more cc surely can’t hurt. and scardy cat has been with me for almost 10 years with stomatitis, my vet calls him his little miracle cat, he did suffer a lot of different treatments before i discovered this lady.

  152. Laura, Thank you so much! I just love hearing about alternative therapies working. I’ll be seeing Olive’s holistic vet tomorrow, so I’ll ask him about this. Can’t see him too often, as he’s so expensive, unfortunately. She’ll be getting a chiropractic adjustment. lol! Even I don’t do that, but I’m getting it for my cat!!!!!

    Thanks again,
    Mary Ann

  153. Hi Laura,
    You say you put it on a cotton bud, do you mix it with water as I need to get it to the back of his throat, so I would use a syringe

  154. Mary Ann, I used the colloidal silver once a day at bedtime. I only had to do this for two weeks. I have not continued with it because there has been no recurrence of the ailment. If it does return I will start it again. You might also try putting a teaspoon in the cat’s water it most likely will help with the bartonella.

  155. Laura, I see what you mean about the error message. Same here. Maybe cause I’m on the phone? Anyway, thank you so much for the info! How often did you treat the gums? Do you still occasionally do it? What’s the maintenance? My cat has so much trouble with medications. Two weeks ago, she was injected with Convenia, a two week antibiotic, for a minor skin issue and is still recovering. People, please research that drug before you let your pet be injected as Olive got deathly ill! At that time, she also tested positive for bartonella and will need antibiotics for three weeks. The bartonella has caused terrible gingivitis, so I’ll need a treatment for that going forward, after the antibiotics are done. They should cure the bartonella, but not so sure about the gingivitis. Sorry if I digressed, Laura. All I want to know is how often you used the silver and if you still do. Thank you!

  156. Mary Ann, For some reason I keep getting an error message when I hit the reply button. In answer to your question I use Invive 5000. It is safe for use in humans and animals. I simply put a couple drops on a q-tip and rub it on the gums. I have used it for my dogs as well when they get sick and it is great for shortening the length of the flu.
    KG, My cat was so sick that he let me bathe and blow dry him without any resistance. So rubbing a q-tip on his gums was not an issue. If your cat would give you trouble when rubbing the q-tip on his gums I recommend wrapping him/her tightly in a towel, blanket or pillowcase. Have the q-tip ready and then just be quick.

  157. Hi, how did you get your cat to tolerate anything being done in his mouth? I have 2 with stomatitis that extractions haven’t cured (others have been cured) but they are so mouth shy that it is hard enough to just squirt meds in. Details on the colloidal silver would be appreciated.

  158. Here is the link as promised Eastcott Veterinary Clinic & Hospital
    1 review · Animal Hospital
    Edison Park, Hindle Way, Off Dorcan Way
    01793 528341
    Open until 20:00

  159. My vet has said that laser surgery has good results of 80% FOR Stomatitis but the two back teeth need to be removed.
    There is also another treatment from a vetinary dental specialist in Swindon Wiltshire,,, When I get the link I will post it,

  160. Laura, what brand of colloidal silver did you use? Does it come in different strengths? I wouldn’t want to use too much of it on my cat. Did you use a cat version, or colloidal silver for humans?

  161. I have mentioned this before but I think it bears repeating. I had a poor kitty with a severe case of stomatitis. I took him to the vet and they gave him a steroid shot and antibiotics but said it was just a bandaid. The only way to cure this ailment was to have his teeth extracted. I began looking for alternative treatments as the shot and antibiotics were not helping. He was getting worse. Well I thought I would try colloidal silver. I began putting a bit on a q-tip and rubbing it on his gums every night before bedtime. I also began giving him the lysine and plaque off. Within a week he was much improved and within two weeks he was completely cured. I stopped giving the silver but continued the lysine and plaque off for another couple of weeks. It has been 7 months with no recurrence of this ailment. He is happy, healthy and getting on with the important things in a kitty cat’s life.

  162. I have a four year old cat, Gryphon, who ran wild in my yard for a year and a half; I finally gained his trust and had him neutered. He has turned into such a lover! However, he has full-blown feline leukemia as well as stomatitis. The stomatitis has become resistant to steroids and antibiotics (went with Depo shots for a while, then switched to prednilisone applied to the ear), and is quite grievous at this point. Just spoke with my trusted vet about extraction of teeth; she also offered that euthanasia might be the most sensible course of action, and I agreed with her. I guess my question is (and it’s probably impossible to answer): if it were your cat with feline leukemia, would you consider it worth the expense to you, and the trauma to the cat, to pursue tooth extraction, or would this just be postponing the inevitable? Consider this a solicitation for a second opinion – there are no happy answers – I’ve had many cats (two had to be euthanized because of intractable stomatitis, I’ve never considered tooth extraction before because of the expense); Gryphon is quite special, but then there’s the leukemia factor. (I was advised that his recovery could be longer because of his compromised immune system.) Many thanks!

    • Shannon,

      My heart goes out to you and your cat!

      I regret that I don’t have an answer for you. I’ve never had a cat with feline leukemia and know nothing about it. Hopefully someone else can offer their thoughts based on his or her experience.

      Have you talked to your vet about giving Lysine to your cat? To the best of my knowledge it is harmless, and it works by boosting a cat’s immune system. I’ve given it to Lily for years and found out the hard way just how helpful it is. One time I ran out and didn’t get the Lysine I ordered in a timely manner. Lily went without for a week before it arrived, and she went downhill during that short period of time.

      Please let us know what you decide to do and how Gryphon responds to any treatments you try.

      Rochelle

  163. My 7 year old snowshoe, Sam, has been fighting stomatitis for several years and has had 8 teeth removed. We’ve had a pretty good handle on it until recently and he is currently having a flair again and had to go to the vet this morning. The antibiotic they prescribed made him throw up so I’m afraid we’ll have to go another route for antibiotics. He will be on a course of prednisone for a few weeks and will get his remaining teeth cleaned next week.
    Do you give the lysine and PlaqueOff at the same time in the same bowl? Or give one at night and one in the morning? Sam can be a pickey eater so I’m not sure if he will eat it but I’m willing to try it. I hate seeing him sick.

  164. I have a cat that was a stray I found in the woods, who has FIV and stomatitis. He’s about 8 years old, the vet said. He’s had a couple of rounds of antibiotics and he’s had one round of injected steroids. The vet didn’t want to remove the teeth until the inflammation went down some. He was talking about steroid treatment over a period of years, decreasing as time goes on. I was just glad he was giving this cat “years” and that he was not anxious to remove the teeth as I’m terrified for the cat to undergo anesthesia (I was originally told by one vet that because of the FIV, he’s an anesthesia risk. She wanted to put him down but I wouldn’t let her).

    I give him a small dose twice a day of Buprenex, per the vet’s orders, but I’m wondering if maybe that’s too much. He has a lot of loose stools and I’m thinking maybe it’s the Buprinex. I’m worried about giving it to him every day, do you think maybe it’s too much for him?

    Is there anything else you think I should be doing to help him? I asked the vet if he should have a prescription diet for teeth but she said no because of the underlying cause being the FIV, I guess, but this is the same vet that wanted him put down, so I don’t know what to think.

    • Amanda,

      It has been several years since I had to give Buprenex to Lily so I don’t remember the specific details about the medicine, but it seems to me that twice a day is what we did. I don’t know if diarrhea is a side effect of Buprenex, but you can offer your cat a teaspoon of canned pumpkin each day to help with that. Just be careful not to give her too much or she will end up constipated.

      As for what else you can do, the this page shows you several options. At the very least you can start giving your cat Lysine, which helps boost the immune system.

      Regarding your vet, don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. I did and ended up switching to our current vet. I found our vet by talking to the women who run the cat rescue group I adopted Lily from. I explained to them that my cat has stomatitis and asked for a vet recommendation from them. They were spot on with who I should see and I wouldn’t trade our vet for anything.

      Rochelle

  165. Update on Polar

    Polar has Stomatitis & the Calici virus,
    Polar has new meds
    In the morning I give him
    5 drops of Boost, One small drop of each of Agrimony & Yellow Dock Root, on to tea spoon; one FCV support, put all in glass and add 1/2 tea spoon of boiled water let it get cold if still hot; syringe this in to his mouth
    In a separate glass I do two pumps of ArthriAid Omega I give this to him by a syringe
    Enisyl-F, two pump into syringe
    And then his Metacam.
    In the evening I give him
    One small drop of each of Agrimony & Yellow Dock Root & one FCV support, put all in glass and add 1/2 tea spoon of boiled water let it get cold if still hot; syringe this in to his mouth
    And Aquadent, in his water bowl .
    I took Polar to have has blood tests to make sure that the Metacam is not damaging has liver or kidneys and the vet was very pleased with him, he weighs 7.12kgs Polar is a Maine coon, Polar blood test came back all good.

  166. For those who tried and had success with the Plaque Off and Lysine combo, how long was it before you started seeing any progress? My girl had 6 teeth removed 2.5 weeks ago. The drooling was a bit better for the first few days, but now I think we are back to presurgery amounts of drool. She is on a steroid, but only for another couple weeks. I would like to try this combo for her but I’d love to hear your time lines to gauge an idea of how long to wait for results. Thank you!

    • The label on PlaqueOff says it takes up to eight weeks to notice a change in your pet’s mouth, and my experience with Lily was that it took every bit of those eight weeks. But after eight weeks, she was (and remains) a totally different cat.

  167. I just wanted to let you know that after spending a TON of money on my kitty without much resolution he is finally healthy again! He is about a year out from full extractions. It took him 6 months to heal completely, but I noticed a huge change after I put him on Lysine. He doesn’t take any steroids now or antibiotics. Your website gave me so much hope when I didn’t think the surgery worked. Thank you!

  168. I currently have a girl that is suffering from stomatitis and am very concerned about her. She had surgery approx a year ago to remove all but her canine teeth. That surgery went well however at her most recent checkup, the vet mentioned that her top canine teeth look like they’re inflamed so she went in and had them removed a week ago. Tonight I had to rush her back to the vet as she had drool (and a small amount of blood) along her lower lip. The vet had a look and the holes where the top canines were taken out show sign of infection and her bottom canines are rubbing against her lips causing her pain. She was given a dose of antibiotics (for the next two weeks) and Im to give her Metacam every night for a week to see if that helps. I’m wondering if I should ask them to take out her remaining bottom canine teeth? They appear to be healthy, but if they’re causing her discomfort, then would it be better in the long run?
    After reading your blog, I’m now looking to purchase Plaque Off and I already have Lysine which I can add to her food – I also have a FIV+ boy so use that for him.
    Thank you for putting up your blog and you’ll probably hear more from me as I have subsequent follow-up vet visits.

    • Izkobe,

      Oh, wow! I really don’t know if there is benefit to leaving in the bottom canines but removing the top ones. We first had all of Lily’s teeth removed except her four canines, but like your story, Lily’s gums around them continued to be inflamed. At that point all four were removed and my vet didn’t say anything to me about leaving two of them, so I have no knowledge at all about doing that. The one thing that I do know is that my vet recommended keeping the canines, if possible, to keep Lily’s tongue in place. Without the canines her tongue goes all over the place when she licks herself, and the tongues for some cats flop out of their mouths and hang out the sides. Lily is able to keep her tongue in her mouth at all times.

      Please keep us posted on how your cat is doing.

      Rochelle

  169. HI I am in the first stages of finding a resolution for one of my fosters Hugo, thus far I’ve tried antibiotics and prednisone shots
    (Steroids) which helped somewhat. Do you think the PlaqueOff when have been a successful even if you had not removed her teeth?

    I meant plaque off

    • Debi,

      Oops! I responded to your previous message before I saw this one.

      You’ve asked a question that I’ve wondered about many times. I really don’t know if the PlaqueOff would have helped Lily and we didn’t have the chance to find out since Lily’s teeth were removed before I found PlaqueOff. It certainly can’t hurt to try it, but keep in mind that it really does take up to eight weeks to see improvement from it. You might need to use other treatments as well. Have you asked your vet about Prednisolone? It is a steroid cream that I used with Lily. I applied it to the inside of her ears, where it was absorbed into her skin. Lily no longer needs it, but the Prednisolone really helped when her mouth was still bad after the tooth extractions.

      Rochelle

  170. HI I am in the first stages of finding a resolution for one of my fosters Hugo, thus far I’ve tried antibiotics and prednisone shots
    (Steroids) which helped somewhat. Do you think the aqua dent when have been a successful even if you had not removed her teeth?

    • Debi,

      That’s really hard to say. I’ve heard that AquaDent is very helpful, but only if your cat will drink water that has it in it. I tried AquaDent and none of our five cats would go near that water. I switched to PlaqueOff, which does the same thing AquaDent is supposed to do, and that has worked for us.

      Please let us know if your cat takes the AquaDent and how well it helps Hugo.

      Rochelle

  171. I have four that have mouth or teeth problems. Two of them do get antibiotics and prednisone as needed. I can,t afford two more. A friend said he bought penicillan at farm store and it helped his.Has anyone else tried this approach?

  172. My little boy Billy was diagnosed with Stomatitis at six months of age. They tested for FIV and FeLV to make sure this hadn’t caused it, he was negative. The vet did a gum biopsy to check there was no malignancies in the gum. They found that their was anaerobic bacteria. We have tried some antibiotics but they game him diahrrea and no improvement to the gums. He has been on Metrogyl to combat diahrrea, and this has been good and I think some improvement to the gums, but once he stopped the course of medication the diahrrea has come back. We are using Hexarinse nightly and a gentle tooth brushing. He will be back at the vets tomorrow as I believe there is a connection between the stomatitis and the diahrrea. He has never stopped eating or drooling. The problem was first picked up when we had him only a couple of days and took him for his first wellness check. I will ask the vet about the L-Lysine as I am familiar with this supplement as my husband uses it if he thinks he is getting a cold or virus. Billy is a Maine Coon and we have read it is not unusual for Maine Coons to show the signs of gingivitis or stomatitis before age two and it usually goes away, not sure how accurate this is. There has been no drooling or anything or any sign of pain. He is a happy little boy actually. Diet change is near impossible as I have three Maine Coons and one that is on renal diet due to having to have a kidney removed at 18 months due to hydronephrosis. Any other suggestions would be most welcome. Thank you!

    • Nicole,

      First, my disclosure: I am not a vet nor do I have any medical training. Having said that, I’ve not read anything about stomatitis going away on its own. In fact, in my experience and from what I’ve read and heard from other people, it gets worse without treatment, and even then there is no guarantee that it will improve or completely clear up.

      The only suggestion I have relates to the diarrhea that Billy is suffering from. You might try giving him a small amount of pumpkin, maybe a teaspoon full, because pumpkin helps firm stools. That is something my vet told me about with one of my cats and it worked well and my cat liked the taste. Just make sure you don’t overdo the pumpkin or you’ll end up with the opposite problem, a constipated cat.

      Good luck and please keep us posted on Billy’s progress.

      Rochelle

  173. I wanted to leave a comment about a product similar to CLUNIA. From the info I can see CLUNIA contains Zn, Vitamin C and Taurine. There is something similar in US called “maxiguard oral cleansing gel” (about $12 on Amazon). If someone is interested in Clunia, this is much easier to find.

  174. my cat is bleeding heavily, not a drool but medium sized puddles. At first I thought that she banged or lost her tooth.She was acting fine while she was still bleeding, then at one point she became weaker and weaker and now she cannot move, she is all skin and bones, her energy is zero. I am really at a loss to do. We live 5 hours away from the nearest vet, so that doesn’t look like a good option. Please give advice as to how to get her energy going, please please help!

    • As much as I hate to say this, it sounds like your cat needs medical help. I don’t think there is anything that I can suggest that will help. Cats are notorious for looking okay until they are seriously ill, and that is how your cat sounds based on your description of her.

      I’m so sorry that you and your cat are going through this! My prayers go out to you.

      Rochelle

    • A couple of people responded to your comment but they came privately to me. Here is what they said.

      Diane – Can you bring her to an emergency human clinic?

      Lilli – I would call the vet and see what they suggest, while you get her to the vet, 5 hrs is a long way but the end result may save her. My prayers to you both.

  175. For Laura, additional question, please. What consistency is the CS you used? I’m using a liquid, which has the consistency of water. I think you can also get CS in gel form. Thx, again.

  176. This Comment is for Laura. What brand of colloidal silver do you use? Is it in liquid form? How do you apply it? I have ordered and received some CS, but cats’ are so much better that I’m not using it. Would like to–after all, that’s why I bought it! (Or I could use it for myself). When I used it for a short time, I’d get a dropper and fill it to about 3-4 mils, I think it was, and hold cat by scruff of the neck, place the dropper end in mouth and push the plunger, to squirt the CS into the mouth, hoping the CS reached most if not all of the inside of the mouth before cat swallowed. Thank you.

  177. i noticed several post today on my emails, i’ve posted this at different times but just in case someone missed it here is how i give the suppliments and meds to my 2 guys, one that has had teeth and one that hasn’t, along with free feeding because i have so many to feed, i use purina one turkey and chicken dry for free feeding, i use gerber baby food, meats only, ham, turkey, chicken, for any meds they need. i give the plaqueoff and lysine in finely diced up turkey breast from deli for the one with no teeth. i use pate and shreds for all the outside cats, early am and now that it is so hot, after dark in the evening. my scardy cat had his teeth remover years ago and had many many different treatments before i discovered this site and started taking over his care, his brother has stomatitis also but still has his teeth. scardy has improved so much with the plaqueoff and lysine and a few times a week methylprednisone, our vet now calls him our miracle cat. i give him the steriods according to what i see in his mouth or his drooling. right now im dealing with mites on him and another old guy but he just keeps going, has a bad day every so often but loves attention and purrs all the time.

  178. Hello Rachel:
    I tried to reply via ‘reply’ but my computer won’t let me so I am hoping you will read this. Things did not go smoothly for Erik. He had a reaction to the material in the stitches. The vet showed me how the line of the inflammation run exactly on the line of the stitches. We put him on a very very low dose of steroids for five days and that seemed to work. I just looked at his mouth last night as the vet called and I am pretty sure he is OK. The stitches were dissolvable ones but they take up to three months to dissolve which I never knew. I never did have the courtesy of a reply from the Spanish company that made Clunia. Fortunately, so far it appears Erik is OK (fingers crossed) I am keeping him on lysine as his immune system appears to be comprised somehow.

  179. Cassie, have you tried grain free foods? Or commercial raw food? I had success with those changes. Ordinary cat food is loaded with allergens like corn and wheat, which a cat would never eat in the wild. In fact, big cats in the wild have spectacular teeth as they get naturally cleaned when they chew on things like muscle. Granted, my cat was in the very early stages of the disease, so perhaps that’s why I had a good result, but cat nutrition is worth looking into for any sick cat. You wouldn’t believe the miracles that can happen when a cat simply eats what’s natural for them. Grain Free foods are great, but raw is even better. Many companies sell it frozen or freeze dried, the latter of which is more popular among kitties.

  180. My cat is 10 and he has stomatitis very bad. All of his teeth have been removed and he is still having very bad pain. How do you give the medicine when the mouth hurts so badly? Our vet wants me to give it to him in his mouth as a liquid but he freaks out and has even peed because he gets so scared and in so much pain. Is there a way to give these treatments my injections?

    • Stacy,

      Has your vet suggested any type of pain medicine for your cat? When Lily was at her worst I gave her Buprenex to temporarily relieve her pain. This is the only pain medicine that I am aware but I suspect there are others.

      To answer your question, I gave Lily’s medicine to her in two ways. The Prednisolone (steroid cream) was rubbed into the inside of her ear and absorbed by her skin. I mix the Lysine and PlaqueOff with water and a small amount of wet cat food and she laps it up.

      I never had to give Lily any medicines orally other than the Buprenex so I regret that I may not be answering your question the way you hoped. This might be a good thing to ask your vet about.

      Rochelle

  181. There are a number of colonies of feral cats at my workplace. One of the cats in the small group nearest my office had gotten very thin, and seemed unable to eat. He would jump and contort as if something in his mouth was attacking him. I was able to secure him and take him to the vet twice. The doctor diagnosed him with stomatitis, and at first gave the poor thing antibiotics and Metacam for the pain. (I added it to some soft food daily.) He improved considerably, but then appeared to regress after a few weeks. On the second visit, kitty showed no sign of infection, and the vet decided to try prednisone, which I have been dosing him with for the last three weeks. However, he has shown no interest in eating the last two days, and seems to be exhibiting the same signs of discomfort I originally noticed. The vet did discuss extraction with me, but pointed out that it would not be inexpensive, and not necessarily cure the problem. I would not be able to relocate him to my home as we have dogs, but feel that he is very comfortable with his little group. All the cats are fed and the Cat Network routinely traps, neuters and returns them. Kitty is FIV/FeLV negative (I had him tested). I really don’t know what to do next, and was hoping someone might give me advice. It breaks my heart to seem him suffer.

    Thank you – Robin

    • Robin,

      You are clearly a caring and compassionate person who wants what is best for this kitty, and I wish I knew what to tell you, but I don’t.

      Your vet is right that tooth extraction is both expensive and not guaranteed to end the pain of stomatitis. But, if you want to pursue that, you might consider starting some type of donation campaign. I know others here have done this on sites like http://www.gofundme.com.

      I hope that you find a way to help this kitty more than you already have.

      Rochelle

  182. I am not an expert by any means but this is what worked for me. One morning I noticed my cat Felix drooling profusely and acting not well at all. I thought he had been poisoned. I took him to the vet and she said it was stomatitis. The only thing she could do for him was a steroid shot and a round of antibiotics. She said the treatment was just a band aid and that the only way to cure stomatitis was to pull the teeth. I thought if I have my cat’s teeth pulled he won’t be able to go outside as he would not have that defense. I gave him the antibiotic for three days but he seemed to get worse so I started doing research on the subject. I found that colloidal silver applied directly to the gums with a q-tip and L-lysine supplement had good results. Since I happened to have some colloidal silver on hand I decided it wouldn’t hurt to try this. I applied the silver to his gums every night at bedtime. I also purchased some l-lysine. Within a week my cat was back to his normal self and now it has been 6 months with no return of the illness. Like I said I am no expert but this is what worked for me and I didn’t have to have my cat’s teeth pulled.

    • Laura,

      I am so glad that you found a way to help your cat! Thank you for sharing this. I’ve never used colloidal silver but I’ve read where people, such as yourself, have had success with it.

      Rochelle

  183. I unfortunately lost my mother 5 1/2 years ago. A few years before her passing my father passed and she was quite lonely, so she adopted an adorable Tabby “Jake”. After Mom passed Jake came to live with me. Soon after his adoption, Mom discovered he had Stomatitis and was regularly bringing him to the vet for Antibiotic and Steroid injections. Therefore, I followed suit and continued with this regimen. He has also had all but his canines removed. However, as time went on he seemed to get worse and required these injections 1-2 times a month. It was really getting out of hand! He is approximately 11 or 12 years old now, and about a year ago, while purchasing more cat food for him I noticed the grain free food and decided to but it. After a few weeks I definitely noticed a difference. He wasn’t perfect but he seemed to not get sick as often. I recently took him off ALL cat food! Yes, ALL cat food. I have been buying chunk white Tuna in WATER and give him a half of a can per meal. He also gets canned chicken and on occasion hamburger crumpled up, and various other safe meats cooked plain with no sauces or preservatives. The change is unbelievable! He still suffers from diarrhea which he has had from day one, but he is no longer in pain and has not needed steroids for months. I crush Imodium Plus into his food when his stomach is acting up. Just in case you are wondering, Believe it or not, canned WHITE tuna for humans is more economical than cat food! I purchase a large quantity of cans when it is on sale (Generally 10 cans for $10.00), and at a half of a can per serving which is roughly 4.5 ounces, each serving costs .50. When giving him any leftovers, I am careful to never give any food with grains. So, between taking him off all cat food, and administering Imodium Little Jake seems to be living a pain free life for the first time in his life. He no longer Yowls in pain….however he now has become more vocal in general and demands to eat with a lot of talking! I imagine it is because he now CAN be vocal without pain! I am going to look into supplements for him, just in case he is missing some nourishment that he would normally get in pet food. But I will introduce very slowly, because I still am not sure what it is in pet food that causes this disease in him.

    • Sharon,

      Wow! This is wonderful to hear!

      One of the options my vet suggested to me with Lily was to put her on a diet of high protein food. I no longer remember the specifics of what the food was, but she said that sometimes cats don’t do well with traditional cat foods, including those with stomatitis.

      The food was very expensive, plus I have four other cats and couldn’t imagine keeping Lily from eating regular cat food because of this, so I passed on this option. But I know others have done similar things as you, such as a raw food diet, and that they have had success just as you have.

      There are so many sad stomatitis stories that it’s good to hear ones that have a happy ending.

      Rochelle

  184. So cheza had a full mouth extraction over a year ago she was doing well for a bit and in the past month or so she is taking a turn for the worst. She is 6 years old and lately she has been getting sick every time she eats she can’t seem to keep anything down I have changed her food twice to see if it would help but nothing is working. I don’t have any money to go the the vet this time because my husband lost his job. Has any one else had this problem?

  185. To Linda Painter:
    I have tried to find out about Clunia also on the Spanish website. No indication of how to order but I managed to translate the gist of the description and it sounds like something someone has already mentioned.

    here is the description:
    oral mucoadhesive gel for easy application for oral hygiene High Efficiency and Safety Dogs, Cats, Exotic and Horses

    • Complete protection: plaque, tartar, gingivitis, stomatitis and halitosis.
    • Reduces plaque formation. Antiseptic against periodontal pathogens.
    • It favors the resolution of gingivitis.
    • Stimulates healing of injured or ulcerated gums and mucous membranes.
    • Neutralize quickly (30 seconds) bad breath.
    • Natural (Zinc, Vitamin C and taurine) and very safe – Ideal for prolonged treatment in which the animal ingests the product.
    • No flavor – High acceptance. Easy application without brushing.
    • An advanced formula for therapeutic use (Zn Clinical CLUNIA® gel-A) and a high acceptance by the pet for prophylactic use (Zn Maintenance CLUNIA® gel).
    • Does not stain the tooth enamel.

    By the way they had a contact form so I completed it and asked where I could order it and how much it would cost. Will let you know if I get a reply.
    Cheers
    Kate

  186. I just had my 8 year old rescue have all his teeth pulled for stomatitis. The cost was $3600.00 (Canadian) The city I live in is one of the three most expensive cities for vet care in Canada. The gums have started become red and sore looking again. I was told that if this happened the vet would have to order a special medication via the Vet Association from France. It will be VERY expensive but it is supposed work 100% of the time. I have 6 other cats all rescues and have a very small pension. I had to take the 3600. out of my savings. I am very upset that it appears the full mouth extraction did not work and am facing the fact I may not be able to afford this medicine and may have to have the cat put to sleep. I am just sick about it. I will be seeing the vet on Monday and will let you know what she has to say. By the way, I was told his teeth were very brittle and they had a hard time removing them but everything was stitched and they did xrays afterwards.

    • Kate,

      Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry about the financial situation that you are in.

      How did your cat respond to the tooth removal? I know it can take up to six months before you know if it helped the stomatitis, but has there been any improvement yet?

      Rochelle

  187. I also forgot to mention – all cats with symptoms of stomatitis should definitely be tested for FIV/FeLV! Orval was tested twice, and we were kind of surprised that he tested negative for both, but the test can possibly provide more answers and solutions.
    Also, I’ll end on the positive note that the price of a small cat toothbrush and CET toothpaste is about $15, so for anyone who can’t afford extractions or other treatments, I would say it’s truly worth it to try brushing with an enzymatic toothpaste whether it’s with gauze, your finger, a brush, etc – all three of my cats LOVE the poultry flavor CET paste. 🙂

  188. Just checking in after my inital post way back on Feb 10th! It has now been a little over three months that my Orval has been taking his daily PlaqueOff and Lysine twice a day, in addition to brushing with CET enzymatic toothpaste daily. He is now almost a year old, and his mouth is looking AND smelling 90% better! Thank you all for the tips on the PlaqueOff and Lysine, but I’m afraid that in our situation, these are only providing him with a placebo effect in my mind (not sure they’re working but don’t trust stopping them just in case!). I believe the real lifesaver for us has been the daily brushing.
    At first, the vet I’ve been working with wasn’t super familiar with this disease, and therefore neither he or I were sure if brushing would be helpful (preventing tartar and bacteria from building up in the sensitive gumline) or hurtful (due to the already cherry-red inflammation of the gums). At this point, I was willing to try anything because of the horrendous mouth odor, so I figures I should try brushing his teeth once a day. Luckily Orval never seemed to be bothered by the disease in the five motnhs we had him before treating it, probably because he was often on antibiotics for unrelated problems, which always incidentally helped to clear up his mouth, until the day the antibiotics finished.
    So now for the reason I believe the brushing is what is saving his mouth – every bit of redness and inflammation in his mouth has decreased dramatically if not completely, EXCEPT his very last molars – these teeth are obviously very difficult, if not impossible, to brush – even on the best behaved cat patient, they are just hard to get to. So his back molars are still very red and sore looking unfortunately, but it still doesn’t seem to be botherin him, and I think that if I tried something like a finger brush, I may be able to access them a bit more.
    I’m not sure if this will help anyone else’s case, but I feel very fortunate that we are seeing success so far. Brushing does not have to be as terrible as it sounds! Especially if they come to expect their absolute favorite treats and playtime afterward. 🙂
    The only other tip I can give that my vet and I have found from scholarly articles is the possibility of eliminating or at least greatly limiting vaccinations (if it’s safe to do so, obviously all kitties are in different siuations), due to the autoimmune response they automatically generate (which could lead to greater mouth flare ups).
    Sorry to be long-winded, but again, I just wanted to share what has worked for us, and I hope everyone else will find their improvement as well!

  189. an idea on brushing his teeth (like in humans that have sensitive gums & use sensodyne), you may just want to get some gauze pads (they are a bit rough & just GENTLY go along the teeth as a cat w/ any gingivitus or the stomatitis will already have sensitive gums.

  190. Hi there. My vet tried cortisone injections, then most of my cats teeth were removed. His heart stopped, as he had a reaction to whatever they used to put him to sleep. They resusitated him, and took a good few teeth out. After i brought him home, he made a raspy breathing noise, and was choking. It could have been from the resusitation. So i took him back and he had to stay for observation.

    This was terribly traumatising for him, and me, especially when they phoned to tell me what had happened.

    Now, almost a month later, i notice the smell again. And the redness. Even where the teeth were removed. They did no stitching.

    I will not take him back there, it was too much. What now? I am determined to help him, hes 13 years old, but in good condition. This is worrying me. I am considering homeopathic treatments. I did get a second opinion, but it was basically the same. Bring him in for a cortisone injection.

    Please help

    Kind Regards
    Liane

  191. Hi! My 14 year old cat, Gravy, has been sick with stomatitis for almost a year. We tried a full mouth extraction (minus his canines), but unfortunately, we were part of that small percentage where the extraction doesn’t work 🙁 Since the extraction, we have been giving Gravy steroid shots every 3-4 weeks. The shots worked wonderfully for a while – He would immediately begin eating everything in sight for about a week, then eat normally for 2 more weeks or so. When he began having trouble eating again, we would take him to the vet for another shot. In the last month, however, the shots have not worked as well. They now only last one week (if that) and Gravy seems to be in pain while eating even after just having received the shot. Now, he will hardly eat at all. I give him pain medicine and get him to eat a couple of bites once a day. I am taking him to the vet again first of the week to discuss extraction of his canines with the vet in hopes that this will help. We have tried everything the vet has suggested – antibiotics, vitamin shots, steroid shots, oral and intradermal steroids, pain medicine (Buphrenol), cyclosporine, etc. I’ve tried Lysine and Plaque Off. My vet is wonderful, but he is older and has run out of ideas. Does anyone have a similar story or any ideas/advice to offer? Unfortunately, we are looking for treatments that offer short-term relief at this point because he is in pain and not eating (although any long-term effect suggestions are definitely appreciated as well!) Thank you in advance for your help!!

    • Allison,

      I’m so sorry to hear that your cat falls into the 20% of cats that are not helped by a full mouth extraction, and that nothing else you’ve tried had helped, either.

      I wrote a post in the forum that might be helpful to you – Cat Rescue Groups are a Great Resource. One of the local cat rescue groups might have experience with something that helped them with their stomatitis kitties.

      Please keep us posted with what you do next with your cat and how it helps him.

      Rochelle

  192. mike if you go ahead with the lysine and plaque off now instead of waiting till he is worse he may not ever have serious problems, only two of my 14 cats have the disease, i give them all lysine and plaque off daily. it is not only a treatment but a preventative for other problems. other suppliments are also good for daily use, i also have used fortiflora for some of my cats when i see problems sneaking up on us.

  193. I left a comment about 6 months ago about my cat Mandy and I’m happy to report with all her teeth out she’s healthier than ever.. Now I have a concern about my male cat Seamus who is 3 years old, he seems to have all the symptoms of stomatitis, except a vet told me a few months ago that it was gingivitis and not stomatitis, so my question is, could one progress to the other or are they separate, and could he be in as much pain as if it was stomatits? Also I’m thinking about trying to brush his teeth, I feel like I probably could because he’s pretty docile, I trim his nails with no problem etc.. I can’t afford to have his teeth professionally cleaned unless I sell a kidney, and I already sold one for my other cat (jk) so that proably wouldn’t work out well lol.

  194. Reference Comment from Anthony on April 14, 2015 at 10:49 am, did you get the Clunia from your vet? I’ve been to VetNova’s site several times and cannot figure out where to view a price and order, there. It sounds good, from what you said, and I’m interested in trying it on my cats. Thx.

  195. Mary Ann — You may want to start with conservative treatment like having a few teeth removed in affected areas and then antibiotics afterward. Be aware your cat may never develop full-blown stomatitis. I had a cat who had chronic gingivitis and plaque build-up. He needed dentals more often than most cats but lived to be 18. My mom currently has a cat who had terrible stomatitis at the front of his mouth when I found him as a 7-month old kitten. He had those tiny teeth between the upper and lower fangs removed and 2 weeks of antibiotics afterwards. The vet said he may eventually lose all his teeth. That was 11 years ago, and he has not had a dental problem since. Hopefully your cat will be the same way.

  196. Mary Ann we first noticed my cat’s sever gingivitis in Sept 2014. At that time we were given a bottle of a blue gel that we put on his gums. He hated it so I purchased something to put in his water instead. He was also intermittently getting L-lysine because our newly adopted kitten had eye issues. I monitored him very closely. His gums improved, but not very much. In April 2015 I decided to take him to the vet again to get something else to help him. At that time the vet said that she could tell that he had at least two teeth that looked like they needed to come out. We scheduled another visit for a week later to remove 2-4 teeth. During that time I gave him an antibiotic and pain meds. During the week his gums improved a bit more, but not enough. Every once and a while he would yelp while eating food. If you touched his gums they would bleed. Yesterday was his dental appointment. They called me after taking X-rays to let me know that something was just not right with his teeth and wanted to know if I wanted to stick with the 2-4 planned extractions or if I wanted to take preventative measures. I opted to take preventative measures. The vet said she would do what she could, but she didn’t want to have him under for too long. His health came first. He ended up doing very well and had 14 extractions. The teeth came out very easy, another sign that something was wrong with them. He is doing well and even ate some food last night upon arriving home. He is on anti-inflammatory meds, a 24 nerve block and had an antibiotic shot (because he does poorly with daily meds). Today I start giving him other pain meds.
    So, to answer your question, for all of pain meds, antibiotics, 2 appointments and removal of 14 teeth in the past 2 weeks I have spent $1000.

  197. Mary Ann its hard to give a cost on the extractions I live in the Poconos and was told $1600 by one vet. When I went to my old vet (Dr. Minervini) in jersey it only cost $800. He also is very considerate when it comes to people being able to pay! I have two cats with this and only one had tooth extractions since my other cats teeth were healthy he didn’t want to waste money or the cats wellbeing if the disease wasn’t taking over the teeth.so be careful when you talk to vets some of them will just want to take out teeth for no reason

  198. Amy…can I ask how much the surgery cost? I adopted my one year old cat on Feb.11, and found out a month later she’s in the early stages of stimatitid, as she has gingivitis.

    Aside from cost, can I ask about your cat’s symptoms and how fast the disease progressed?

    I switched my cat to a grain free wet diet, and for about ten days she ate raw then stopped. When she was on the raw, her breath was much better but I can’t force her to eat it. And sometimes she’ll refuse the canned grain free. Sometimes I can have about five opened cans in the fridge, which is ridiculous. I’m not making a lot right now and just can’t keep up the cost.

    But I digress. If you could share the surgery cost (I’ve heard such wide disparitied) and symptoms of your cat, I’d be so appreciative.

    Mary Ann

  199. I wish I had come across this site earlier. Today my cat had 14 of his teeth removed. He is only 2 years old. Many of those teeth were already rotten. So, I do believe many could not have been saved. I already feed him a grain-free diet and always have. I am looking into changing it to a freeze dried raw diet. I will also add Lysine to his diet on a regular basis (I have one other cat who already gets this).

  200. i haven’t commented too much lately but in case i haven’t mentioned this before i wanted to add it. my scardy cat that i comment about has had stomatitis for several years, sometimes i forget just how long. usual treatments at first, teeth removed, antibiotics, expensive laser treatments, too many, after a few years of very little improvement, or at least that stayed, i took over the research and treatments from my wife and her vets. it was after i found this site that got me started and with the thought i could help. i started at first on interferon and dropped his antibiotics, then along with that i started the lysine and plaqueoff, and the prednisolone, after a while i stopped the interferon, no one around here knew anything about it and was hard to get the vet to mix it for me at first. he would get better and worse, some of you may have seen some of my comments. right now he is just on the, now, methylprednisolone, plaqueoff and lysine and does pretty well. i use 4mg tabs , one full tab one day and half the next. in the last 7 or 8 months he has had one bad spell and the vet said it was because of an infection on his foot. he did get to where he couldn’t swallow for a couple days recently, since i use colloidal silver water for myself and grandkids and great grandkids i started using it on scardy cat. i give him about 1cc squirt at least twice a day and more if i think about it and he isn’t off hid somewhere. so after a couple days of not being able to swallow he was back to normal. his last visit the vet said he had a few small sores in his mouth but nothing serious. no more drooling for a long time, little wet at times around the mouth but nothing like he was before. he eats dry food ok but i still give him the gerber baby food in the morning and evening and a little chopped up buterball 97% fat free chicken from our local heb deli. thats where i put his meds. i watch close to make sure he is getting plenty of dry, i used to shy away until i read here that it is easier to eat than wet, when i used to feed him wet he would lose at least half running out the sides of his mouth, no problem with the dry. we were sure he would be long gone by now but he just keeps on surprising us. his brother also has stomatitis but still has all his teeth and gets almost the same meds as him, and no drooling so far and so mouth sores. this site has probably saved his life, and for sure lots of his suffering. thanks again Rochelle for all this information and a place to share it with others. one more thing, the biggest concern my wife and her vet had was that i would cause scardy cat to get diabetes with the prolonged prednisolone use, i have him checked every few months and so far so good.

    • Jimmie,

      This is wonderful to hear! I’m so glad to know that Scaredy Cat and his brother have both improved.

      I would like to invite you to share your story on the forum here.

      Please continue to keep us updated. It is encouraging to read about success stories like yours!

      Rochelle

  201. Elizabeth…you might find going grain free easier than you think. My previous cat loved the “Taste of the Wild” dry food, which was venison. My new cat, Dolly, loves “Fussie Cat” wet food…the fish varieties, and from what I’ve read, most finicky cats will eat this brand when they’ll eat nothing else. Maybe you and others can benefit from all the money I’ve wasted on countless brands. 🙂 Of course, every cat is different, but Dolly doesn’t like any of the Wellness flavors. Surprisingly, she adores raw food…the Primal brand…but only if I sear it on the pan for a few seconds first to release the scent. I’ve also been adding PlaqueOff and lysine to her wet food, but that only started this week, so the jury is still out. With any autoimmune disease, in animals or humans, I think it prudent to focus on diet first, as the notion of the body turning on itself just sounds crazy to me. As far as I know, there are no stomatitis cases in the big cats in zoos, as they’re fed an all raw diet. Something to think about…

  202. This is for Jacqui. Have you learned anything new since your post of April 13, about the use of curcumin in cats w/stomatitis? Or where to get the gel?

    Thx.

  203. Just came across this site after I was searching for possible symptoms of the red foul smelling drool that I saw for the first time on my 18 year old female cats mouth today. For some time I have noticed she has been yowling very frequently, almost in pain, and also lost weight although she fiends to drink water from the bathroom fountain (possibly easier to drink than lapping water from a bowl?). I’d pegged her for possible hyperthyroidism as she fits most of those symptoms but after I searched for the drool symptoms I knew she for sure at least had stomatitis. I’m currently unemployed, in debt, and looking for a job which is what has prevented me from scheduling a vet visit so far. Would it be wise to purchase Lysine and Plaqueoff before going to a vet? The only problems I can see with doing so is if my cat does have hyperthyroidism that the Plaqueoff wouldn’t be good since it is high in iodine as stated on this website. It’s stressful knowing that the treatments for both of these diseases are so expensive but even more so seeing my feline friend in so much pain.

    • Charlie,

      I’m so sorry to hear that your cat is suffering from what might be stomatitis, and the added stress of being unemployed.

      If your cat does have hypothyroidism then you shouldn’t give her PlaqueOff. However, the Lysine should be okay for her to take, but by itself it probably won’t be enough to ease the symptoms. On the plus side, Lysine is not very expensive and might do some good.

      If you haven’t already, you might want to consider creating a donation account at a site like GoFundMe.com. Several other people here have done that and been able to raise some money to help with their cats medical bills.

      Please keep us posted as to how your cat does and what treatments you do for her.

      Rochelle

  204. Hi !! 3 weeks ago my 6 month old cat got 2 baby teeth remove because the adult teeth were beside it so they told me to get them remove .. A week after he had a bad breath and then 2 weeks after I brought him to the vet and they said they think he has gingervitis .. Is it possible he got a infection after his baby teeth got removed !!! The vet said no it was not possible … Now I’m worried because he don’t wanna eat or drink and has a fever for the past 4 days

    • Natasha,

      It sounds like you and your cat are going through a lot right now.

      Is it possible for cats to get infections after teeth are removed? Yes. Did your vet take x-rays AFTER the surgery? If not, then the infection could be caused by a tooth fragment left in the gums.

      Cats teeth are very brittle and break easily during tooth extraction surgery. It is very important that x-rays are done after surgery to make sure there are no fragments left because the fragments can cause infections. I am not saying that this is the cause of his bad breath, just that it is possible.

      I hope that your cat finds relief from whatever is causing his bad breath.

      Rochelle

  205. Our cat Chado is being treated with a new formulation. Briefly, he developed diabetes due to over-eating dry cat biscuits. This became complicated when he also developed stomatitis. This all began in October 2013. Then came the usual antibiotics, cortisone and insulin for the diabetes.
    We tried all the usual treatments, Lysine, Plaque-Off, extra Vitamin c, but nothing seemed to seriously reduce the drooling symptoms and difficulty eating.
    To cut a long story short, after yet more antibiotics and cortisone, which of course dramatically improved the situation – for about 2 weeks – we had all his teeth out except his canines.
    Once again dramatic improvement, but it seems only because of the necessary antibiotics after the operation, as symptoms returned almost as bad as ever.
    Three weeks ago our vet said to try a new ointment, directly onto sore gums. I have to say the effect is more than I ever expected. His drooling has almost ceased, he eats as well as can be expected because of his lack of teeth and once again he looks bright.
    Checking the label, the main ingredient appears to be Glucanate of zinc, with something called taurine. Both appear to be organic compounds. The name of the ointment is Clunia and the website http://www.vetnova.net. I’m hoping that the improvement continues and will write with any further changes.

    • Anthony,

      I am not familiar with Clunia. It sounds like it is helping Chado and I hope he continues to improve. Please keep us posted on Chado’s progress.

      Rochelle

  206. Hi Rachel,

    When looking around to find any info to help the friend with the cat with stomatitis, I came across some references to curcumin based gel being used for people at least.

    Curcumin is a very powerful anti-inflammatory – I just wondered if you had come across any use of that with cats with stomatitis and knew if that might help?

    Jacqui

  207. Marry Ann, No, I haven’t tried a grain free diet, yet I had discussed it with my vet and that’s when she had brought up the hypoallergenic diet (Z/D). But you do make a good point about cats being carnivores. I’m actually new to being a cat mom. I acquired my first cat a year and a half ago and this is definitely the first medical issue involving a cat I’ve EVER dealt with in my life. But switching her to an all grain free diet is going to be hard, considering she’s been a stray all her life and she’s about 12yrs old according to the vet.

  208. Elizabeth, have you tried a grain free diet? If the stomatitis is allergy, that might explain her flare up. Might be worth a shot to go grain and gluten free and see if she improves. Cats aren’t meant to eat things like wheat, rice or corn. They are absolute carnivores with no need whatsoever for carbs. I’m trying to wean my cat off of the commercial dry, which cats get addicted to, and eventually go to an all wet grain free diet. It’s not easy, and it’s more expensive than the junk food, but it’s no more expensive than vet visits and medications. After that I’ll try going raw. Just a thought.

  209. Diane, I think stomatitis is fairly rare, so try not to fear it in your other cats. Give yourself time to get over your loss. My own opinion is that it’s diet related, as I’ve read a number of people who when they fed their cat raw food, the stomatitis cleared up. That’s what I plan to do for my cat. If I can get her on it with commercial brands, I’ll learn to make it myself, which will bring the cost down significantly. But I digress. Just try to enjoy your kitties and let them comfort you. Sounds like you had a traumatizing time with it.

  210. HI Rochelle! I tried to reply to your response to my April 9th post but for some reason it’s not allowing me to post. Mamma Kitty has now been placed on Prednisone twice a day for maintenance. I had taken her to the vet last week as she started having a stomatitis attack and the vet verified that the stomatitis had indeed started to flare back up. She said the sad part was Mamma is now in a 5% instead of a 20% due to she flared up so quick after just having her teeth removed. She was sent home with Buprenex o.1mg chicken every 12hrs for pain, ZydaClin 1ml every 12 hrs for 10 days(antibiotic) and Prednisolone syrup. She explained to me that stomatits is an auto immune disease and is most common in stray cats and feral cats and is believed to be due to the lack of nutrition, considering when the cat is a stray or feral they don’t have access to the proper nutrition that your typical house cat has. Which I think makes perfectly good sense. This disease is so horrific that I wish this on no animal. The vet is wanting me to put Mamma on a hypoallergenic diet(Z/D) but I can’t afford $3 a can at 3 cans a day. So I’m wondering if there is another alternative that might be cheaper? I’ve gone to the extent of even starting a GoFundMe account to try and get help with the vet expenses since I’m on a fixed income and my husband just lost his job. My Husband wants me to rehome Mamma but I am so in love with her and can’t do that to her. Especially with everything she has gone through and I’ve made sure I’ve been there every step of the way. Yes, the vet has allowed me to be there as they gave the anesthesia and I was with her as she woke up, so she was never left alone. I just couldn’t leave her and I can’t leave her now know matter what the cost. God sent her into my life for a reason and I accepted the challenge. So I will be with her till the end.

  211. Thank you, Mary Ann. I find myself scrutinizing my other three cats each time they lower their heads into their food bowls. Do they hesitate? Do they back away suddenly and do they shake their heads in an abnormal manner? Do they begin keeping distance between themselves and food bowls? I literally fear stomatis.

  212. Diane, you absolutely did the right thing. When the time comes that a cat is suffering that much, to allow it to go on is cruel. But it’s never easy to make that decision. I was devastated when I had to put my cat down, as she still seemed happy and loving, but she’d stopped eating and was crying in pain all the time, along with other things. I’m sure you know in your heart you did the right thing, but it’s not easy to reconcile, as it’s a weird sensation to know that we’ve just played God with a little life. It’s surreal, and the only thing that eases the pain is time. I’m so sorry for your loss.

    Mary Ann

  213. Rochelle, thank you so much for replying as I feel like I need such support at the moment. You respond to everyone on this thread, which I know from experience is a lot, so THANK YOU. The fact that you take the time to do this is pretty amazing. At some point, I’m sure you’ll have to back away from it.

    To be honest, I’m somewhat heartbroken that I adopted a sick cat, as my last cat had terrible health problems that in the last three years of her life cost me $4,500. (I live on disability so that’s an enormous amount of money for me.) There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her, but as you can imagine, it took so much out of me in every way.

    I waited two years to adopt again (after having a number of fosters here), so to get this diagnosis just made my heart sink. I seemed to handle it at first, but last night I just crashed and broke down.

    Ironically, I have a serious blood clotting disorder that has made me lose all of MY teeth, and I live with chronic pain in my mouth and jaw. Can you believe that? What are the odds? 🙂

    I’m going to try the raw diet, but I think it will be a tough switch, as Dolly LOVES her dry food. She also loves her wet, but if she doesn’t get that dry, curiously she’ll turn up her nose to the wet. She probably likes experiencing the textures of both at a meal. Man, cats are tough customers when it comes to eating!

    Anyway, if anyone cares to comment on the emotional impact of getting this diagnosis, I’d love to hear from you. Am I the only one to be this upset? Perhaps I’m bringing the history of my previous cat into it, and even my own. I find myself crying a lot right now.

    Thanks so much for listening. I appreciate it.

    Mary Ann
    P.S. Can PlaqueOff be sprinkled on dry food? Dolly eats about a 1/4 to 1/2 of a small can in the morning, so that may not be enough to get a whole dose into her of anything.

  214. Rochelle – Irma “came home” last week and I have her urn on my desk.I still second-guess my decision, even though my vet assures me it was right. My ears still ring with the shrill crying she did on that final night. Hands over my ears did nothing to lessen the sound of her misery. I thought, perhaps, I could pray louder than she screamed but it didn’t work. I asked God over and over but all I heard was the very loud sound of silence. My vet tells me there is new, on-going research into stomatitis. It’s too late for Irma but I truly pray it will help others on this site.

  215. My one-year-old newly adopted kitty, Dolly, was just diagnosed today with stomatitis after I brought her to the vet for her bad breath. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you shared your story Rochelle and have this thread. I will definitely try the Lysine and Plaqueoff. My vet gave me an antibiotic for her, and we may do a gingivitis surgery, just to get off what is already there, and I play to try a raw diet (which I’ve been wanting to do anyway as she’s my only cat). But it sounds like this PlaqueOff actually dissolves the plaque, so I will absolutely try this first.

    Again, thank you SO MUCH for making the effort to create this site. I can’t tell you the solace it has given me.

    • Mary Ann,

      I am so glad that this site has given you solace.

      It takes up to eight weeks for the PlaqueOff to start working and it can be tough waiting for two months. But if it works, it will be worth it.

      I decided against the raw diet for reasons unrelated to my cats but I’ve heard very good things about it. I’m fairly certain that at least one person who has commented on this site spoke very highly of a raw diet for her cat.

      Please keep us posted as to how Dolly does with the raw diet and PlaqueOff.

      My prayers go out to you.

      Rochelle

  216. I have been wondering if you have any news on a newer product or a better one that will work for stoma.. I have an 8 yr female who has come up with this and just looking for the latest news . my vet dose not want to pull her teeth if he can help it… He is also treating her with ozonated olive oil..which kills everything. but she thinks I’m going to kill her when I come at her with the eye dropper…Thank you very so much for this page..

    • Mrs. Dean,

      I apologize that I do not know what the latest news is on products that treat stomatitis. All I can do is tell you what worked for my cat Lily (PlaqueOff, Lysine, and a steroid cream called Prednisolone). There are many cat owners who have shared their experiences as well, so something here might be of help to you.

      Cats sure are good at learning what is coming at them, aren’t they? Would you be able to give your cat the olive oil by mixing it with a small amount of wet cat food? Perhaps he would be willing to accept it in that format. This is how I give the Lysine and PlaqueOff to my cats and they are quick to let me know if I’ve forgotten to give it to them!

      Rochelle

  217. Hi ,
    A litter of kitten have had an uri.
    Can you tell me if antihistamines can help the kittens which have been left with runny eyes after,, which are not infected,, but run like they have an allergy.
    Many Thanks,
    Connie

    • Connie,

      I regret that I do not have an answer for you because I don’t know anything about how to treat allergies or about giving antihistamines to cats. My advice is to contact a vet and ask about this. I hope you are able to get the kittens taken care of.

      Rochelle

  218. Sounds like the symptoms of my cat.. we took him to vet for check up.. his breath is horrible.. his Sneeze even smells. he slobber a lot and has bloody drool I was sure the odor was dental. The vet said teeth and gums are great.. and some cats just have bad breath. He sometimes makes a heaving noise with mouth closed his mid body spasms as if he has a hair ball.. but often has yuck to come out his nose. .. 2nd vet gave evaluation same as first… is there any home remedies to try? Or any suggestions

    • Christie,

      Given that your cats gums look great this probably isn’t stomatitis. Actually, it sounds a lot like what my elderly cat Sasha suffers from. I have no idea what the name of her malaise is, but she has severe snot that she sneezes up (it doesn’t smell, though) and often has body spasms like what you described. In her case she is having trouble breathing, much like an asthma attack. Every now and then she coughs up mucus during these spasms which leads me to believe that she is swallowing a large quantity of mucus and that it coats her throat until she can’t breathe and has to cough it up.

      I wish I could say that I have found a remedy for this, but I haven’t. My vet doesn’t have an answer, either. Sasha seems otherwise healthy so I just comfort her when she has one of her fits.

      Rochelle

  219. MSG TO 3 POSTERS: LOLITA; SIMBA’S MOM, LINDA; POLAR’S MOM, CAT LOVER. I would like to know more about the natural remedies you use. I am treating 3 cats, taking new case to vet tomorrow (= 4), am looking for all the help I can get to stop this outbreak. There are up to 25 more cats in the neighborhood and the prospects are frightening. As of about 2 weeks ago, my vet had treated 20 cases! I don’t know if I’ll get Replies posted here; if possible, write me at my e-mail, wiicat@yahoo.com. If not possible there, hopefully I will find it here. So much hope you write. Thank you, Linda

  220. Rochelle, So glad to have your site. I care for a number of cats who began as strays. Several have stomatitis, one, Chatterbox, proving to be a tough case. Have been treating him for more than 2 mos. The first big round, I failed to give his meds regularly because he would hide. Unfortunately, I didn’t know as much about it then as I do now, and I take extra precautions to dose everyone (3 and counting :() on a schedule and I write down every dose.

    As you know, it’s contagious, and is spreading among my flock. After reading you the first time, I ordered/rcvd PlaqueOff & Viralys granules. Newest case, Walkie Talkie, will see vet tomorrow for the first time, eats it well in Friskies canned, but not everyone likes it. Will keep trying different foods to administer. Vet gave me Viralys gel which is difficult to give, esp to poor Chatterbox, his mouth is so sore again. But until he can tolerate food better, it will work.

    I’m very interested in the natural remedies mentioned by 3 posters, Simba’s mom, Linda; Polar’s mom, cat lover; and Lolita. Is there a way to learn more about them? When I tried, several times, to Reply to their posts, my computer won’t bring up a way to Reply (likely bc I haven’t done all I need to, to get this unit working), so if there is any way you could help get me in touch with them, I’d appreciate it. You are free to pass on my e-mail, wiicat@yahoo.com.

    Also, Linda’s post on Feb 22, 15, 9:39 AM, gives much info that gives me some peace of mind. I was frantic when this all started, weeks ago, but have now decided that I’ll do the best I can for everyone, and understand that my best may not be good enough to get them all to a place of comfortable health. It’s not easy to think or write that, but logically, it’s all I can do. There is a huge concern/possibility that it will spread to more of this neighborhood’s felines (10-25 others), and if that happens, I don’t know what we’ll do. Not everyone here can afford any treatment and my resources are limited. Fingers and ALL paws crossed that my new diligence and sheer luck not allow worst-case scenario. Many Thanks again. So glad you still have Lily!

    Thanks, again, for the info.

    • Linda,

      Oh my gosh! How awful that stomatitis is spreading through the strays in your neighborhood. You are to be commended for taking this on. I know how difficult treating one cat is and you’re dealing with several.

      As soon as I approve your comment (which will be when I am done replying to it) then the people you are trying to contact will be notified of your new comment. Hopefully they will provide you with the information you are seeking. If not, I encourage you to register on the forum and post your questions there – http://stomatitisincats.com/forum/index.php

      The forum also has some information on how you can raise money by starting a funding campaign. That might be helpful to you for your situation.

      Prayers to you and your kitties.

      Rochelle

  221. @ Lolita …How long did it take your cat to respond…and how bad was the stomatitis to begin with? One of my mom’s cats had a few teeth pulled and a week of antibiotics–11 years later, he has still not had a reoccurrence. I, however, have a FeLV+ cat with stomatitis. That makes it much harder to deal with. A lot of us with positive cats have tried about everything from vitamins to various herbs with no luck. I’ll try your combination, but I’m guessing only mild cases in which the cat is otherwise healthy will respond significantly just to CoQ10 and Vitamin C.

  222. Sorry to butt in here …..hopefully I can help please bear with typos using a mobile phone. …
    For yhe person that used metacam on her vet’s advise please tell them you want yhe Bupronex
    Metacam is extremely bad for kittys kidneys……
    Kitty’s cannot go without eating for 24 48 hrs they can develop what is known as hepatic lipodosis or fatty liver they develop it much faster than we or other species such as dogs……there are sites on Yahoo devoted to these subjects with some very good information just google yahoo groups…….I hope this helps .
    …Blessings to your Kitty’s and alll of you who love them

  223. Oh thank you for this site. I just had my almost three year old cat diagnose with stomatitis and the vet also said some of his teeth need to go. she showed me his little wee front ones were already gone..I feel so bad for him I will get these two products and give them a try I actully had bought the Plague Off but gave it away after reading one person thought it cause her cat to block and I have already had two cats that had FLUTD..but not Jake the stomatitis cat…I am having the pet store that sells it get me more and the shelter I help at gets the Lysine from the drug store..so I will do that also God bless for sharing your story..it gives me hope. I just got Jake last May and this May will be his one year anniversary in our home. I am wondering now if the reason he was a stray was he was dumped when his owners saw this problem coming.. He was almost the shelter vet figure over a year or almost two when he was found..Again I thank you and have book marked this page

    • Debra,

      I am so glad this site has been helpful to you. Although it is possible that Jake was dumped because of his stomatitis, it is also possible that he was predisposed to it and the stress of living in a shelter brought it out. I’ve been told that shelter living makes stomatitis bad because stress can trigger it.

      Please let us know how Jake does with the PlaqueOff and Lysine.

      Prayers to you and Jake.

      Rochelle

    • Debra,

      Yvonne just sent me an email response to you. She said the following:

      “My cat Boo is responding well to 5 mg steroid in the morning, and 5 mg at dinner.
      He had gotten long acting injection before this and he is doing great…..
      Try it….
      Rotten stomatitis…..”

      Rochelle

  224. I’m currently going through this same situation with my cat, Mamma. Currently, she has a feeding tube in place as she had all her teeth removed and after 72 hrs after having them removed she refused to eat. Force feeding wasn’t going to well, so the vet recommended placing a feeding tube, so I agreed. Mamma is now finally eating on her own, but still has the tube in. This disease is so horrific that I hate to see any animal suffer with this. I had never heard of this disease prior to this case before. I pray to God everyday that I have the assistance of a local origination helping with all the vet expenses. Needless to be said, this happens to be a stray cat I rescued in January. She was in such bad condition. I am so glad I rescued her now cause according to the vet, if I would had never rescued her she would be dead by now. Like your Lilly, Mamma Kitty is in that 20% that tooth removal didn’t help.

    • Elizabeth,

      I’m so sorry to hear that Mamma Kitty didn’t improve after getting her teeth removed. What a good cat mom you are to have taken her in and given her the care she needs!

      How is she doing now?

      My prayers go out to you.

      Rochelle

  225. I have found an animal dentist!! If anybody in the southern cal needs one, let me know. I have her information. Our 1st appt will be in 2 more months. I have spoken with her, and she is quite knowledgable about this. I have had all but the k9’s removed from my cats mouth. Oh ya, and she does not use anesthesia

  226. Rochelle and everyone else….Irma and I lost our battle today. She was doing so beautifully; eating everything I put in front of her and asking for more. She purred without stopping and was gaining weight. She rolled on to her back as soon as she saw me, making it more convenient for me to scratch her belly. Then, four days ago, it all stopped. She tried to eat, only to end up crying in a shrill voice and clawing at her mouth, sending shivers down my back and tears down my face. She was so weak and so obviously hungry last night. I could get no meds into her. Maybe I was too quick to weaken. I don’t know. But I couldn’t watch her literally starve, and in such pain. I told her there was a giant buffet waiting for her at the Rainbow Bridge and she could eat whatever she wanted with NO pain. I could actually feel my heart grow heavy and hear it crack when she slipped through heaven’s kitty door. Thank all of you for your support and sharing. I wish nothing but blessings for you and for the kitties you fight for so valiantly.

  227. I have added a forum to this site in an effort to make it easier for people to find and/or share information. I would like to invite you to take a look around and share what has worked for you (or what hasn’t), even if you’ve already shared it here. The forum will be a place where it is much easier to search for and find helpful information.

    You can visit the forum here.

    I will be posting this comment on all the pages of my site to make sure everyone who is subscribed to comments sees this, so I apologize if you get multiple copies of this message.

  228. Sorry I forgot 2 other meds Update on Polar, Polar has Stomatitis & calici virus, and I’m giving him. Aquadent in his water, Metacam, Enisyl-f and ArthriAid Omega and Agrimony, yellow dock root he was doing ok, I have now stared him on some new herbal meds as well, FCV support for the calici and Boost it said it for Rejuvenation, well I have not seen Polar this well sine he was a kitten he is running around playing and eating so well, now Polar is a Maine Coon and his weight has gone from 6.3 to 6.6 in two weeks

  229. Update on Polar, Polar has Stomatitis & calici virus, and I’m giving him. Aquadent in his water, Metacam, Enisyl-f and ArthriAid Omega and he was doing ok, I have now stared him on some new herbal meds as well, FCV support for the calici and Boost it said it for Rejuvenation, well I have not seen Polar this well sine he was a kitten he is running around playing and eating so well, now Polar is a Maine Coon and his weight has gone from 6.3 to 6.6 in two weeks

  230. Lolita – I’m definitely going to try your suggestion. Irma has taken a serious turn for the worse and I don’t know where to turn. I’ll let everyone know. Thanks for sharing.

  231. Rochelle Reply:
    March 17th, 2015 at 11:33 am

    Lolita,

    I’m so glad to hear that you found something that has helped your cat with stomatitis! Thank you for sharing your experience.

    Rochelle, I did not “find something that has helped your cat.” I found a cure, and a natural cure, at that. My cat will not experience the pure hell that other cats have gone through. It didn’t take my poor cat a year to get relief, and he still has all of his teeth!

    • Lolita,

      I may be taking this the wrong way, but I feel like you are unhappy with my response to you. I meant no offense by what I wrote and I apologize if it came across as anything other than supportive. It is wonderful that your cat is not suffering and I’m happy for you and your cat.

      Was your treatment something that you did just once or give every day?

      Rochelle

  232. Boo boo has been suffering for over a year, had his back teeth out within the first month of knowing his problem, it did nothing,
    He got injections of steroids at first because he could not eat, worked for like a week,
    Now he takes 15 mg in am, 10 mg in the pm, in pâté watered down food only,
    He ran out of pills, vets on vacation, he is drooling and bad breath again, it hurts him like crazy. Going to a vet to get a shot, then more pills. This is no way to live, soon it will be time.
    Can cats give this to humans? They say no.
    This is a terrible exdistance.

    • I’m so sorry that your cat is suffering with stomatitis and hope that you are able to find a treatment that relieves him of his pain.

      No, stomatitis is not contagious to humans.

      My prayers go out to you and Boo Boo.

      Rochelle

  233. I read that CoQ10 and Vitamin C is an incredibly powerful immune booster, so I took it myself and it works. So, I opened 2 Vitamin C capsules (1,000 milligrams each) and pierced 1 CoQ10 softgel into her food (IAMS chicken pate). I masked the sour taste of the C and the medicine smell of the CoQ10 with Brewer’s Yeast and refrigerated it over night. I then warmed it up in the microwave the next day. Voila! No more stomatitis, and seemingly, a brand new cat. Try it.

    • Lolita,

      I’m so glad to hear that you found something that has helped your cat with stomatitis! Thank you for sharing your experience.

      Rochelle

  234. Hi, I think, Victoria, one of my cats, has stomatitis. She suddenly yelps and runs off when eating and is beginning to drool. I can tell she’s in pain by the way she sits. I’m taking her to see the vet early next week. If he diagnoses stomatitis (I’m touching wood that it isn’t cancer of the mouth), I’ll have no hesitation in consenting to complete tooth extraction.
    She’s in a great deal of pain and I hurt for her. Cats can live very happily without teeth; I had a cat, Polly, who lived to be 22 without a single tooth. I think she may have resorbed them before she came to live with me. Extraction would save her repeated stressful visits to the vet (she’s ex-feral and dislikes being handled) and the repeated risk of general anaesthetics.
    I just hope she doesn’t have squamous cell carcinoma, which killed a former cat of mine.

    • Catherine,

      What was the diagnosis (and treatment options) for Victoria? How is she doing?

      Tooth extraction is often a scary thought for people who haven’t had to go through it with a pet before, and I know I was in tears at the thought of having Lily’s teeth removed. But now that we are two years after the extraction surgery I see that Lily is doing wonderfully without her teeth and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if the need arises with any of our other cats.

      My prayers go out to you and Victoria.

      Rochelle

  235. Hi Rochelle,

    I can’t seem to be able to respond to your response – so excuse me for another post that is a little off subject here!

    No – either your vet was simply wrong or you perhaps misunderstood – it is more than possible to treat Feline Diabetes while giving steroids. I’m helping too people with FD cats on steroids at the moment (both for cancer).

    The treatment for FD is insulin just as it is for humans.

    A cat on steroids that is already FD will need higher doses to deal with the steroids. A non-FD cat may well develop FD and need insulin.

    Insulin can more than absolutely be given to a cat on steroids – they more than often will need it!

    Many cats can go into a diet-controlled remission where insulin is no longer needed (a 100% low carb diet). A cat on steroids will pretty much definitely not go into remission where they no longer need insulin. If, one of the cats I’m helping who is getting a shot of pred every 4 weeks will only need insulin for the first week or 10 days usually – he doesn’t towards the end of the cycle.

    Steroids are absolutely to be avoided in cats when possible as they can cause diabetes or make the diabetes more difficult to control.

    In the cases where there really is no other option, and sometimes there is none, then it is possible to deal with the situation by adjusting insulin dosing.

    It is important in any case to test your cat’s BGs at home, that becomes even more important if they are on steroids so that you can see the impact and adjust appropriately.

    Thank you again for taking the time to respond to me!

    I am a co-founer of a forum to help people help their FD cats – we are only a few months old, if I’ve been helping people on several other forums for about 5 years now. Please do edit this out/just keep it for you if you think that is more appropriate than posting to the general public, but if someone does come here because of stomatitis and is dealing with FD, or has to put their cat on steroids and that provokes FD, please do send them to us – we will do all to help. We are more than used to helping cats with multiple issues (FD cats often do have multiple problems).

    our forum is: http://www.diabeticcatinternational.com/forum

    Thank you again for taking the time to respond – and for this site! I found it will seeing if I could find anymore information to help a friend with a cat with bad stomitis… the information here is very clear and very good and have bookmarked it in case other cats I come across have the same problem.

    Again.. just want to emphasize that insulin can absolutely be given with steroids if the cat beomes diabetic and insulin is needed.

    Jacqui

    • Jacqui,

      That is wonderful to hear. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge about this.

      I hope your friend’s cat is able to find relief from the pain of stomatitis.

      Rochelle

  236. Has anyone used Plaque Off Fresh Breath Dogs & Cats Concentrate Liquid 8 fl oz Triple-Pet has it had the effect, I would like to know before I buy as I’m in the UK and I can only find it in the US

  237. I want everyone on this site to know you have my prayers and positive thoughts for your furkids. And thanks to Rochelle for starting this exchange for those of us facing the challenges of Stomatitis. I’ve learned a great deal and I’m deeply appreciative. I’m keeping the light shining for my Irma and I know everyone else is doing the same. Blessings all around.

    • Diane,

      Viralys is the type of Lysine. It might be the brand, I’m not sure, but it is the kind I give to all my cats.

      Rochelle

  238. Shelby, you may want to check around on the cost of removing of the teeth. I’ve had several cats who have had all teeth removed and it didn’t cost anywhere near that. I don’t live in your part of the country, so prices my differ.
    If you’ve already checked around, then please disregard this.

  239. My cat was just diagnosed. I took him to the vet for a teeth cleaning, and the vet called while he was under to tell me all his teeth needed to come out. He seems to be doing much better, all though it has only been a week since procedure. Keeping my fingers crossed he is not part of the 20%. Good luck with Lilly. You are a good fur parent. Thank you for sharing your story. I think I will pick up the lysine. And I found a dentist for pets!! Excited to talk to her.

    • Tina,

      It’s wonderful to hear that your cat is improving after the tooth extraction! Even if you find that he is part of the 20% there is still hope. Lily will always have stomatitis, but I have been able to get it under control to a point where she doesn’t appear to be in any pain.

      I truly hope that the tooth extraction will clear up the symptoms for your cat. Please keep us posted as to how he does and what works for him.

      Rochelle

  240. My Cat Houdini is only 8 months old. When we first noticed the swollen gums we assumed it was his permanent teeth coming in and that the swelling would eventually settle down. Then one night while scratching him under the chin I noticed that his glands at the throat felt swollen also. So we took him to the vet (several times now), just finished round 2 of antibiotics with no change.

    Everything I have previously found when searching for swollen gums on cats has said it was due to plaque – but with Houdini just getting is adult teeth that cannot be the case, and even looking at his teeth there is no sign of even a speck. So I was desperate for more information (especially since the vet has already mentioned extraction as a possibility) Can I repeat here that my cat isn’t even a year old yet!!

    I am curious to know how Plaque-off helps especially for those cats that have had a full dental extraction?

    • Christine,

      Lily was like your cat and was diagnosed with stomatitis when she was around 6 or 8 months old. She also had swollen glands, which have finally gone away but she had them for about two years.

      How does PlaqueOff help in cats that have no teeth? I don’t honestly know. Logic dictates that it shouldn’t help, but I can tell you that it does. My guess is that there is still plaque in the mouths of cats without teeth, even if there aren’t teeth for it to settle on. It is believed that stomatitis is sometimes caused by plaque, so eliminating it can alleviate stomatitis. That seems to be the case with my cat.

      Please let us know how Houdini does and what works (or doesn’t) for him.

      I hope this helps,
      Rochelle

  241. Thank you for making this site! I adopted one of my cats, Charisse about two years ago and at her first vet visit with my vet, it was discovered she had very few intact teeth left. She had what was left removed along with a bunch of fragments. She was underweight when I first got her and her breath was awful. I was told she had stomatitis. I was also told that it could be a reaction from her mycoplasma infection and the resulting medication for that, but they don’t really know. I recently adopted another cat from the same situation and poor thing has bright red gums. She still has all of her teeth, intact, so I was wondering if the other options you listed would be kinder to try? She’s skinny, but seems to be doing better on a higher quality food. I shy away from the idea of giving her steroids long term and was wondering if I could get your opinion on how the affect your cat?

    • Elizabeth,

      If I was in your shoes I wouldn’t hesitate to start my cats on both Lysine and PlaqueOff. It takes up to eight weeks for PlaqueOff to start working so the sooner it is started, the sooner it can help. I will forever wonder if these two supplements would have helped Lily if I had known about them when she was first diagnosed, but I didn’t so I’ll never know.

      As for the steroids, Lily was weaned off of them at the end of 2014. The vet said that it looks like she has not suffered any problems from being on them for so long. She was on a very low dose (it took a while to get the right dose, then we lowered it as Lily improved). Diabetes is the main concern for the type of steroids that Lily was on and she is showing no signs of diabetes.

      Other people have had success by changing the diet of their cats. I chose not to go that route for a variety of reasons, including the fact that two of my five cats have irritable bowel and any changes to their diets is devastating to them. They all eat Iams, including Lily, and are doing well with it. I chose Iams because it is a quality food that comes if very small kibbles. Lily had all her teeth removed and is able to eat these without needing to chew them.

      I hope this helps,
      Rochelle

  242. Linda – Glad to hear Simba is improving. I have a 17-year-old Manx named Simba.

    What is Cool Valley Tea pill and what is California Poppy extract? Is the extract an opiate? Do they seem to help? Irma is eating but I have to keep varying her “menu.” She tired of the baby food so I gave her grain-free Wellness wet food. I like wet food because, as Jimmy commented, I can mix in all her supplements and know that she’s eating them. I also bought dehydrated chicken breast and she loves it. I really didn’t expect her to eat it because, while not as hard as kibble, it is pretty crunchy. Last night and today she’s had diced, boiled chicken. I’m curious…..everything I read mentions the horrific bad breath that accompanies stomatitis. Irma never had bad breath and still doesn’t. Has anyone ever heard of this?

    • Diane,

      It is probably a good thing that Irma doesn’t have bad breath. I don’t know this for a fact, but I suspect that the bad breath doesn’t appear until the disease is very advanced. Lily had a lot of symptoms that I missed but it wasn’t until she had horrendous breath that I realized there was something wrong. The bad breath was the first symptom to clear up and it never came back.

      Rochelle

  243. My 4 year old male “Monet” had a runny eye. Took him to vet 2 times. Both times vet gave him an antibiotic shot. Third time an abscess had blown a hole above his canine tooth. The vet immediately extracted 8 teeth. Monet was in pain and wasn’t healing. Vet gave Clindamycin (sp?) 7 weeks later he was real sick, massive weight loss and couldn’t eat…I put him on organic baby food and started syringe feeding… sub q fluids 100ml since he wouldn’t drink.
    Dental surgery left necrotic tissue by canine, they kept hinting at stomatitis but never diagnosed as such…took him to another vet (Advanced Vet Services) Now he has an enlarged lymph node on surgery side. They aspirated node and found large cells suggesting cancer.
    I feel like the first vet ripped my cats mouth up, mis-diagnosed and passed my cat to another vet for clean up. They then gave a death sentence with all the pain relief needed.
    Currently he is being syringe feed 3 times a day
    Given 2 Onisor
    Butenephrie every 8 hours
    100ml sub q
    Aloe with organic honey
    Collide silver
    Trace Minerals
    Izmine (minerals)
    Prebiotic s
    Natural anti inflammation pills…
    Any suggestions
    Need help…

    • Sydney,

      I am so sorry to hear that you and your cat have been through all of this! That must be really hard to see your cat in so much pain.

      Does the new vet see any hope for your cat? Or does he want to simply offer ways to manage Monet’s pain until he passes away?

      Some of the supplements and medicines I am familiar with, others I’m not. I don’t honestly know what might help if your cat does, in fact, have cancer, but you might want to add Lysine to what you are giving him. Lysine helps boost the immune system.

      My prayers go out to you and Monet.

      Rochelle

  244. Hi – just wanted to send an update on my cat, Simba. On February 2nd he had a flare-up with a painful lesion on his gum. I’m happy to say he’s completely back to normal again, in fact I’m surprised how quickly he recovered this time compared to his first flare-up in August. He’s running around, jumping and playing with his toys again. I went down to one Cool Valley tea pill for his immune system a day the 16th but I’m still giving him the California Poppy extract for pain 3 times per day, both prescribed by my vet, just to be safe until he sees the vet again. Yesterday his mouth and gums were healthy and pink, but it’s hard to see way down there in the back of his throat. I just started Simba and “little sister” Sheba, 9 years old, on the Viralys about a week ago and I think I see a little more energy in both of them. I still haven’t received the Plaqueoff, I’m hoping I’ll get it soon. I’m hoping it might help prevent these flare-ups in Simba and maybe my little girl will never have to experience this icky thing.

    Just a note, and I’m not an expert or anything, just some of my ideas and opinions I’ve learned along the way from vets, etc.; I’ve noticed online it being mentioned that diet plays a part in this or plaque led to this and insinuations you are a bad cat owner for doing or not doing one thing or another. I don’t believe any of that is true. The traditional vet who diagnosed my cats with FORL that usually leads to stomatitis and ear problems, said there is no known cause for this, but unfortunately it’s a disease many cats are just predisposed to. She didn’t recommend pulling out their teeth and I never had a vet that did. She said most of their teeth fall out eventually anyway. That may be completely different for cats with stomatitis who don’t have FORL, I don’t know, but most cats, like mine, with stomatitis have FORL, or neck lesions, where the tissue attacks the gums and teeth, like an autoimmune disease. Gum diseases and plaque have been found in 800 year old cat skeletons, according to Wikipedia. All food can cause deposits of plaque on teeth. I don’t think anyone should ever feel guilty that they caused this to happen to their cat, but all my vets did say it’s important to keep their gums as healthy and plaque free as possible to aid in treatment, prevent flare-ups and discomfort for the cat, that might include pulling the teeth in some cases, I think it just depends on the cat. My cats haven’t had a teeth cleaning for 5 years. My holistic vet thinks putting them under anesthesia just to have the plaque return shortly after isn’t worth it. He advised using other safer ways to keep the plaque off. I’ve known people who have fed all kinds of different diets to their cats, dry, canned, home cooked, raw, who never had to have their cat’s teeth cleaned because they never had gum problems or plaque, were healthy and lived to an old age; including one who fed her cat table scraps, mostly cooked meats, that lived a healthy 20 years, I prefer to feed my cats a raw diet but that’s just my way. I think cats really need to be kept hydrated somehow, either through the food they eat or some other means. Most cats tend to not drink or even like water in general, unless it’s my daughter’s cat, who loves water so much she gets in the shower with her. They are desert animals and get their fluids through other means. Mostly, I think cats need a life as free of stress as possible for their health, and especially ill cats with these diseases.

    Thanks Rochelle for your advice and support.

  245. Rochell:
    Thank you so much for your website and all the infoormation about Lilly’s treatments! This may be a silly question, what’s the difference between the predisolone in tablet form that our vet has prescribed for our cat Ernest, and the predisolone cream you put in Lilly’s ear? After his latest Stomatitis flare up a couple of weeks ago, the vet gave Ernest a steroid injection which she said would last two weeks and also prescribed Predisolone tablets for the rest of his life. I haven’t started the Predisolone tablets yet. Does the cream have fewer side effects?

    • Julie,

      That is not at all a silly question!

      To be honest, I do not know the answer to your question. What I do know is this: Whether by pill or cream, steroids should never be stopped cold turkey (unless, of course, your doctor/vet says it is okay to do so). People and pets need to be slowly weaned off of steroids before stopping completely, and should only be done under the supervision/advice of your vet.

      In the case of stomatitis kitties, I would personally prefer to use a cream than a pill because pills can cause pain when swallowed. The Prednisolone cream that I gave to Lily was super easy to administer. All I had to do was rub it inside her ear, which absorbed the medicine.

      I hope this helps.

      Rochelle

  246. Thank you very much for your very informative site.

    I would just like to correct you on one statement:

    ” Using steroids long term may lead to diabetes, which would then be a death sentence to your cat. ”

    I totally agree that steroid can very much lead to diabetes and should only be used when truly necessary – which unfortunately at times they may be (for lymphoma or other cancers for example).

    However, Diabetes is NOT at all a death sentence!

    Diabetes can be treated – and with the correct diet and dosing protocol, many cats will even go into a diet-controlled remission where insulin is not needed.

    Even if that does not happen, with the right protocol and care, cats can live for years with FD – I personally know one who lived for 11 years after being diagnosed, another who was diagnnosed 9 years ago.

    I personallyh adopted a cat that was abandoned by its owners, luckily taken in by a rescue group where he stays for over a year before I did adopt him – at the time he had been FD for at least 2 years… He has not needed insulin since 2 May 2013 (I adopted him in Sep12). He will be 15 in July, is in good health, active and energetic!

    .. I simply don’t want people to think that they should just put to sleep their cat if it is diagnosed with diabetes.. again it is NOT a death sentence.. at all.

    I personally – on behalf of all those FD cats out there! – would be very grateful if you could amend your statement to say that steroids will lead to diabetes, so to be avoided/considered a last resort…. rather than the untrue death sentence statement.

    Thank you very much for reading this.

    • Jacqui,

      Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information.

      I apologize for making it sound like diabetes itself would mean death to a cat because that wasn’t what I meant. What I meant is that a cat that is on steroids wouldn’t also be able to take the medicine needed for diabetes and that treating only one disease or the other (stomatitis or diabetes) could lead to death because both couldn’t be treated at the same time. It is possible that this is wrong, but this is what I was told by my vet.

      Rochelle

  247. My cat, Jingles, has stomatitis and has had all but his canines removed. The stomatitis has returned. He was given steroid and antibiotic shots a couple weeks ago but his gums are inflamed again! Where can i get the L-Lysine and PlaqueOff? We have a pet pharmacy here in the Phoenix area or do I get it online?
    Thanks so much for all your comments! They are very helpful! I’ll get him some Kitten food, too!

    • Marti,

      It is possible that you can buy the Lysine and PlaqueOff locally but I haven’t been able to find any at a reasonable price so I buy from Amazon.com. Here are links to Lysine and PlaqueOff.

      Please let us know how Jingles does with whatever you decide to give him.

      Rochelle

  248. So happy for you and Bob, Margie. Irma, too, seems to be holding her own and doing it comfortably.

    One thing I’ve been forgetting to ask: Irma has never had the bad breath the rest of you have mentioned. I assume this is unusual?

  249. Rochelle,

    I am taking a moment to update you on Bob’s progress. I will start off by saying that the transformation has been amazing. Bob has doubled in weight to 8 lbs. As you may recall, he was skeletal so this does not mean he’s overweight. His coat is shiny and sleek. He looks fantastic. He plays with my other two cats, something he hasn’t done for the past six years. He also grooms, another thing I haven’t seen much of in six years. He is now seven years old. There have been no further teeth extractions. His back teeth were pulled several years ago and I was pretty sure that the remainder would have to go this year, but so far it doesn’t look like that will be necessary any time soon. He is not at 100% all the time, but close to it most of the time.

    Last August I did start him on the Prednisolone cream, administered in the ear once per day. My vet had not heard of this, but was willing to bring it in and try. Cost is kept down by purchasing in increments of three syringe fulls. In the morning and at night, I mix one scoop of Plaque Off and one scoop of Feline L-lysine into his meal, which is either one small can of Iams, usually the flaked tuna or mackerel, or whatever protein I am eating (poultry or fish as I eat almost no red meat) He has a good appetite and always eats the entire meal so he always gets the full dosage of PlaqueOff and L-lysine.

    Bob remains diabetic and gets insulin shots twice a day. He also remains stable at a low dosage at 2 units. This is also why I keep him on a high protein diet and watch the fillers on dry cat food coming into the house. It is a little more expensive as I am feeding three cats, but probably healthier for all of them. The other two cats split a can of Friskies when Bob is eating his Iams.

    Now for the not 100% statement. Occasionally the mouth odor and drooling resurface. This is followed by the bright red gums and swelling. All of this happens in one day; progression is fast, but now I know what to watch for. A round of antibiotics cures it. The vet and I rotate the type so that he doesn’t build up an immunity to the antibiotic. My vet is great and no longer sees Bob every time there is a need, which helps with cost. I will be doing that today, but the last purchase of antibiotics was in early December. I also use common sense and don’t start the antibiotics unless the symptoms are getting progressively worse. This is the longest stretch he has gone without needing antibiotics since starting the Prednisolone/Plaque-off/L-lysine treatment. The frequency of need has decreased each time so this is good. I am optimistic that the trend will continue.

    There is one more homeopathic type substance that Bob ingests. I have a friend that swears by enhanced health from consumption grade hydrogen peroxide – not the stuff on store shelves – I think it came from a health food store. I put one drop in the water bowl every morning when I put out fresh water. I’s a fairly large bowl, so dose is very minimal. I don’t know if this is helping or not as the intent was for water freshness as I couldn’t be sure that all cats were being exposed to Bob’s drool. One of my cats pulls the self water type of setups and makes a mess so I switched to putting out a couple large bowls that can’t be pulled.

    Anyway, I am feeling like Bob’s quality of life is excellent. Last year at this time I was accepting the fact that he didn’t have much longer, but I had done the best I could for him to give him a good life. The cortisone was no longer effective and that awful best-thing-for-him-get-him-out-of-pain decision was close. However, this is an amazing success story. Starting on insulin was helping, but the stomatitis part wasn’t going away. The cortisone gave him diabetes and was no longer fixing the mouth issues. I started using your findings with a “can’t hurt” philosophy. Talk about exceeding expectations!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, a million times!

  250. Thanks Rochelle and Jimmie.

    Irma is back to eating! Her PlaqueOff and Lysine arrived yesterday and I’ve started her on it. This morning, while scratching her belly, she”play bit” my finger three times. I was so excited that she actually used her mouth for something. You’re right, Jimmie. Our pets deserve the best we can provide.I’m determined to stick it out with Irma, regardless of how long the haul my be.

  251. My cat Joey had his teeth removed at the end of October. He was getting better and eating but always acted as if he was waiting for the food to attack him. He is on metecam and I just started antibiotics again because he was pawing at his mouth a lot again lately. His stomatitis had come back. He stopped eating. I have started to feed him diluted ad with a syringe and he seems to tolerate that better. I just squirt it into his mouth. In the last 2-3 days he has gained half a pound. ad is a recovery formula made by Hills. I can get 5 or 6 5ml syringes full into him in a couple of minutes. I will ask my vet about the l lysine and plaque off. I hope it helps.

    • Monika,

      It sounds like you found a very clever way to feed Joey without causing him pain. I hope that you are able to find treatment options that help Joey feel better.

      Please let us know how he does with whatever you choose to treat him with.

      Rochelle

  252. diane and rochelle, i have been feeding my scardy cat meat baby food for almost two years, i started this for the same reason, and also i can give him any medication and he just laps it up, i pour the contents of the jar into his bowl and then put a small amount of water in the jar and shake it up, one to get all the food and the other to make is more soupy, not enough to change taste. he also eats 97% fat free turkey deli meat twice a day, i get it in half pound packs and freeze it till i need it, i dice it up really fine and give him a generous portion every morning and night, i put his plaque off and lysine in the turkey, he also eats purina one turkey and chicken dry food after this or during the day. i give him prednisolone every other day, 4mg broke in half. this has been working very well for quite some time. my prior posts will show he went through a few years of harsh and painful treatments that never really did much good, and he has had all his teeth pulled at the beginning, he has a brother with stomatitis that still has his teeth, i stopped my wife before she got involved with the same treatment for him. it was when i first saw the article on lily that i started doing research on and using the plaque off and lysine. i have other cats also and i spend a lot of time doing research every time my vet wants to do anything for them. we do this for our human family and im ashamed that i didn’t start doing the same for my cats until they had suffered so much. i would never take a medication my doctor prescribed before i knew all i could know about it. this is something we all need to keep in mind, everyone makes mistakes and always will, but we can keep it to a minimum with just a little effort.

  253. I’m desperate. Irma is 3 and has stomatitis. We’ve done the antibiotics and steroids but any relief was VERY temporary. Food has become Irma’s enemy because it hurts.I thought I was making wonderful headway over the past 2 weeks, when I offered her meat baby food and she lapped it up with the urgency of someone reaching for a life preserver. She consumed 6 jars in 24 hours! She was literally starving. She began rolling over and purring loudly. It was also obvious that she was gaining some much-needed weight. This continued for a week and I was jubilant. But today (2/12) she stopped eating and began hiding.What do I do now? I’ve ordered PlaqueOff and L-Lysine, as well as some natural supplements to boost her immune system. Nothing, however, has arrived as yet. This is breaking my heart. I do NOT want a full-mouth extraction. It’s just far too invasive and there are no guarantees. I’ve pretty much lost faith in conventional veterinary medicine but, somehow, I need for Irma to resume eating. Please, any advice is welcome and appreciated.

    • Diane,

      I’m so sorry to hear that Irma has stopped eating. Hopefully the PlaqueOff and Lysine will help, but it takes a while for those to kick in, and you need Irma to eat before that happens.

      I’m honestly not sure what to suggest. It is possible that the baby food could be causing her pain. My vet explained to me that eating wet food is more painful than dry food for cats with active stomatitis. The reason is because the tongue works harder to get the wet food to the back of the throat to be swallowed than dry food. When the throat is raw and painful the extra work needed for wet food can cause a lot of pain.

      Have you tried dry kitten food? It isn’t a long term diet for an adult cat, but it might be something your cat is willing to eat. Or perhaps bits of cooked chicken or canned tuna? You might even get some brewer’s yeast and sprinkle some on dry food. Most cats love brewer’s yeast and it is safe for them to eat. Someone else might have some advice that I can’t think of.

      Please let us know how Irma does and what worked or didn’t work for her.

      My prayers go out to you and Irma.

      Rochelle

  254. Rochelle – I am so relieved to have found your site, thank you for taking the time to tell Lily’s story – it’s obviously helping a lot of people and their kitties! My little Orval is about 8 months old now, and the vet I work for diagnosed him with stomatitis recently, which we all expected when he was first found as a stray around 10 weeks old. My optimism lead me to believe his inflammation was just from poor health, and then teething, but once most of his adult teeth had fully erupted, he still had very foul breath and angry gums.

    We tried just him on Clindamycin for 14 days – which instantly removed the stench from his mouth, and relieved a lot of redness, but he had to be fed a bland diet the whole time due to the diarrhea it was causing. After being off the antibiotics for about two weeks now, the odor is slowly returning, much to our dismay. After reading of your success, my vet and I have agreed that it couldn’t hurt to try the Lysine and Plaque Off, as well as a diet change.

    Luckily, Orval has not had any issues eating his dry Wellness kitten food, and has never shown any signs of pain or lethargy, so I’m really hoping that the supplements will be proactive enough to fend this thing off. Thank you again to you and all other commentors for the personal experiences – it definitely helps!

    • Alison,

      I’m so glad this site has been helpful to you. Please keep us posted as to how Orval does and what seems to work for him.

      Rochelle

  255. Hi Rochelle,
    Thanks for the info. My vet doesn’t have that drug but I will ask for a prescription. Do you get that from a regular drug store like CVS or the compound pharmacist? I would just like to get a tiny bit as Sebastian is not too big and I would never abuse animals drug as some people do. Do you know of anyone using lidocaine directly on the gums? It’s so funny as I am typing here on my bed Sebastian is biting/cleaning his back toe nails…lol. Another question have you had or had any comments about dirty ears (mites, yeast, or bacteria) he has been checked for that but black gook that spreads in his ears like mold. Sorry so graphic but just trying to rule out maybe related/unrelated issues. My vet is good he’s from Slovakia he says I and my cats have taught him everything he knows because of all our issues. The owner vet is in/out and laughs at me so I don’t much care for him although he should be kissing my butt for all the business I give him. Why can’t stomatitis in cats be like human stomatitis??

    • I got Buprenex from my vet’s office.

      No, I have no knowledge of lidocaine, not what it is or how to use it in cats.

      As for ear mites, no, I don’t know of any connection between ear mites and stomatitis. But I can tell you that my cat Willow had a nasty case of ear mites that I treated repeatedly with the medicine my previous vet prescribed her for over a year. After getting Lily I switched to a different vet and she looked in Willow’s ears and said that it wasn’t ear mites but some kind of infection. I don’t remember what she said it was but I do remember that she packed some type of thick cream into Willow’s ear and the infection cleared up and has never been back. So, it is possible that whatever your cat is suffering from might not be ear mites. But I’m not a vet so this is just a suggestion.

      Rochelle

  256. Apologies Rochelle for posting that link.

    I was just wondering are you in the US. I have never been given Buprexene (sp) only once Metacam for an arthritic cat. By any chance is it a controlled substance? I do remember when Sebastian had his dental surgery after they gave him a 3 day narcotic beginning with a “B” but it was a longer word. It made him very, very, very lovable so he was not that mad about the surgery. I will be going to see my vet tomorrow to ask. You have a beautiful site. Thank you for publishing all your and Lily’s experiences.

    • There is no need to apologize! If I didn’t want to share the link I wouldn’t have approved your comment. I just wanted to offer my thoughts on it because I don’t want people to assume that everything stated on there will be helpful. It might be, I just don’t know.

      Yes, I am in the US, and, yes, it is a controlled substance. I think I had to sign something because of that fact, but I might be remembering wrong. Lily first had Buprenex after all her teeth were pulled, then I gave it to her as needed when the pain of stomatitis was too much for her.

      I’m so glad my site has been helpful. I never dreamed how many people would find it when I first created it, and it makes me sad how many cats have this disease. I hope your cat finds relief like mine has.

      Rochelle

  257. With regards to a cure, I don’t know of anyone working on trying to find one. Maybe there is someone who cares enough to try. Sometimes I feel like there is more emphasis put on treating diseases than finding cures, both in humans and animals.

  258. Rochelle – Thanks for your reply. It’s wonderful Lily is doing so well! Lily is so, so lucky to have been adopted into your home. It’s very challenging to deal with this disease and to find the right thing that works for your cat. Will send an update about things go with my cats.

    • Barbara-Ann,

      I was hesitant to publish the link you shared but decided to do so. The reason I was hesitant is because I don’t like to promote methods that I don’t have knowledge of or experience with because I don’t know if those methods will be hurtful or helpful to our cats.

      Also, I don’t agree with their stance on dry food. They say you should never give dry food to stomatitis cats. While I agree that some dry foods are the equivalent of Twinkies, there are plenty of good, healthy dry foods. Plus, eating wet food for stomatitis cats can be much more painful than dry food. Eating wet food requires more work from the tongue to move it to the back to the throat and to swallow it. That movement can be incredibly painful, especially if the throat is swollen and inflamed. My experience with dry food and Lily has been a very positive one. She has done great on dry food (I feed her Iams).

      I would like to encourage anyone who visits that site to do research and talk to your vet before trying anything recommended there.

      Rochelle

  259. Hi – I can sympathize with anyone who has a cat with FORL/stomatitis. I’m so sorry to hear one person say their vet blamed them for the stomatitis. That’s so cruel. I would have walked out. It has nothing to do with plaque at all. It’s an autoimmune disease. About 60% of cats over 5 years old have it. It’s very upsetting and stressful to find out your cat has it. Both of my cats were diagnosed with it about 5 years ago. I began seeing a holistic vet shortly after that. They have been on a raw food diet since I adopted them 9 years ago. I use TCfeline powder, developed in Canada, that I purchase online from Rawmeatpetfood.com. After the diagnosis my vet recommended OL-Immune by Animal Apawthecary, Co-Q10 30-50 mg a day, fish oil capsule 1200 mg split between the 2 of them once a day. Removing all of their teeth is something I wouldn’t do, I can’t see putting them through that, especially when it doesn’t really help much, and my vet agrees. I also stopped getting any immunizations for them, my holistic vet agreed also. They get waivers for Rabies. I think the immunizations for cats have been carried to an extreme. Some studies have suggested over immunization in cats has caused diseases and cancer in cats. I also give them Orotene water additive for cats, and the Oratene gel when I can. It was difficult to administer the gel on their gums, one of my cats began hiding from me after dinner time. I found putting the half inch dab on a paw or leg easier, they lick it off right away and it gets distributed, and they don’t mind it as much. My cats have lost several teeth but never had a problem or flare up of the FORL/stomatitis, being seen regularly by the vet, until last August, a few months before my oldest cat turned 10, I noticed a bulge with a black dot in the center protruding out from his bottom gum, but his gums looked good, nice and pink. I took him into the vet and they said it was some kind of nodule but he also found there was a red area way down in his throat, the first flare up he had of stomatitis, so I was really glad I took him in. He showed no signs of being in pain or that anything was bothering him, but sometimes they don’t. My vet put him on Tea pills for immune system and California Poppy for pain. I gave him the Tea pills and the poppy twice a day with food and when I took him back in 2 weeks it was almost cleared up. I was told to cut the tea pills down to once a day and if I noticed anything I should increase to 2 for a few weeks. I had to increase to 2 tea pills a few times after that, but eventually he seemed ok. He’s been getting the poppy twice daily since then though. I had read stuff about Lysine and I mentioned that to my vet and he said to go ahead and try it, so I started giving them each 500 mg a day of a regular people brand of capsules; but the other night, I fed the cats, left for about 30 minutes and when I came home that same cat who had the flare up in August was acting really strange. At first I thought he hurt himself or something playing with my other cat. He was hiding for awhile, which is really unusual for this cat. I got really scared. He spent most of the evening cuddled up to me, and when I went to bed I carried him to my bed. I observed him, he was still eating, using the litter box okay, walking okay, but he seemed weak. He wouldn’t let me touch his mouth, but in the morning I finally saw a huge ulcer like bulge on the left side of his mouth. I got really scared then and tried to contact my vet, but unfortunately wasn’t able to. Then I remembered I could increase his poppy for pain to 3 times a day, so I doubled his tea pills and started him on the poppy 3 times a day, and he has improved somewhat. I see my other cat running around happy as a lark, and I think is she going to have to go through this too!! Unfortunately, on trying to reach my vet that day and the next day, I found he just took off without notifying anyone, so now I have to find another vet. I’m very interested in trying the Plaqueoff and Viralys powder for my cats. I don’t know why my cat just started with these flareups in the last year, if its his age or what; but now I’m searching and open to new things, while I’m looking for a new vet in the meantime. I wish someone could find a safe cure for this, does anyone even care?

    Update on my cat – After being on the Cool Valley tea pills twice a day and California poppy extract 3 times a day from my holistic vet since Tuesday 2/3, Simba has improved more each day and is pretty much back to normal today, Thursday. The ulcer has gone way down and I know it’s not hurting him anymore because he started rubbing his mouth on that side on corners and stuff, marking, again like he usually does. He wasn’t cleaning himself Tuesday, but he’s back to it again. He’s not running around yet, but I’m expecting he will be again in a few days. I’ve found another holistic vet I’m going to be seeing, maybe she will have some more ideas for them.

    I got 100g of the Plaqueoff for cats on Ebay for $23.30, it was ~$17 + ~$6 SH, a seller from the UK. Got the Viralys powder on Amazon. I’m excited about trying them for my cats.

    • Linda,

      To answer your last question first, yes, there are plenty of people who care, both in the animal medical field and out. I’m so sorry to hear that you and your cat are going through this. The good news is that you are not alone. If you read through all the comments on my site you will see that many others have been where you are, and that it may be possible to help your cat live a pain-free life.

      Please check back in and let us know how your cat is responding to all of your treatment options. I truly hope that the PlaqueOff and Lysine helps your cat as much as it has helped my Lily. Just last week I took Lily in for her annual check-up with my vet. The vet told me that Lily’s stomatitis was the worst she had ever seen in all her years as a vet, and that Lily now looks great! Lily still has stomatitis and the back of her throat is still a bit pink, but Lily doesn’t seem to be in any pain these days and plays like she’s still a kitten.

      My prayers go out to you and your cat.

      Rochelle

  260. My She-Ba has just been diagnosed with this today, have been crying my eyes out reading all this…Will know more tomorrow after cleaning and blood work, thanks for all the info.

    • Tami,

      Finding out our beloved cats have stomatitis is incredibly difficult to hear and emotionally draining. What did the vet say about She-Ba’s blood work?

      Hopefully there is a treatment plan that will help your cat get through this.

      My prayers go out to you.

      Rochelle

  261. OMG I am freaking out because I just heard from my vet that my cat has to have all his teeth removed. Apparently Chico has had stomatitis for a while and it’s only been in the last 3 days he has shown symptoms of being ill. I do not know what to expect…when I read the comments about cats drooling and their tongues hanging out I am more freaked out by the prospect of my beautiful Chico losing his teeth. Chico is older and I am afraid that steroids will affect his liver and not in a good way. Please someone write to me and tell me they have gone through this and there is nothing to worry about, that my beautiful Chico will not turn out to be a total drooling vegetable and that there is a happy life after teeth extraction. I am devistated and need some emotional help. So far all I’ve only heard bad things about teeth getting extracted. Thanks

    • Hellie,

      I am so sorry to hear that your cat has stomatitis! I understand all too well the freak out feeling you are experiencing right now.

      I know there are a lot of comments on this page (and site) but if you read through them you will find quite a few from owners with toothless cats and they have all done very well without their teeth. My cat is one of those toothless cats and Lily does great! You’d never know by looking at her that she has no teeth.

      To be honest, I’ve never heard anything bad about tooth extractions, with one exception. Make sure the vet who does the surgery does x-rays after the surgery to verify that there are no tooth fragments still in the gums! This is very important because cat teeth are brittle and break easily when being removed. Tooth fragments that are left in the gums can cause a variety of health problems.

      Feel free to come back and let us know about how Chico is doing.

      Rochelle

  262. I really need some help. I have 3 cats with Stomatitis. I am buying Hills Prescription. Also I just learn today that my 4th cat has nasal cancer. I am overwheled with vet bills and the cost of can cat food. PS I have to sick dogs. Please help.

    • Susan,

      I’m so sorry to hear about your situation!

      It sounds like you are looking for help paying your vet bills. My advice is to set up an account with a site like GoFundMe.com. I’ve never used any of those type of sites but several people who are in similar situations to you have used them to raise money for their bills.

      My prayers go out to you and your pets.

      Rochelle

  263. Hello,I’m happy that I found the site. My Lulu who is a Sphynx cat has this condition very badly. I’m on my third Vet and my third series of treatments, Laser, Antibiotics, She is now on Doyxicyline, and a three day regime of anti inflamatory,I feel so badly for her because she’s just miserable,I can’t at this time afford a full mouth extraction if that’s what becomes necessary can you please tell me the dosage of the lysine that you are usin I do have other cats they’re all indoors and I hope it isn’t contagious.thank you for any and all information that you can give me on this horrible disease. I’ve had many many cats in the past and this is my first experience with this thank you again to everyone for all the great information.

    PS..Lulu is just 18 mos old she is very young

    • Debbie,

      Your cat sounds similar to my Lily. Lily was a little over a year old when she was diagnosed with stomatitis.

      The Lysine that I use (I buy it on Amazon here) comes with a little blue spoon and I give Lily one level spoonful each day.

      As for being contagious, I don’t know. Some people believe it might be contagious when the stomatitis is active and the cat is drooling, and that would make sense because the drool could contain whatever might make it contagious.

      In my case, I have five cats and Lily is the only one who has stomatitis. They all eat from the same bowls and I’m sure they share saliva. But Lily hasn’t had active stomatitis since early to mid 2013 so I might have kept her food bowl away from the others when she was at her worst (I honestly don’t remember anymore if I did or not).

      Rochelle

    • Debbie,

      Someone tried to respond to your comment but it ended up coming to me instead. Here is what she wrote:

      “Debbie, are you anywhere near Richmond VA? Helping Hands is an awesome dental/surgical place that has pre-determined fees for procedures. A dental is $175 no matter what needs to be done (even FME), and that includes medications. Bloodwork is another $45 or so. The surgeon is top notch and they have been on Good Morning America, etc. http://www.affordablepetsurgery.com Rescues use them all the time and I myself have brought many fosters there for care. It is well worth a couple hours drive.”

  264. ps my cat was not given Convenia specifically for stomatitis. Sorry I just read the comment and seems you have researched it but see link I posted because I felt that was certainly worth reading. I did not know it was used for stomatitis – she was given antibiotic to help with the inflammation of the gums/stomatitis. I did find my cat did better with raw and also certain grain-free wet cat food but I wish vet had talked to me about food and stomatitis. I found this site too late.

  265. I happened to see this but have not read the thread. My cat was given Convenia (I do not think it harmed her but I do not know…) but my newer vet felt it was *s**t (I had issues with this vet but that was the first time I had heard anything negative about it). Then I read this article on risks attached to Convenia here: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=convenia

    Good luck.

  266. Curious to know if anyone has heard of or tried Convenia for the treatment of stomatitis? An acquaintance mentioned it to me and looking up info online on it produces both positive and negative support for it.

    I saw a comment above with a suggestion for Azithromycin as an antibiotic treatment but some research indicates that Azithromycin may not work well with cats that have hyperthyroidism (like mine).

    • Ricky,

      I have not heard of Convenia, but hopefully someone else has and can offer insight to how helpful it might be for stomatitis.

      Rochelle

  267. I have found a liquid equivalent to Seraquin and L-Lysine so when my cats throat is too bad to swallow his tablets I can give him this, that way he never misses his meds. For the Seraquin I use Enisyl-F paste and for the L-Lysine I use ArthriAid Omega, all can be given by a syringe, hope this helps.

  268. I’ve been fending off the effects of Stomatitis in an elderly female (20 years old now) for the better part of a year now. Treatment is restricted by my budget, her age, and infirmity, to medication and diet, rather than anything more invasive which wouuld require anesthetic. She has done fairly well with Prednisolone managing her inflammation until recently when it began losing some of its effectiveness. Since then we’ve added Tramadol for discomfort, and are currently trying Metacam with mixed results. I realize we are coming to the end of the road as the inflammation worsens and a problem with actual lesions develops. One thing I have found to be worth considering is the actual texture of foods I give her, as this directly relates to irritation in her mouth and how comfortable she is with eating. Even with a potentially weakened immune system, I have become convinced that the best diet for her includes a very finely ground raw commercial diet that I have combined with a percentage of canned food. It seems the smooth texture of the uncooked meat, even with some bone and vegetable matter, is far gentler to irritated tissue, and there may also be a benefit from different enzymes, as well as the raw protein source. I also find benefit from a regular addition of canned pumpkin to a regular canned diet, as it helps a great deal with loose stool and diahorrea. This may not be your experience in practice, but with high levels of irritation and inflammation may be worth considering.

  269. My cat Kitty is a 16 year old domestic long hair. For 15 years, never had an issue with her. Regular once or twice a year vet visits with the occasional teeth cleaning (I never brushed her teeth and she was always on a dry food diet). In April 2014, I noticed a very dramatic weight loss, she had stopped cleaning herself and became very matted and patchy. Immediately took her to the vet who did full check up, x-rays and blood work and it came back that she had hyperthyroidism. Decided to treat her with Tapazole 2.5mg a day. In order to get her to take the meds an also help her gain back weight, decided to switch up her diet from the dry food to wet food.

    For the about 4-5 months Kitty seemed to bounce back. She gained back about 1-2 pounds, seemed less dehydrated. Then when she was eating some dry kibble that I left out for her, she would yelp in pain. She started to drool a little and smelled really rank. Went back to vet who indicated it appeared that she had some dental issues which might need an extraction. But the problem was her thyroid levels were still very high and they did not want to sedate her without bring the levels down.

    Seeking a second opinion, I made an appt with the local humane society (better rep, less costly but a little further away). New vet recommended I feed her more wet food and up the amount of Tapazole to 5mg a day and also gave me liquid clindamycin hydrochloride. He noted that he saw what appeared to be a red mass at the back of her throat. This was at the end of November 2014 with a follow-up appointment coming up in a week after the New Year.

    She’s been drooling a lot more but appears to have gained some weight. Definitely hungry as she’s always lurking around the kitchen when I’m in there waiting on food but she doesn’t seem to finish everything. I’ve had to bathe at least twice a week because her drool catches on her long hair and basically smells terrible.

    After reading this website and all the above comments, I have the suspicion that my Kitty has stomatitis. She’s got basically every symptom mentioned above. I’m going to call my vet on Monday (a week before her follow-up appt) and run it by him and see what he thinks. Hopefully some meds will put her on the road to recovery.

    Ricky

    • Ricky,

      It sounds like you are on the right track by making an appointment for Kitty.

      You’ll see that I often recommend the use of PlaqueOff for treating stomatitis, but your cat should NOT take it because she has hyperthyroidism and the bottle warns that cats with hyperthyroidism shouldn’t take it. Hopefully your vet will be able to find the right treatment to help Kitty.

      Rochelle

  270. Hi my name is Angela I have a flatfaced persian .my ishie was a deserted cat left in an apartment had to have been there over a year and the house owner maybe fed her 1x per week, this was in Ct. my sister took her having a cat of her own they didn’t do well together anyway I took her back to Fla with me that was april 2010. She came to me with many medical problems at first crystilization in urine, constipation, very bad teeth, all were tackled costing much money and being disabled on a fixed income I had some money put away that went very quickly. then the teeth had to come out,very bad rotted teeth, but NO STOMATITIS. after (couple months) a growth popped up on her gum lower in back a biopsy had to be taken it was causing drooling all upper problems really runny eyes, nose bubbling with mucus and she was drooling a little. The biopsy was done,came back stomatitis, the vet then only was giving her antibiotics, spent more time going to the vet with no plan to help her coming up etc etc. It grew back brought her to a dental spec. the last surgery they didn’t take enough of the growth out then of course another healing time from surgery but all the upper problems came back worse. (drooling, runny stuffed up nose, drippy swollen eyes. another vet, an internest. She was put on cyclosporine 2x day 18mg ea. time and zithromyacin 1/4 of a 250 mg pill daily. My Ishe NEVER does well on meds, so super sensitive to all of them with this treatment she was lethargic, spacy wobbly and out of it. I told the vet I was going to try just one 18mg of cyclosporine a day and the zithro. after a time she started doing so much better and gradually she was herself and playing hard again every morn. Then around thanksgiving of this Nov the cyclosporine has to be compounded the one pharmacist who does tis was away and noone was able to fill her script just in a couple of days she was vomiting and went back to all her symptoms, and being disabled myself there was no pharmacy close that did compounding now more days go by I found a place on line Diamondback in Az another 4 days back and forth to the vet I finally got the meds from Az but they weren’t working it had been too long without, I guess back to internist wanted to give a higher dose of cyclo 20 mg 1 per day gave her first one last night, she has barely moved all day, is lethargic, eyes are puffy,drippy and her poor nose is so clogged up and today is Christmas, I have to watch this 24 hrs a day as I am in the house so much, it effects me so badly when Ishe gets ill and I get so pissed now with bringing her to the vet so much and she doesn’t seem to get better, I wanted to just get her back on the 18 mg per day of the cyclo that she did so well on and now reading all of your posts I wonder if Ishe really has stomatitis(lab result at time of biopsy) she has no outbreak in her mouth and never did except for that growth and all the upper resp. problems I have mentioned, she sneezes when shes in this state a lottle also, I don’t know what to do anymore, I just want her to be comfortable and if the meds she takes aren’t working properly am I suppose to keep putting her thru all these meds and side effects she gets with them,now I have to wait to call the vet she now sees it being a holiday, I am beginning to wonder if stomatitis is what she should be getting treatment for, hope the dose of 20 mg of cyclo wears off soon and I just have to pray for her and wait til tomorrow for vet to come back to work, anyone out there have any advise or thought. Sorry the story is so jumbled as I said I am not well myself, but I cant stand seeing her go through this again. thanks and happy holiday

    • Angela,

      Wow! You and Ishe have been through a lot. It sounds like Ishe is very lucky to have you because you clearly love her dearly.

      Before I say what I am going to say I will give you a disclaimer. I want you to know that I am not a vet, nor do I have any kind of medical training. Everything I know about stomatitis has been from my experience with Lily, and what I’ve been told by my vet and the cat rescue group I adopted Lily from. So read what I’m going to say knowing that I am NOT a medical expert.

      I am unaware that stomatitis causes tumors. The word “stomatitis” literally means “inflammation of the mouth.” The gums and throat get red and inflamed, and I think it is very unlikely that stomatitis will cause tumors.

      Then there is the matter of the biopsy that was done on Ishe. I could be wrong, but I think a biopsy would rule out a variety of causes, like cancer, instead of look for stomatitis. I just some research on this and found that there aren’t any lab tests that can diagnose stomatitis. My guess is that the vet may have found no specific cause for the tumor so decided that it may have been from stomatitis, but I am uncomfortable with that diagnosis because, as I said above, I don’t think stomatitis causes tumors.

      If I am right, then it is possible that Ishe is being given the wrong treatment for whatever is causing her problems. Stomatitis does not cause puffy or runny eyes, sneezing, or other respiratory problems. I know these can be common ailments for persians, especially those with pushed in faces, but I wonder if it is worse that you would normally expect with a persian. Has Ishe been tested for feline HIV? My mom’s cat has had respiratory problems his whole life (sneezing, horrible snot, trouble breathing, etc.) and he was diagnosed with feline HIV a few months ago, and her vet said that feline HIV causes these very symptoms. Perhaps that is what Ishe has? I don’t know what she’s treating her cat with (I just asked but she hasn’t had a chance to respond yet – I’ll follow up after I hear from her).

      I’ve sent prayers for you and Ishe.

      Rochelle

  271. My cat, Taz,was diagnosed today and I am glad I found this website. I have
    already contacted the Dallas Dental Service Animal Clinic as Megan Head suggested. This sounds very reasonable. My vet is going to fax them for the information and do the bloodwork, then send a blood sample to the clinic and I should have the LPS syrup. They say my kitty will probably return to normal as his symptoms will be controlled. The meds are about $45 a mo. their cost, but vet may charge a little more. Follow up bloodwork is needed about every 6 mo. if he is doing well. My vet also added COQ10 along with the lysine and antibiotics for now.. I will continue lysine and COQ10 later anyway. I also sprinkle a little powder from a Forte Flora packet on any cats food if they don’t want to eat. They love it. I have too many cats or they would get the whole packet. It is less expensive on Amazon, by the way. The LPS is not a cure but
    should help and I will post again with any results I have.

    • Linda,

      I’m so glad to hear that the Dallas clinic is being helpful to you and Taz! Please do keep us posted.

      The cat rescue group I adopted Lily from told me about Forte Flora some time this past year. They said that some people have had positive experience using it with stomatitis kitties. I didn’t try it with Lily because her stomatitis was already being controlled by what I was doing, but I have used it as a probiotic and my cats loved it.

      For anyone who sees this, you can buy Forte Flora for cats at Amazon here.

      Rochelle.

    • MH,

      My vet knows that my youngest daughter has chronic health problems and I’m positive that she would have given me any kind of warning if stomatitis posed a threat to humans. So I feel confident in saying that there is no risk to humans. I’m pretty sure this is one of the illnesses that is not transmittable to humans.

      Rochelle

  272. Hi,
    Hope my comments maybe helpful to Olivia, our cat displayed the usual effects of stomatitis when feeding, pain, running away from food, severe dribbling, etc. He had developed diabetes and soon after stomatitis. As starvation appears to be the enemy of cats with this/these conditions, concurrent with treatment for diabetes we decided to feed him liquidised meat. They MUST eat, they will die else. We would boil beef offcuts, not too fatty, chicken, etc., and liquidise and he was able to handle this, only occasionally rejecting larger unliquidised bits. He also took a distinct liking to milk with a dash of cream added, at the same time as food. Milk is not normally an ideal food but these were not ideal conditions, it seemed to help slide food down his throat.
    We added Lysine and Plaque-Off sprinkled directly to food. We avoided fish.
    He has not been cured but is now eating normal canned wet food chopped into half-inch cubes. His dribbling is much reduced but he does have bad days. He purrs a lot and sleeps a lot but he has gained weight and seems happy with life, stretching out in the sun, etc. But it is a long, patient haul, progress very slow. But if he/she eats, not much chance of the undertaker!

  273. Hi all,
    I’m no expert, but be careful of deli/processed meat; it’s just as bad for animals as humans. Instead, cook an organic chicken or turkey in broth and slice it up. It’ll last a long time. My cat loves it in broth on the plate.
    I also use an immune-boosting supplement that is fantastic for both humans and animals, and has helped even the stomatitis to a large extent, but ONLY ONE brand works. It’s a tincture you can easily put 2 drops in, say, tuna water, that all cats drink up every last drop joyfully. It’s called ‘echinacea/goldenseal plus’, and the brand is Terra Firma. It’s organic, wild-crafted from Eugene, OR. I have cured more ills in cats with this alone, than I can count!

  274. i know i’ve posted this before but some of you may have missed it, my scardy cat with no teeth but front canines, last year after trying so many different ways of feeding him i started using baby food, i buy gerber first and second stage or year, i get the jars of meat , chicken and gravy turkey and gravy or either with broth, he like them all, i pour it in his bowl and then add water to the jar to get rest of food and to make it more soupy, he loves it and i can also put his supplements in too, in addition i buy the butterball 97-98 % fat free turkey from deli in shavings and dice itup real fine and he eats that twice a day also. he also eats plenty of dry food so he is getting the nutrients he needs, along with the plaqueoff and lysine he gets a 4mg prednisolone every other day. he still has a bad day of drooling once in a while but he is so different from a year ago it would bring tears to your eyes. the baby food i look for on craigslist for people selling that either get too much or their baby wont eat and i find it cheap at time, always half price or lower. thank you rochelle for this site, you have saved my scardy cats life, he was close to gone when i discovered your first story of lily

  275. I don’t know why but the reply button isn’t working for me.

    I have tried just about everything for Sullivan. I have three other cats that I free feed, so he has Merrick kibble available all the time.

    I have bought honest kitchen, which is dehydrated food to which you add water. He won’t eat that.

    I bought Freshpet, which is refrigerated food. No luck there.

    He seems to do best when offered the pate mixed with warm water, but even then, it’s so sad to watch him try to eat.

    He did so much better when he came home. He was like a different cat. I worry now that it was just the strong pain meds he was on that made him feel better.

  276. I am struggling with the same thing with my cat Sullivan. He seems to feel a little better, but he still struggles when eating. I had all of his teeth except the canines pulled a few weeks ago. He is still eating canned food. I buy the pate kind, add warm water, and mix it to where it is a consistent soupy texture. He ever struggles to eat that.

    I am worried that if this doesn’t work that we are out of options. I would hate to put him to sleep, but I know I can’t let him live like this forever if we don’t see some type of improvement.

    • Christal,

      Have you tried feeling dry food to Sullivan? Wet food can be painful for stomatitis kitties because it requires the tongue far more than dry food does. Lily eats Iams and does great with it. Iams comes in tiny little kibbles and doesn’t need to be crunched to be swallowed.

      Rochelle

  277. My first experience with stomatitis-like symptoms was with a rescued cat that was also FIV positive. She had red inflamed gums, loose teeth, screamed while trying to eat, pawed at her face and became dehydrated from not eating. She was treated with Clavamox after dental surgery. Some improvement but not enough. She was them treated with Clindamycin for oral infection and again not 100%. She continued to have the drooling (from lack of teeth also) and still had the raw-meat-redness in the back of her mouth, and continued to scream when she tried to eat. The vet then consulted with a lab and prescribed AZITHROMYCIN which was effective during the first 10 day treatment, and then had to be repeated because the redness was not resolved. A few days after the second 10 days of Azithromycin she began eating normally, with a few incidents of face pawing and crying, which are now basically gone. I was reading previous emails from a fellow rescuer who had a bartonella infected stomatitis cat that was successfully treated with Azithromycin as well. Her cat also had to have many teeth removed due to the infection. Please try the Azithromycin, it will help alleviate the suffering of the stomatitis cats, and is in my experience THE CURE.
    A lot of vets don’t have experience with rescues, or this particular infection, so please do your research and get the proper help for your cat. It is also thought that stomatitis is related to calici virus and is contagious in cat populations. My years of rescue experience show that treating a cat symptomatically will get better results than expensive tests which are too often inconclusive. Find a vet who works with rescues (ask your local rescues and shelters) that won’t burden you with unnecessary expensive tests in order to pad their bills.
    P.S. My vet charged $100 for the dentistry because the cat was a rescue. He doesn’t charge for visits, only for treatments. The meds cost me $25 each for the Clavamox and the Clindamycin, and $45 for the Azithromycin.

    • Hello,

      This sounds like very good advice. I’ve given Azithromycin to my daughter many times but didn’t know it could also be used on cats. Hopefully this will be helpful to others who find themselves with stomatitis kitties.

      Thank you for sharing,
      Rochelle

  278. Hi, I am glad to read this post but I wish I had found it sooner. My cat, Kitten, had teeth that were in really bad shape, maybe at 1 or 2 years old, and her gums were inflamed. The original vet thought she might have stomatitis. I could not afford a dental at that point. She was not drooling or anything then. About two years ago, intermittently she would get antibiotics and steroids and it would help briefly but then it would come back. Usually I would try some * natural * route but I have had mixed results with that with my other cats over the years (although lately I have seen with another cat who had an eye flare up, due to stress resulting in herpes simplex flare up I was told, how Lysine is quite effective).

    I went to a new vet in late July of this year who arranged for someone else to pay for her dental and have all her teeth removed. It seemed like such a great thing that she arranged this but … in retrospect I wonder. I did not know about the xray situation you outline above (insisting on that – I am pretty certain they did not do so). I know that you (we) have to double check everything the vets say – perhaps I was too trusting or just felt resigned about it. This is a very detailed, informative helpful post and I so wish I had found it.

    Kitten had been drooling more lately. She was only 5 years old. Because she had drooled in the past, I honestly did not think she was in crisis but the vet didnt give me any follow-up instructions – check her mouth or this or that. I should have… I think I thought the dental surgery was going to really help her. Finances have definitely been an issue.

    When I brought another cat to this same vet earlier this month, she asked how Kitten was doing and I said … she still drools. The vet sort of brushed it off as not a big deal. I wish she had asked some other questions like … is her mouth inflamed, how is her mood or whatever. She did not.

    On Wednesday, Kitten was sitting in one place on the bed for awhile not facing me. I don’t know why I did not check on her, pet her. I just got a new foster kitten and so much of my attention was on this kitten and his health (had a URI originally then some vomiting). Later, she moved onto the sofa. I did not check on her, pet her (again, I am baffled at why not).

    I knew she hadn’t eaten – she usually jumped up if she heard a can open – but she had acted normal the day prior so I didn’t think it was a huge thing. It wasn’t until late at night I moved her from the front room (she was in the other room with the new cat) into the bedroom. I petted her and she was very lethargic. I gave her some yogurt, coconut oil and syringed some water and she was not very responsive. I did not think she was dying. I laid down next to her and petted her – she purred – and I slept next to her on the floor feeling she had not gotten enough love lately.

    An hour or so later she started open mouth breathing and I rushed her to the emergency vet and she died there. He said her throat was very red, inflamed and symmetrical, could be stomatitis or something else. He took a sample of it and gave it to me (although I can’t really afford a biopsy of it).

    I called the vet. When I told her what the emergency vet said about the throat, she said it could be stomatitis or something else which I wrote down but I was not familiar with (aspherogitis – sp?). (I honestly thought Kitten did have stomatitis…. but I guess I didn’t understand that how she reacted to the removal of the teeth would ultimately determine that.) I said to vet: is that usually fatal? She said: no, no. it is managed. And I said: well if it is not managed, is it fatal? And she said: well, if the airways closed off. I said: Oh.

    I feel very much at fault for not informing myself 100% and calling her with more questions. I had personally been very overwhelmed lately. But I also hope that the vets will be very clear and be sure they are outlining everything as specifically as possible – as you did here. Kitten had unfortunately lived with not a great mouth situation for awhile – but she never died and I never was told she was at risk of dying – by any vet. So I do not know if it is something else related to the teeth being removed which was only four months ago. It is so heartbreaking.

    Sorry to go on so long and I hope I don’t make someone else really worried. I wonder if you have heard of anything like this. Thank you.

    • Cat,

      I am so very sorry to hear about Kitten’s passing. Somehow I missed notification of your comment which is why I didn’t approve it right away. I would have if I had seen it, and for that I am also sorry.

      Although I have not heard of a cat dying specifically from stomatitis I am sure it can happen. I don’t know about the throat closing, but I can imagine it happening from lack of food or water because it hurts too much to swallow in advanced cases. Unfortunately, drooling is a sign that the throat is so raw and painful that a cat doesn’t even want to swallow her own saliva.

      As difficult as it may be to do, please don’t be too hard on yourself. Cats are notorious for hiding illnesses and we humans often don’t realize something is wrong, or how severely wrong a health issue is, until the cat is close to death. I’ve experienced that myself with two of my cats, both of which died because I didn’t know they were really sick until it was too late. I felt horrible guilt with each of their passings, especially the second one because we were out of town and I honestly thought he would be okay, even though we knew he was sick. I even promised the friend who was watching him that he wouldn’t die before we got home, but he ended up dying the morning we were to return. I will carry the pain of that with me forever, but I also know that there was no way to know that he was as sick as he was.

      It is sad to me that so many vets seem to ignore x-rays after teeth have been pulled. One of my cats has teeth fragments in her jaw because our previous vet didn’t do x-rays and I didn’t know he should. I guess it’s a cost cutting measure? Surely they know it should be done because they know how fragile cat teeth are.

      If Kitten had her teeth removed four months prior to her death, it was still too early to know how she would have responded to the tooth extraction. It can take up to six months for stomatitis to clear up, if it will, after teeth are pulled. It sounds like this vet didn’t check Kitten’s throat to see how she was progressing.

      I hate to say this, but it sounds like you might want to find another vet. You may want to call cat rescue groups in your area and ask them who they recommend. Rescue groups will often know which vets are best to go to.

      My prayers go out to you.

      Rochelle

      Unfortunately, Moss passed away last night, and my daughter is devastated. She knows he most likely died because of her and she thinks she’s a horrible person for what happened. But she’s not horrible. The truth is that these things happen. It’s awful and sad when it does, but it does.

  279. Hi,

    I just read all your helpful tips. My cat, Mozart, has has stomatitis for about 3 years now, and he’s only 4. He had all teeth but his canines removed about a month and a half ago, and he still seems to be in pain, which I am associating with the healing process. He recently has cut down on his eating and it is worrying me… Is there anything out there that your feed your cat which doesn’t irritate Lily’s mouth? He seems to really like gravy with his wet food, but he can’t solely survive on that. Thank you for any help you may offer!

    -Olivia

    • Olivia,

      Lily eats Iams (I mistakenly said Science Diet when I first responded to you) which comes in tiny little kibbles that she eats without any problem. I struggled to keep her from eating the kibbles during the 10 day period after her tooth extraction surgery when she wasn’t supposed to eat dry food and she’s been eating it ever since.

      Rochelle

  280. It can’t be contagious ,I had four cats ,and if course they share water and sneak from others bowls ,only one cat had it,the others are fine ,so I wouldn’t worry too much.

  281. For those dealing with diabetes, please come over to http://www.felinediabetes.com and join the Feline Diabetes Message Board (FDMB). All of us have, or have had, diabetic cats and we have info on helping you reduce costs.
    Example: prescription food is not necessary to treat feline diabetes. There are many over the counter foods which are low carb. Pop over to http://www.catinfo.org and read what Dr Lisa Pierson (vet) says about feline nutrition, and check out the food lists in the right hand column. Once has the protein, fat, and carbohydrate breakdowns by % of calories, another list has phosphorus content for those of you with renal cats.

  282. Hi, I have a cat now that has stomatitis and is on steroids. The vet has told me it is not contagious but I am really worried about my multiple other cats may get it. Last year I had a cat that had stomatitis and had teeth extracted but she continued to get worse and had to be put down. That vet told me stomatitis is very contagious for other cats you have. Does anyone have any info on whether it is or not contagious?

    • Linda,

      I’m so sorry to hear that one of your cats was put to sleep over this terrible disease.

      This is something I’ve been asked quite a bit and wish I had a definitive answer, but I don’t. My vet told me that it isn’t contagious, but the cat rescue woman I adopted Lily from thinks it is.

      All I can tell you is my situation. I have five cats and they all get the PlaqueOff and Lysine. Every morning I give it to them in small bowls in the kitchen. When they are done they then go to each others bowls and lick them clean. This means they have been licking Lily’s bowl for over a year now, and none of them have gotten stomatitis. In my experience, it is not contagious.

      That being said, someone in one of the many comments on this site suggested that maybe the disease is contagious when it is active, which is noticeable by an increase in drooling and/or blood at the mouth. Lily has not been in this state since some time last year (February, 2013, I think). That makes sense to me, and if Lily ever gets that way again I will keep the other cats away from her bowl, just in case.

      Rochelle

  283. To everyone who has a pet suffering from stomatitis,
    I have a cat that was diagnosed with stomatitis a little over a year ago. After researching this disease,I decided not to remove his teeth and I started on the steroid shots and vet meds. After two months there was no improvement and my cat was still suffering and in pain. I proceeded to scour the internet for help and stumbled across a veterinarian that was working on a cocktail that would help alleviate the symptoms of stomatitis. Unfortunately,the vet(Bob Wiggs)has since passed away but his research is still going on. The clinic that is fine tuning this cocktail is called Dallas Dental Service Animal Clinic and their phone number is (972)385-8400. I called them up and asked them lots of questions about the drugs used in this cocktail(all are fine for your pet)as well as could i get some for my cat to try. They said yes and after doing a few things with my vet(another full teeth cleaning, another steroid shot, and blood work) I recieved my first month supply for my cat. After about 2 to 3 weeks I noticed a change in the way Collin was eating. He did’nt seem to be in as much pain. He started to gain weight and got his normal rolly polly self back after about 5 months. He had his first blood work and teeth cleaning one year after starting the cocktail and everything is good. My vet is very surprised and pleased about how this is working.

    Now, this may not work for your pet but I am very glad I found these people.I hope this helps someone.
    Aloha,Megan

    • Megan,

      Thank you for sharing this! I’m so glad it has helped your cat and it might help others, too.

      Rochelle

  284. This site may be a lifesaver for Java Precious.
    Java was diagnosed with stomatitis in early 2009. After a few months on antibiotics and steroids, we eventually let our vet remove all her teeth. Her mouth remained flaming red,and nothing helped. Finally, in Oct 2009, we took her to a dental specialist who removed all the pieces of tooth left by the shoddy extractions of our vet (lots of $$$$). The extractions were horrific because he had to take little tooth pieces from the jaw bone. Java was force fed for six months after that. Java was the worst case the dentist had ever seen. Oh, and she still did not get better.

    Since then we have a new vet and Java still has flaming inflammation that extends down her throat and causes her sinuses to flood her nose with mucus. She can barely breathe. She gets prednisolone 4mg in the morning, and bupurnex at night.

    We have started her on Cosequin (instead of Seraquin), Plaque Off, L-Lysine (powder and gel) twice a day.

    Any estimate as to when these new potions may start working?

    Just to let everyone know: despite the many serious problems Java Precious has, every day she kicks butt and lords over the rest of the brood in the house. She eats like a pig, purrs whenever stroked, and occasionally attacks a ball. She has decided her quality of life is worth fighting for.

    • Margaret,

      I’m so sorry to hear about your kitty’s horrible tooth extraction experience! This, unfortunately, highlights the need for post-operative x-rays to make sure there are no tooth fragments in the gums. Java has truly had a tough time.

      I don’t know about the Cosequin because I haven’t used it, but the Lysine should work fairly quickly, while the PlaqueOff takes up to eight weeks for improvement. My experience using PlaqueOff on Lily is that it really does take about two months for it to help, but once it did Lily had her life back. Hopefully others can share about their experiences with Cosequin.

      It is good news that Java “eats like a pig” because that means her throat isn’t too sore to swallow food! Being playful is also a good sign, so hopefully Java’s inflammation will soon be under control.

      Prayers are being sent your way.

      Rochelle

  285. Hi Cheryl, A few words about diabetes in your Tommy. Our Chado had this problem a year ago. I did a lot of internet research and came to the conclusion that Lantus Glargine was the best approach. I persuaded our vet to give a prescription and we purchased a pack, with 5 x 3ml tubes. Expensive, equivalent to 95 US dollars, but there is enough to treat more than one cat.
    Injections are easy and painless if done properly at home. I use MicroFine syringes. Blood glucose has to be monitored and cheap instruments are available for about 20 US dollars.The full procedure is available online but I can send you details directly if you want. Needless to say, great care has to be taken but we succeeded in totally curing his diabetes. Essential with treatment is low carbohydrate food.
    Thereafter, this type of food is necessary to keep diabetes at bay.
    Some people say, and I do agree, that spending 95 dollars on human grade insulin is immoral. But the cost is small compared to vet treatment, so we give a bit more to human charities.

  286. Oh! I didnt mean to sound as if I was down-playing the financial burden on you. I know what a burden it is to have a big heart and deep compassion for animals. I am happy that you have been able to do what you have done and I commend you on it, highly!! I love anybody that is willing to give up their life and struggle, financially, all for the love and care of the innocent!! It tells me what kind of person I am dealing with and there are not many like us!! Even those big organizations, who help animals, many of them would never be willing to suffer the huge expense. They talk big but when you really get in deep conversation with them, many of them sound very shallow in just how far they would really go into their part of personally giving up themselves for such a cause.

    I am on disability too. My husband is a welder, installing commercial chilled water systems and his income is what we live on for bills and food and just everything for ourselves. He now makes a gross yearly income of $38,500. Of course, bring home pay is much less. It takes three fourths one of his paychecks, for a month, just for gas to get to and from work. I sit home and only use my vehicle to go to the grocery store and the veterinarian and anything that does come up that I must tend to. I only put approximately 3000 miles or less on my personal vehicle, per year. I try not to have to use gas.

    My disability check goes for the care of cats and it takes every dime. I get a gross pay of $9600 per year – and you know they give us a little $20 dollar raise each year and they didnt do that for a year or two. But my check is gone. Cat food, medical care for cats, flea treatments and a few have been brought inside due to their age and then I have a few personal cats and so I have cat litter expense too.

    My husband had a better paying job when I first took on rescuing cats in a very big way. He was making $12k more per year. The loss of that income has hurt us very badly, due to what I took on with two cat colonies I care for and I will not forsake those cats! They have been my responsibility since 2005 and they trust only me. There are a few who trust my husband but I am the one they know.

    There are currently 51 cats in my care. They all have a name. They all know their names. They all come when I call them by name. I have them written down and I mark them off as they pass away or I add to the list if something takes place where I end up caring for another one. I use my list for medical and flea treatment times, so that I make sure I dont double dose anybody or so I dont miss anybody. There are those that wont allow me to treat them for fleas and so I sit and comb them when they get close enough for lovin time – and for some reason they love to be combed, so at least I can do that much. So far, when any have gotten sick, that is when they come to me and get closer and actually allow me to help, so they do trust me to that extent.

    I have them hidden in an area of woods and I never tell anybody where they are. I have protected them for nine years and I will protect them with my life. My husband, son, his wife, mom and sister know where they are and I have given instructions that, if I die, they are to take care of those cats and they are to never give them up! I do not trust anybody, not even the organizations, to get these cats safely cared for. I trust myself and my little family.

    We lost our home, of ten years, in hurricane Jeanne. We lived in an apartment complex for seven year, before buying this home we are in now. The apartments is where the majority of the cats came from. Only 12 have been saved from here, where we are now. The apartments situated with ours on one side of the road and another part on the other side. The colonies has formed, one on each side. When we moved here, I gathered up every cat and brought them, which was quite an ordeal with having to go through gettin them adjusted to a new place and new surroundings. Tommy came here and his skin was in a mess, with scabs, sores and a black, gooey fungus. I cared for him and he now has a pretty coat of soft fur.

    I use a place here that does cats in these circumstances. Some, I have paid $25 to get fixed. Some have cost $10 and some have cost $5 – depending if there is a special going on. I have had to pay extra for those that needed extra medical attention – like a ripped open paw and an eye gouged out – on and on –

    I cant believe that out of so many cats — many have died, so there are a lot more that I have cared for than what is left — I just cant believe that one cat, out of all of the cats in my life, has Stomatitis!! I am glad but just so odd.

    As for your Stomatitis, I hope it does well. I get broken hearted at the thought of any cat that is harmed by anything. When I see one dead on the road, I cry. I even cry over the possums and raccoons I see dead on the road. I am very sensitive to the harm of all animals. I have Bipolar Disorder and my heart and emotions run very deep.

    Bless you for what you do!! And I am sure that God has a special place for us because we give up ourselves to help the creatures he created. We are special people. Surely we were put here to do what we do because we will do without so much, all for the love of animals. It takes a special person to do that :o)

  287. thanks cheryl, i was using some prednisolone we had left over from another cat, we have 6 outside only and 9 inside only cats. scardy cat is outside only, was feral with his brother who also has stomatitis, he still has his teeth and is doing better now that i am using the plaqueoff and lysine. i didn’t mean to give the idea of finances being no problem. truth is that i was disabled in 2003 and fought for disability for 5 yrs, the retroactive payment i received in 2008 helped us catch up and afforded us to be able to do some of the rescues. i am lucky because i’m older and my home is paid off, coincided with disability in 2003, not sure about lucky but stuff happens. my wife and i live on very little, she is a licensed teacher and gave up teaching to do the rescue full time. i do a little auto buying and selling in my old age and use whatever we get for the cats. i just wanted to pass on the idea of ways to deal with vets, my wife beat the bushes in the early days of her endeavors to get favors from different ones. we were getting spay and neuter for as little as 25 and 40 when we were paying ourselves. lots of vets in our area, not so many are still willing to help because our city claims to have “solved” the spay and neuter problem here. far from true but it is so much better today than before. it’s just that it still takes a lot of edgy work to get it done through the city programs. hope you kitty does well.

  288. Jimmy, Hi and nice to meet you. I am sorry for your Stomatitis kitty. I cant afford to do what you have done with high dollars coming out all at once. I am happy that you have been able to help animals in a high dollar fashion. I sure wish I could. If I was told I had to have even $300 cash, I couldnt do it and would have to charge it.

    I bought a toothbrush and toothpaste for pets but Tommy is not going to allow me in there. I have baby bunting wrapped him in a blanket so to try doing this but Tommy just is not going to allow it. I baby bunting wrap hard to handle cats so to medicate them and Tommy is the first one, out of only Lord knows how many, that I just cant do it with.

    Tommy’s Prednisolone is 2.5mg, so I am guessing that must be a good thing, being as he has to take it. I am hoping that the use of supplements and no grain food will help keep the Prednisolone useage very low. It is too soon for me to know on that. Hopefully Tommy’s Dec. 2nd appointment will look real good. He will have about nine weeks of supplements and no grain food in him by then.

  289. for cheryl, what is the dosage of the perdnisolone for tommy every other day, i’m giving scardy cat pills too and mine are 4mg, i give him one and then skip a day and give him half. this is my idea because my wife and my vet don’t want him to have it at all because of the problem of diabetes. i can identify with you with the rescue, my wife started here in san antonio years ago and we paid for everything to do with the tnr until just a couple years ago. she met people over the years that got involved and along the same time the big groups were getting started. the money has been a real issue, even today we still pay for a lot ourselves. one of our rescues”pets” just had surgery last week. 1400.00 for ear tumors, one thing i insist her do, since she deals with the vets, i always make her ask if we pay cash can we get a discount. we had a 600.00 bill last month for a dog that we ended up adopting out, the vet let us out for 375.00. i mention this because some of you may not realize that the vets pay for credit card use and sometimes are willing to pass on their breaks. i was in business years ago so i was well aware of cash business as opposed to credit card use. and for rochelle, scardy cat is doing okay, still has good days and bad, so far still coming to me to clean his mouth before he eats. amazing how smart cats can be, you can tell it is uncomfortable and he moves around a little but still lets me clean him. really appreciate the info from all the posts.

  290. I came to give an update. Tommy went to the vet this morning. He has had to go every two weeks since August. He has gained 2.2 pounds since August, now weighing 10.7 pounds.

    He is still a little swollen at the back hinge area of his mouth but it is not a deep red. It is red but better than last visit. He did not get a shot today. He now starts one Prednisolone pill every other day and at the first of November he is also to start back on Chlamydia, seven days, once a month.

    He is to go back to the vet on December 2nd. He will then have a blood test done so to monitor his sugar, liver and kidneys, due to taking Prednisolone and that will have to be done periodically for as long as he has to take Prednisolone.

    Hopefully, all of the supplements I am giving tp Tommy will show they will help by December and maybe be able to back off from how often he will take Prednisolone. Tommy has only been taking the home stuff for almost four weeks and the bottles say it can take three to eight weeks before result are seen.

    I know that Stomatitis and Diabetes can be treated but Diabetes causes other complications. Diabetes cost over $200 a month to treat. More like $300. I already had a cat with Diabetes. It is woefully expensive. I cannot afford it – again. It is a losing, expensive battle.

    What is even worse is what Diabetes does, even with being treated. The Diabetic wound easily. There are infections that occur and wounds will not heal. My Diabetic cat got a wound in her throat, simply by scratching herself. I paid a total of $500, having her neck sewn up three times. Each time she was sewn, the wound would continue to rip, starting from the bottom of where she was sewn.

    The infection would not go away. She was going to continue splitting open from her neck straight down her body. There was nothing that could be done. I put thousands into trying to keep her alive, only to be forced to put her to sleep because she could not heal.

    So, with that said, I am obviously very aware of what Prednisolone can lead to for my Tommy. I will cross that bridge if and/or when we get to it. I dont see anybody jumpin up to pay thousands of dollars to try something else and I do not have the thousands — So, do not judge me for allowing the treatment that I can afford for my Tommy. It is the best I can do.

    There is one more thing — Let’s say I had three and four thousand to have Tommy’s teeth extracted by a veterinarian in dentistry — only for Tommy not to even make it through the ordeal Or for Tommy to die within a few months of something totally different And that kind of thing happens more often than all of these self proclaimed pro-talking people think. I have dealt with thousands of cats.

    I have been rescuing cats since I was four years old. I was doing trap, spay, neuter, return befoe the so-called big gins, alley cat allies, ever came into existence. I say that because they like to brag about how they are the ones who made feral day a big deal. They are the ones ‘noticed’ for what they do. We little people, who get nothing donated, no tax breaks and live a very poor life because of what we do – get no credit for what we do.

    Cats are complicated creatures and there is so much to cats that even your best veterinarian will never know everything there is to know. A real good veterinarian will admit it. We love them. We do the best we can by them. We mourn their loss. I have so many of them in my heart and I do suffer grave depression each and every time one is lost.

    I am thankful to have found Rochelle’s information. She is doing the best she can and so am I. God bless you.

  291. Thank you for reassuring me to get a second opinion. My vet recently acted accusingly toward me like it was MY fault 4 of my cats had Stomatitist. I am switching vets and trying all options before tooth extraction. Thank you for the info and taking the time for this very important situation. Many blessings and purrs to your precious kitty…

    • Nanette,

      You are very welcome. It saddens me to hear how many people are not treated with respect when it comes to their decisions concerning their cats. I hope you are able to find a vet you can trust and who can help offer your cat relief from this disease.

      Blessings to you, too.

      Rochelle

  292. Well at the price of $26 for 60 pills plus $13 shipping and handling — And to give three pills a day is 90 pills a month – I cant afford Seraquin — And I could not even get it to go through my paypal, so paypal did not like something about the whatevers of it trying to go through — So I could not purchase it, even if I really wanted to.

    And there is only one seller on EBay selling this item, right now — And PayPal wont even put it through — I cant take the chance if I could buy it that the next time I need it, I wont be able to buy it.

    It needs to be a USA item that I know I can buy every single time I need to buy it. But none of this matters — I cannot afford it at the price I see it listed anyhow – I aint into payin shipping and handling charges out the rear and #13 bucks to ship a little pack to me is insane and I refuse to pay that for shipping. I am not an idiot and I do not go about doing idiotic things like that! Besides the fact that I am not rich enough to go about doing such idiotic things with money.

  293. Hi Cherryl, Polar has had a flare up and would not take his Serquin or L-Lysine, I have got him 95% better so now he has just started taking them, I put the Serquin on the floor and he thinks they are a treat, my vet stopped the antibiotic because she said to see if it worked, I did buy some so I had it in doors just in case, he has been with out see if your vet will do this, he had been with antibiotic now for 4 months, thinking of you and your fur baby xxxx

  294. Oh – I will add – I did attempt to purchase two packs of Serquin but for some reason it wont go through my paypal and I dont know if it is because it is from the UK or what the reason is that it wont go. I was going to try to pay for it on my paypal credit but the seller does not have that option and so I was going to let it take me to my paypal account to see if I could choose to use paypal credit from there but it wont even go to paypal. Not that I can afford this anyhow. I figured I would go even deeper in debt than I already am in over this mess.

  295. Oh fudge!! That stinkin $13 dollars is shipping and handling! The pack of 60 pills cost almost $26 bucks plus $13 shipping and handling. To give Tommy three pills a day is 90 pills per month. So, we are talkin more money than I have left after I do what I am already doing. I am eating Ramen Noodles just to be able to do what I am already doing. Like gee – what do I do? Eat one piece of bread a day? Or maybe I should just forget eating all together hahahaha That should do it haha

  296. I just found Seraquin on Ebay for cats and dogs! This is a pill form. Is there a liquid form? This pill looks kind of big haha Tommy will kill me if I have to put this in his face three times a day. A pack of 60 pills cost almost $13 dollars. Three a day is $20 per month, I guess. And so, are you giving this in pill form? I do not think Tommy is going to put up with this pill. He really puts up a fight over pills. It says chewable but hhmm maybe I could smash it up and put it in his food??

  297. I just searched Ebay for Seraquin and it came up only with it for dogs in a pill form. I wouldnt know where to begin with it and I dont want to buy something stated for dogs.

    I first tried Purina One for Tommy, but he doesnt like it. I do not know why. The Applaws Chicken and Duck is very small kibble and I am wondering if that is why. I just found another food to try, Fromm – and I forget, right off, which is the smallest kibble flavor, I have to go back to my notes hahaha It is somewhat cheaper than Applaws but not by much.

    I hope the Lysine for Cats and Plaque Off work – and I am adding the Agrimony and Yellow Dock Root and Turmeric Powder too. I cant know if it is working as long as my vet is giving Tommy shots but the only reason he is giving Tommy shots is because Tommy being flared up so bad — SO — if it gets to where Tommy isnt flaring up, and so he wont need the shot, then I can know if the supplements are working or not. Tommy goes back to the vet this coming Saturday. I am praying for no flare up.

    What I am not sure of doing is, if Tommy gets to where he is not flaring up, just by using the supplements, and so if my vet still decides to prescribe the antibiotic, which eventually wont work, should I not give the antibiotic as long as Tommy appears not to be flared up?

  298. You CAN give steroids AND treat diabetes, so it is NOT a death sentence.
    You likely will need to increase the insulin dose to control the increase in glucose that most steroids will cause.

  299. Lynn, this is working so well for my cat,
    I give him Optixcare L-Lysine chews morning & night Aquadent in his water, Seraquin 3 times day and the new one I’m trying is 1 drop of Yellow dock root and 1 drop of Agrimony in a little hot water I give this to him when it gets cold, it is the best he has been in over a year, he has stomatitis & the calici virus,

    Seraquin has Glucosamine HCI, Chondroitin Sulphate & Turmeric Extract in it, Agrimony helps heal oral ulcers and Yellow Dock improves liver function
    in an attempt to remove the perceived toxic cause of the lesion.

  300. I have posted earlier on my cat Brian and still trying to come up with a treatment plan. I did try the l-lysine, plaque off and steroid . I did try the steroid cream compound for his ear but he hated the cream. Often shaking his head so much trying to shake it out. Went back to oral steroid and is back to square one with drooling and VERY lethargic. I did have to set money aside and take him to a vet dentist. He is the “go to” vet dentist in my tri-state area, so I wanted to share his suggestions. If these supplements don’t work it looks like an additional surgery. We had to open a line of credit for this possible surgery. At least I can take 18 months to pay the bill. I did want to share his suggestions: jade lady 0.2 g, bing peng San 5g, gabapentin 100mg and an antibiotic. He also said cats with stomitatis should eat canned food. Texture should be puréed (not chunky style), because the hard is friction on their gums. (Also because of the amount of proteins vs grain content). I will definitely post how this program works. Thanks for all the information provided. It feels awesome to know their are other people looking to help our fur-babies. 🙂

  301. for cheryl, after spending many thousands of dollars on not just my scardy cat with stoatitis, but one other with same, the plaque off and lysine has made more difference than all the other treatments. he was diagnosed a few years ago along with his brother, he is the worse off. our vet recommended to my wife to have his teeth removed along with another cat we had. the other cat died within a month, not sure why but he is gone anyway. scardy cat has had all kinds of medication and also quite a few laser treatments, he would get better and then worse, finally i insisted my wife stop the treatments and the trauma that went along with them. i started with interferon, my other post can explain how i found this and how to use it. i took over his care and was almost convinced to have him put down. about that time i found the story about lily. i started the plaque off and lysine, had been using lysine with all cats already, he actually has days with no drool at all. he has stopped running and hiding from me and waits for me to clean his mouth several times a day, he gets hair mixed in with the drool and needs help cleaning it. i give him the supplements of a morning with diced up deli white turkey meat, he gets a half jar of baby food after eating, he also eats Purina one smart blend dry food along with our other outside cats. he eats more dry food now than he did, i learned on this site why it’s easier to handle for him. he has lots of trouble when trying to eat the pate type wet food. i know this won’t last forever but he is so much better now it’s almost like the early days with him. i don’t think the vets intentionally mislead us i think they are just programmed to push the meds much like people doctors are. when i was taking care of my mom and dad i spent lot’s of time researching their meds and treatments, i have just applied the same tactics to our animals now, i wish i had thought of the similarity sooner but we live and learn.

  302. Cherryl, have you look at ebay for Seraquin, I was reading a post on the inter net and she said she got it from the USA on ebay xxx

  303. I am giving Tommy Lysine for Cats, Plaque Off, Agrimony, Yellow Dock Root, Turmeric. He has been on these just since about September 30th – So I am waiting to see if they help but I cant know if they help as long as my vet is giving him the shot – which my vet said the shot is a strong form of Prednisone. I searched for Seraquin but it appears not to be in the USA and it appears it might need a prescription, even if it was here – which that is up to my vet — but like I said, I am not finding it in the USA and only in the UK.

    I dont know that my vet is informed about holistic methods and I found all of these things due to my constant searching for information. My vet was all knowing about Lysine for cats but he knows nothing about Plaque Off. He looked it up and laughed, while saying it is seaweed and he doesnt get how seawood can help. I am giving it to Tommy anyway because Rochelle gives it to her kitty and she vouches for it and I am trying whatever I can!!

    As is right now — Tommy’s every two weeks to the vet for the shot and office call is costing me $204 per month. His healthy food and supplements is costing me $95 per month. I feed the two cat colonies, costing me no less than $500 per month. This is a lot of money for a gross income of $48k per year. Bring home is much less than that.

    I have a gofundme page, of which there has been one donation of $30. I have a facebook page for Tommy, of which I am having a hard time gettin out there to be seen because I only have 22 very uninterested friends who are majority family that just dont care. The page has 16 likes and one person has donated $10. I have shared my information in a program called Second Life and one person has donated $30 from there. Every little bit helps but it will take a lot of people donating little bits here and there to help us not go under. So, I have to struggle this out and I am eating Ramen Noodles hahaha which has my tummy tore up – but ya do what ya gotta do!! All for the love of cats – and all other animals!!!!

  304. Wow! I have been reading the comments. My vet thinks this is what my cat has. Like Rochelle, we, too, tried various meds to see if they would help Sullivan. It worked for a while, but a week or so after we stopped the meds, he was struggling again. I will say that I am glad that I live in Alabama. My vet quoted me $375 to extract all of his teeth, not thousands.

    • Christal,

      If you decide to have Sullivan’s teeth pulled make sure that your vet does post-surgical x-rays to make sure there are no remaining tooth fragments. Cat teeth are incredibly brittle and break easily, often resulting in fragments being left in the gums which can lead to other health problems.

      I hope your cat starts to improve soon.

      Rochelle

  305. Hi. Have been looking for help with this condition and finding this interesting. My 18month old cat adopted from rescue centre from bad background has been diagnosed with stomatitis although negative for calicivirus or any other named condition.

    She had a dental with 2 teeth out, had lost 2 on her own and has just finished month of antibiotics. She has ALWAYS eaten very well although had horrific breath, and the only sign I had anything was amiss was when she started bleeding from her mouth. Again the vet says only solution is steroids or wholesale extractions. How do you tell how much pain they are in??? I hate to think she’s in pain. She is very nervous anyway but the trips to the vet have caused her great anxiety and she avoids me as much as poss. Her mouth still looks pretty red even now.

    After reading this I have just ordered lysine. She is on Plaque-off already as well as coconut oil and neem powder (antibiotic/inflammatory etc) to try and boost the immune system. She’s on grain free food and one ground up raw meal a day.

    Anyone tried slippery elm? Anything else I’m missing that might help?

    • Julie,

      It is so very hard to know how much pain cats are in because they are masterful at hiding it. When it comes to stomatitis I would look for crying out for no apparent reason, drool with or without blood, running away and hiding for no apparent reason, and an unwillingness to be touched on or near the mouth.

      I do not have any experience with slippery elm, but someone else might who can offer their experience with it.

      Much luck to you and your cat.

      Rochelle

  306. Cherryl, you are doing a great job with Tommy and all your other cats, I have copied my posts of the things I give my cat Polar, he has Stomatitis and the Calicivirus, this is the meds I give him Seraquin has Glucosamine HCI, Chondroitin Sulphate & Turmeric Extract in it, Agrimony helps heal oral ulcers and Yellow Dock improves liver function
    in an attempt to remove the perceived toxic cause of the lesion.
    Hope this helps

    this is working so well for my cat,
    I give him Optixcare L-Lysine chews morning & night Aquadent in his water, Seraquin 3 times day and the new one I’m trying is 1 drop of Yellow dock root and 1 drop of Agrimony in a little hot water I give this to him when it gets cold, it is the best he has been in over a year, he has stomatitis & the calici virus,
    Seraquin has Glucosamine HCI, Chondroitin Sulphate & Turmeric Extract in it, Agrimony helps heal oral ulcers and Yellow Dock improves liver function
    in an attempt to remove the perceived toxic cause of the lesion.

    Agrimony and Yellow Dock are very cheap to buy and last a long time as you only use one drop of each a day, I have spent a long time researching all of this and I have the full support of my vet, one of the other vet at my practice wanted to put him to sleep, I will not go and see this vet again, I will try everything before I think of doing that
    Hope this helps, and keep up your good work xx

  307. I do not have insurance. I do not have insurance on me or my cat(S). What is real hard is that I also take care of two large cat colonies – cost of that is no less than $500 per month – and that is a low estimate. So my Tommy Stomatitis cat expense is killing us. And no I am not going to let anyone take the colonies and relocate them or anything like that — They have been in my care for nine years and I have at minimum two hundred thousand dollars invested into their care – I am their provider and protector and nobody is going to protect them like I will.

    And I threw that in to make sure that the idea to get rid of them is not an option – is known and because too many stupid people just think nothing of it – just throw them all away. Our life is going to be very hard because of Tommy’s condition but it is what we have to do.

    And I am not so keen on rushing to trust a Dental Vet to extract his teeth and give one care if he even makes it through the ordeal – And they will not care – I will have to pay them whether Tommy lives or dies on the table and the money is all they care about.

    And I said that because I have already had a vet do a bunch of stuff to a cat that I knew in my gut he had no business doing due to the condition of the cat and I had to pay him his dollars and put the cat to sleep because of what the jerk did to the cat. All he cared about was that he was gettin his money. He did not care one iota about that cat!

    I have some more horror veterinarian stories … That is why I do not trust them. I have a good vet that I trust – even though what is being done is maybe going to be dangerous in the long term – I know this vet actually really cares about my cat and not about his pocket so much.

  308. My cats pet insurance paid to have his teeth out, as it was making him ill if you have insurance chat to them

  309. Thank you. You are kind. The vet I have for Tommy is a real good vet and down to earth. The only thing is everything I am reading about Stomatitis, the teeth must come out and I cant do that. My vet wont hear of it. I was quite ridiculed about not being able to afford to do it – by a Stomatitis group on facebook. I am so happy for all of those who can afford to whip out three and four thousand bucks to take care of their cat but I cant do that. Someone gave a quote of $2250 for extractions, $400 for pre-op – and then after care — that is some three and four thousand bucks!! Dang man! If I had three or four thousand bucks, I wouldnt be struggling so to pay my house payment!!

    Anhow – being as I am here, I am gonna give a little update on Tommy. I have been praying every day, all through the day and at night. I have been feeding him Applaws – a half of a 2/47 ounce can in the morning and evening so to slip in all of the additives and then dry throughout the day. Tommy eats about six little meals a day, rather than two big ones AND I read that is better for the Stomatitis kitty, anyhow.

    I have been giving him Lysine for cats – a scoop twice a day, Plaque off for cats – a scoop once a day, Turmeric powder – 100mg twice a day, one drop of Yellow Dock Root in the morning and one drop of Agrimony in the evening.

    All of these additives are to build immune system, turmeric is an anti-inflammatory, Plaque Off is self explanatory haha And the other stuff, I have to look at my notes to remember what they are for.

    Two weeks ago, Tommy was to start his seven day antibiotic but I had to take him to the vet before he finished it because he couldnt eat. He got a shot or two, I forget – And we are to go back to the vet tomorrow morning.

    Tommy has done well over these past two weeks. He hasnt ran from his food and he isnt being a recluse. With our cooler weather, he is even doin little cat dances when I let him out on the carport and front yard. He is sleeping with me and not hiding under the bed. So – this means he isnt hurting. Every single day, I have been thanking Jesus for Tommy’s good days.

    I havent been able to look inside of Tommy’s mouth. I have tried to sneak a peep when he yawns but he yawns too fast haha So, I have to wait until tomorrow, when the vet opens his mouth and I can see in there!!!!!

    I am praying that all is good and that Tommy doesnt have to get another one of those shots!! The shot can cause diabetes with prolonged use and my vet is hoping he doesnt have to give it too often. We are hoping Tommy can go on as planned, with the seven day, once a month antibiotic —– I am praying that what I am doing at home could even stop that from havin to be used.

    The negative flack I have gotten from the Stomatitis facebook page was because of the shot and the antibiotic and how the shot can cause diabetes and eventually Tommy will become immune to the antibiotic — My vet knows this and I know this but what is one to do? I am not with any three and four thousand bucks and I cant just let my Tommy be in pain and not able to eat. Same as like with Rochelle and the Prenisone – of which I am goin to mention to my vet if I might should have a prescription on hand just in case I ever need it.

    When you are not rich and you love your cat, you do the best you can!!! And that does not mean we love our babies any less!! It means we are not rich!!

  310. .Feel so for you cherryl ,but if you don’t care of yourself you won’t be able to care for kitty ,I’ve been there a little cars had her dental and I haven’t been in years ,but I’m not in pain ,she was.
    What awful vets you describe, I’m lucky my vet is awesome ,he knows we aren’t rich but do what we need to,he has
    given us second visit prices for a consult when it isn’t ,which is half price,he even kisses my cats ,he used to be on animal hospital with Rolf Harris ( that not so nice man ) in the UK,he’s a gem,you must try find someone who has more empathy for your situation and your cats welfare too priority,not dollars .

    I’ve just had my girl at the vets ,she has been gravely ill fighting a very bad Infection,but at last made some progress ,she was the one I thought had this horrible mouth condition as her mum had it,and the one I had the dental ,she had stopped eating and I feared it was that ny vet assures me she doesn’t have it,I’m ovet the moon to hear that,,well not at this stage of her life mand she’s ten,must have enough of her daddy’s genes whoever he was.
    I truly feel for you all,I went through it with my ellie Mae and it was just horrible ,hugs cherryl ,I hope things get better for you and kitty.

  311. Miriam,
    Both of my card were on azithromyacin they did well on it but my vet said they can not be on it forever because it eventually will do damage to organs. They were only on it for 3 months to treat the bartonella but the stomatitis is still around we just started the plaque off and I am noticing a difference already

  312. Has anyone had experience giving their cat azithromycin? My cat Frankie has been having 1 ml every other day for the last two months and I’m getting different vibes from on-line vets – some say don’t use it indefinitely and others say long time use might cause mild diarrhea. And my vet says its my choice. It works, for Frankie, but I’m wondering if there are side effects. I have not given him any for the last three days and he is a happy cat. He’s been running around all morning playing hide and seek with our 1 year old kitten, Smokie, who arrived at our house about the same time as our blue-eyed boy, Frankie, August 2013. Frankie has been getting L-lysine and PlacqueOff in the morning for the past year, however, he refuses to take the L-lysine in the evening. So I gave up on that. There is Lysine in the dry food that they all get. (We have seven furbabies.)
    Rochelle, I’m going to try doing without the azithromycin and from what I gather Lily isn’t on any medication other than the Predisolone Gel and occasionaly Buperex when needed. Did I get that right? Frankie still has one canine tooth and a couple of teeth at the back. He grooms himself regularly and looks very handsome. I was absolutely thrilled months back when he first started to groom himself, I knew he was feeling better.
    Gotta go Smokie wants to help me type. love getting all the comments—very helpful indeed!!

    • Miriam,

      It makes sense that extended use of azithromycin can cause diarrhea. It is an antibiotic, and using it will kill the good bacteria along with the bad, which often leads to diarrhea. You might want to consider adding a probiotic to your cat’s food while he is on it. Azithromycin is something my daughter has used many times, but I’ve not used it on any of my cats so I don’t know what other long term side effects it can cause.

      You are correct. The only prescription medication that Lily is on right now is the Prednisolone cream, which I rub in her ears. She is also taking the PlaqueOff and Lysine. Lily hasn’t needed the Buprinex in over a year, so I’m confident that those days are now in the past.

      I understand your excitement over Frankie’s grooming. I was very excited the first time Lily hacked up a hairball because it meant she was grooming herself.

      Much luck to you and Frankie.

      Rochelle

  313. I got my Lysine for Cats and Plaque Off yesterday. I am hoping this will help my cat. My cat’s name is Tommy, he is a rescue cat with ear tip just like the Tommy cat in the video you have provided. I had already watched the video, you have provided, while in search on youtube in regards to Stomatitis. I ordered the Applaws food, which I have already mentioned in a previous comment.

    I saw one person say that they were told extraction cost under $1000 – I do not know if this quote is from a Veterinarian who specializes in Denistry for Cats, or not. If that would be the cost for me, I could take that on my Care Credit card —

    But another person got a quote from a Veterinarian who specializes in Dentistry for Cats and that quote is $2250 – Which I do not have and it would take me several years to get that much, if even then —

    I dont mean to sound like -me first before my cat- but I have $5000 need for my own dental work and that is to only prepare me for a further cost for dentures. I have had to forget about my teeth. I have busted up teeth from an auto accident from 1995 – These teeth are gradually, finally, having lots of troubles. I have had some pulled – And that is how I ended up with a Care Credit Card to begin with – because I do not have money to take care of emergencies for my mouth, that are inevitable. I went through some very bad pain with some of these teeth, because the pain started on a weekend day and I had to wait for a Monday holiday to pass before I could see a dentist. I was literally crying in pain.

    I currently have one of these busted teeth that has broken off to where there is only the root – whatever sits just inside the gum and it is as one empty and black spot where it sits. It will give troubles at some point in time. I have already ran my Care Credit up to a limit that is dangerous – I ran it up on Tommy and if I get in pain, nobody is going to get cared for because I wont be able to function. I have periodontal disease, to go along with my busted up teeth issue. I have a couple of front teeth that loosen up from time to time.

    I am not able to have Tommy’s teeth extracted. My finance will not permit it. My finances do not permit my own dental care that is desperately needed. I go around swooshing with peroxide to help my own mouth when I feel something is going awry.

    These Stomatitis groups and pages seem to insist that Tommy needs extraction. His Vet is against it – He says my FIV cat might not make it and he says there is no promise that the extraction would stop the Stomatitis. These other people say I need a second opinion — So? — Say I get a second opinion that differs from my current Vet — How do I know who has the correct opinion? So, then a third opinion is needed and it is not to say that two quacks couldnt agree – So, I still wont know who is correct. And as I have said, I do not have the funds for extractions.

    It has been suggested that I turn my cat over to a no kill shelter, let them treat my precious Tommy and adopt him out to somebody else. That is out of the question!! That is not even a thought in my mind! I have dealt with cat rescue. There is no promise that a future owner would not dump my Tommy out. I did not take kindly to the suggestion that I give my cat to strangers to treat him and they will only treat him if I dont get to keep him — that highly irritated me. They wont help me keep my cat but they will treat my cat so to adopt him out to someone that they can only hope would take proper care of him. I trust my judgement in regards to people, higher than any other’s judgement. Too many adopted cats are only tossed out – homeless once again. I will not allow this opportunity for my Tommy.

    As for now, my Vet is doing a shot that can eventually cause diabetes and he is working with an antibiotic – He knows the danger of diabetes and this shot is only being used to relieve Tommy’s pain while my Vet works out the antibiotic to be used. He has said, as time goes by, the antibiotic will have to be changed to another and eventually a higher dose and eventually get more and more expensive. This is all I know to do for Tommy — I do not have the money to play around with Specialists and their opinions and their high cost. Unless God intervenes, I realize I am going to lose my Tommy, over this, in the end.

    I have no good opinion of Veterinarians of this day. They have abused me with their snobby attitudes in regards to people who do not have the money for them and I am from the old school days when Vets cared enough about animals that they treated them and accepted affordable payments. The Vets today have proven to me that they want their money and they want their money now and your pet means nothing to them – that pet can die if you dont have the money — They have become the same a human doctors of today — It is all about the money and I dont have it so I suffer it.

    Anyhow, below are two videos that the Stomatitis Yahoo Group sent:

    Someone suggested I join a Stomatitis Yahoo Group, so I did – https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Feline-

    I received these two videos, which I had already watched the first one, while searching on youtube about Stomatitis –
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0mHCbFekyc
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyL1YMk46qM

    • Cherryl,

      I’m so sorry to hear about all the difficulties you have been experiencing. Hopefully things will start to improve for you and your cat.

      Regarding tooth extraction, that should be, in my opinion, a last resort. I know if one Facebook group that pushes very hard for all stomatitis cats to get their teeth removed. If you are uncomfortable with any of the groups you are visiting, it might be best to avoid them. No one should pressure you into anything. This advice is only if you aren’t happy with the information you are getting.

      A shelter would, sadly, be a very bad choice for stomatitis kitties. The stress of living in a shelter is known to make stomatitis much worse than it would be in a home environment. I was told that by the cat rescue group I adopted Lily from. I commend you for doing what you can to avoid this option.

      Have you contacted any of the cat rescue groups in your area? They can be a wonderful source of information when it comes to finding a good vet.

      I sincerely hope that you are able to find a treatment option for Tommy that is in your budget.

      Rochelle

  314. Sorry I can’t seem to reply to the comments I left above.. We did do the surgery on Mandy and she made it and is doing much better, she’s a week post op. She’s eating like a horse, but she does seem to have a little of the hacking sounds that I thought indicated stomatits, so that had me worried, although I just saw somewhere on this site that it takes 6 months to know if the surgery was a success because the stomatitis takes some time to heal, so that’s good to know. She had every tooth out, the vet even said it was so bad that part of her gum peeled off during the operation.. eek. but she’s doing well so it’s all good for now, still a big waiting game though.

    • Mike,

      Hopefully Mandy is starting to show improvement how that her surgery was a few weeks ago. Yes, you are right that it can take up to six months to know if the surgery was a success. In our case, it was several months before we knew anything regarding Lily’s stomatitis. Tooth extraction helped Lily, but didn’t completely cure it, which is why she takes medication and supplements. It sounds like Mandy’s teeth were really bad if her gums peeled off (that just sounds awful!).

      Rochelle

  315. the explanation about the dry as opposed to wet makes sense, always wondered about the wet food, my scardy cat would lose about half of what he got before i let him choose what he wanted, as he would eat most would just fall back out the side. i just wanted to reiterate about the turkey deli meat, i’ve changed to butterball 98% fat free, it seems to be less moist and easier for him to pick up. i dice it for a long time so it is really almost ground, i don’t remember if i said this before but i buy it in 1/2 pound packs and feeding him twice a day it lasts about 3 days, depending on how well i’ve eyeballed it. i feed it to him on a paper/cardboard plate, it’s easy for him to pick up the food that way, i put the plaque off and lysine on top and cover it with a little more of the meat instead of mixing it all up. when i give him a pill every other day i just lay it on top and make sure he gets it. he always gets about half a jar of gerbers baby food after the turkey. he eats the dry food at will so i know he is getting the nourishment he needs from the food. he still has good days and bad days but he is so much better than when we were depending solely on the meds from the vet. almost forgot, this is scardy cat i’m talking about. thanks again for this site, probably saved his life.

  316. Thank you, Rochelle! I have already ordered the Applaws and hopefully it will be small kibble!! My cat with Stomatitis, Tommy, is able to eat Purina’s indoor dry cat food because it is small and round, with no sharp edges. I am hoping the Applaws has taken into consideration that some cats cant eat large kibble or kibble with jagged edge in shape. I could not afford the Applaws but I charged it for now to get Tommy started on something in hopes it will help build his immune system to be a little stronger.

    I ordered dry and canned. Tommy likes a little canned but he is mostly a dry cat food lover but I want the cans so to slip in the Lysine and Plaque off. He wont eat cold canned cat food so I ordered the 2.2 ounce cans. I can give half in the morning and half in the evening and be able to leave it sittin in the microwave or oven with a lid on it for the day and it not go bad. I have tried heating canned in the microwave the but the darn stuff starts popping just after a second or two and gets all over the microwave AND I have a hard time judging how long for it to just knock the cold out, so I end up gettin it too hot and then havin to wait around for it to cool off. I am not a good microwave cook hahaha

    The food, along with vet visits and the shots needed for now, are all way out of my income range. It cost $127 for yesterday’s vet visit and two shots and I have to go back in two weeks. I have Care Credit but my limit is only $2500. I have it ran up to $900 and then I have another card with a very low limit that I put the Applaws, Lysine and Plaque Off onto. I do not know how I am goin to keep this up and the thought of having to put Tommy to sleep, over this, is killing me.

    I believe in Jesus. I dont know if he would bother with my cat and I am not good enough that Jesus should even consider helping me or my cat but I thought it wasnt supposed to be about how good or bad I am and it is supposed to be all about Jesus shedding his blood to cover me because I cant be all good. I have been praying. Please let Tommy be a Miracle Cat. I need a miracle from God. God can heal his Stomatitis and FIV too. I dont know how to pray for such things but just to pray and plead for God’s mercy and help. I love my Tommy.

    Tommy showed up at my place in the summer of 2012. His skin was in a mess. I put together a home remedy from things I found on the internet and it worked. I got him fixed, with shots and dewormed. He moved in on me and my heart. He is my best buddy and pal. He stays right with me all day long. I am on disability so I am home except to tend to groceries or whatever comes up in life.

    It was suggested that I create a GoFundMe account and share it on my facebook. I only have 22 friends on my facebook, most are family, and maybe four of them log in pretty regular — Not enough to get me any help. I created the GoFundMe account anyhow, even though I dont see how it will even get out there to be seen and I really havent had the luck where people are so apt to help me in life. I lost a home in Hurricane Jeanne and not one person, not even family, lifted one finger to help. That was a long and suffering thing to go through. It is my experience that nobody cares and I am on my own. I have to count on God.

    OK – This got long and maybe off topic a bit. I apologize. I will shut up now. I will continue to come here to see what everyone has to say because every little bit of information can add up to be a big help!!! I appreciate your time, so very much! Thank You!! And God Bless You!!! And Lily too!!

  317. So it would be ok to give it to her daily ,I will check with my vet ,but wondering if she did get a dose of cat flu would it not be so effective if used all the time,she just gets two squirts a day,and yes she is vaccinated .
    Are there any side effects ,remember I’m using flu max ,not straight out lysine .thanks for your help

    • Carole,

      You are asking something that is beyond my knowledge or experience. I don’t know anything about cat flu so I don’t know how the Lysine works with it or how strong the Lysine is. I think your vet is the best one to ask. However, please feel free to share what your vet says about this.

      As for side effects, I am unaware of any, but, again, this is a good question for your vet.

      Rochelle

  318. If I understand correctly, the Lysine is to help build a better immune system. My vet has told me to try anything natural that would help with my cat’s immune system and that with what he is doing can all work together for the good.

    • Cherryl,

      Yes, that is also my understanding. The way it was explained to me is that it works similar to Vitamin C in humans.

      Rochelle

  319. Gosh this page is so interesting and informative ,I had a kitty with this who had all her teeth bar her canines removed ,for six weeks she was greatly improved,then this sinister disease started to come back,I must clarify Ellie-Mae also had surgery for cancer ,so was battling that as well,six mths later we lost the battle ,however I have her daughter who I think is showing signs of this awful condition,she has just had a dental and one bad tooth removed,vet is on the fence as to whether it is this,but my gut feelings sadly are it is ,she was put on flu max after her surgery as she is a flu carrier,this contains lysine ,I’m going to check with my vet if I can continue to give her this,I’m in New Zealand ,so anything I read here is very helpful .best of luck to everyone with their previous furbabies .

  320. Rochelle,
    I greatly appreciate your taking the time to respond. I mentioned the facebook page because I was hoping somebody would speak on it. I am ever so grateful that you took the time to do this. I am aching in my heart over my cat. The people on the facebook page that I provided have been on me with saying the only way to stop stomatitis is to have the cats teeth pulled. They didnt seem to like that I mentioned that my veterinarian will not even consider extracting my cats teeth, nor will he consider cleaning them. They have actually placed quite a guilt trip on me because I am not planning to extract my cat’s teeth.

    My cat has FIV and my vet has said that my cat might not even recover from having his teeth extracted and even to clean his teeth can cause bacteria to get shot back into his system and my cat’s immune system is low and this is not really an option. My vet told me that he has dealt with stomatitis sine the 70’s. He said there was a time when they extracted the teeth because all of the specialist said this is what to do and he said there were far more cats, even without FIV, that extracting the teeth did nothing for the stomatitis.

    I mentioned to my vet what you are doing and he told me that is is great and for me to follow what you are doing except for any prescriptions and he will deal with that part. I did forget to ask him about the Syrup stuff. I searched for it online and couldnt find anything as to be able to order it.

    As soon as I read what you are doing and watched your video, I did order everything that was available to me that you are using. I am guessing some of the stuff is prescription and so I couldnt find it or order it. I am waiting for it to arrive so I can get started on it and hopefully it will help.

    I found a youtube video that speaks of the importance of a good food, whether dry or wet. They used Applaws for one cat and showed that the cat is doing very well. In your video, you stated that Lily eats dry food as her main food and I was wondering if you have a special dry food for her or just regular dry cat food like Purina or Friskies or whatever???

    After dealing with the people on the facebook page to do with Stomatitis, and speaking with my veterinarian today about what they have said and shared, I dont think I will pay attention to that page because they are extremely adamant about the teeth being extracted. This is all a lot of information to take in and, of course you know how stressful this is and the heartache that we go through for over our cats, and I just dont need a lot of confusion or even pressure from anyone and the person speaking to me on the facebook page is making me feel as if my vet doesnt know anything and my vet is a well known good vet here and since the 70’s. He has had eight years of college and his experience since the 70’s and I have always admired him for his knowledge. I dont guess I should let someone on facebook cause me to start questioning his brains now!!!

    • Cheryl,

      Sadly, this seems to confirm what I suspected, that they are anti-Western medicine. You have the right to treat your cat however YOU think is best. As you said, dealing with a cat with stomatitis is difficult enough, often downright heartbreaking, and I am so sorry to hear that you were being pressured by anyone about what you should do regarding the welfare of your cat. No one should pressure you into anything. As for your vet, it sounds like he fully understands your unique situation.

      The two items that I use on Lily that can be ordered are the Lysine and PlaqueOff. The other item is a prescription medication that is made at a dosage specifically for Lily, and that is Prednisolone, which is a steroid cream. There are other medications that can be used, so your vet might prescribe something different. Lily was also on a prescription pain medication for a while during the worst of her stomatitis called Buprenex. I gave that to her when she was drooling because the drool was a sign that she was in too much pain even to swallow her own saliva. If your vet ever gives your cat Buprenex be sure that you understand how to administer it. I didn’t understand at first and giving wrong renders it ineffective.

      The dry food that Lily (and all my other cats) eat is Iams. I chose it because it is a quality food that I can afford and it comes in a small kibble that Lily can swallow easily.

      Please let us know how you and your cat are getting along, as well as any time you need reassurance about what you are dealing with.

      Rochelle

  321. this is working so well for my cat,
    I give him Optixcare L-Lysine chews morning & night Aquadent in his water, Seraquin 3 times day and the new one I’m trying is 1 drop of Yellow dock root and 1 drop of Agrimony in a little hot water I give this to him when it gets cold, it is the best he has been in over a year, he has stomatitis & the calici virus,

    Seraquin has Glucosamine HCI, Chondroitin Sulphate & Turmeric Extract in it, Agrimony helps heal oral ulcers and Yellow Dock improves liver function
    in an attempt to remove the perceived toxic cause of the lesion.

  322. i just read on one of your replies about wet food vs dry food, i don’t know how i missed this before. my scardy cat, who still has good days and bad days, eats the dry food also. i thought it was because i just wasn’t getting to him when he was hungry but after eating his meals i prepare for him he will go to the dry. as of now i have him on the plaque off, lysine, and on and off the prednisolone. our vet told my wife to have me only give him the steriod a couple times a week or he will get diabetes. but when i stop the every other day he normally gets his drooling gets worse. he only has the two canine left so i was worried that eating the dry was making his mouth worse. again, thanks for this site

  323. I have small sweetened 500mg tablets of vit c. I just scrape off a small amount onto his food. Whether it does any good, who knows? Same as any of the other possible treatments, Lysine, salmon oil, anti-plaque, etc. But I do feel that fresh meat without preservatives is a good treatment. It need not be expensive.

  324. I am interested in learning how Antonio managed to get his cat to take vitamin C. It is quite sour and must burn the stomatitis lesions in the mouth. I would like to try this on my stomatitis kitty to see if it helps but I don’t want to hurt her.
    Thanks,
    Pat

  325. I found this information on Facebook and thought to share it here. They have a graphic with things to do. And The Dallas Clinic, home the LPS Syrup, recommends trying a cat on the syrup prior to extractions. If the cat improves and continues doing well on the syrup–and most do– partial extractions may be rarely needed and full extractions are almost never needed.

    The graphic at the top of this facebook page states not to give your cat steroid injections such as Depo Medrol or steroid pills such as Prednisolone.
    https://www.facebook.com/FelineStomatitis

    • Cherryl,

      I’ve seen that Facebook page before and I am hesitant to recommend it as a source of information for several reasons. Before I go into my thoughts on the site, I want to state up front that I am not a vet, nor do I know everything there is to know about stomatitis. I created this site to share my experience with the disease, so my answer comes from just that – my experience. It doesn’t mean I am right or wrong with that I’m about to say.

      1) I’ve seen some information that I, personally, disagree with. For example, their header graphic says to not feed dry food to cats because it causes bacteria to build up. What I have learned is that stomatitis is often caused, or made worse, by plaque, not bacteria. This is why I give PlaqueOff to Lily – it prevents the build up of plaque and it has been life saving for Lily and her stomatitis.

      The graphic also urges getting all teeth removed to treat stomatitis. Tooth removal should, in my opinion, be a last resort treatment option. Many cats respond to other treatments and don’t need a tooth extraction. Also, a cat that has teeth removed is fully capable of eating dry food – as long as the kibbles are small – because the cat tosses the food to the back of her mouth to swallow it. Wet food is more difficult for a cat without teeth to eat because the tongue is needed to move the food to the back of the mouth, and cats without teeth have less control over their tongues. The teeth aren’t there to keep the tongue straight. I don’t know if this bothers a cat, but am simply sharing what I’ve seen in Lily. And, if a cat without teeth still has active and painful stomatitis, eating wet food will be painful if the cat’s throat is ulcerated, inflamed, and/or bleeding. Movement of the tongue to swallow wet food irritates the inflammation and causes more pain.

      2) The About page for the Facebook page has a lot of information about stomatitis, but doesn’t offer sources. Here on this site, I have provided where I’ve gotten my information from, whether it is from my vet, the cat rescue group I adopted Lily from, or just my own experience. I am skeptical by nature when someone states a supposed fact but doesn’t back it up with where the fact came from.

      They have a link on their About page which leads to a site that looks like it promoted alternative medicine and treatment options and doesn’t appear to like Western medicine. For example, the site appears to be against vaccinations, something I think is beneficial. Also, the site has a “Before” and “After” picture of a cat with stomatitis that was treated as the site recommends. Honestly, I see no difference at all between the two pictures. My natural skeptical nature kicks in when I see a site like this.

      I’m not against alternative medicine, in fact I think you could say that the PlaqueOff is a form of alternative medicine because it’s just seaweed, and I’ve used it in my personal life and for my daughter. However, I also think that there is a place for Western medicine, and I’m not willing to say that one should be used exclusively and the other completely ignored.

      3) The Facebook header graphic also says to not use medicines like Prednisolone, stating that doing so will leave your cat in worse shape than before you started it. All I can do is guess as to why they would say this, but, again, I disagree. Can there be harmful side effects from such medications? Absolutely! I even say as much here on my site. For example, Lily is on a daily dose of Prednisolone and I am very aware that this could lead to diabetes. But for now, it is helping her. These kind of medications can be helpful to other people and their cats, too, but I’d hate for someone to not even try because of something they saw on Facebook.

      I hope that you don’t think I am being critical of you for sharing the link to the Facebook page, because I’m not! I encourage people to share what they find. Ultimately, we all need to decide what treatment options are best for our cats, and what works for me and Lily might not work for others.

      Lastly, you mentioned LPS Syrup. I’ve never heard of it, so have no opinion one way or the other. Thank you for mentioning it, so other people can research it to determine if it is right for their cats.

      Rochelle

  326. My FIV positive kitty, Robert died suddenly a few days ago, just found him lying there as if asleep but he had passed away. He was being treated for bad stomatitis, had his teeth removed in April and did well for awhile and then started the jumping back from his food, we have tried antibiotics and some steroids but this time they did not work, she put him on Dexamethizone and it worked great, he was put on that in June and his dose was reduced to 1/2 tab (1.5) every other day. He was just ravenously hungry despite being fed 4, 3oz cans of cat food a day, my vet said that deximetizone increases their appetite. He seemed to be doing well, don’t know what killed him, no marks on him, he liked peaceful. A couple of years ago he was getting Depo Medrol shots monthly to control his FIV fueled skin condition, I stopped doing that when I went to my present vet. could the Deximetizone have killed him? His last vet visit was in July, about 2 months ago.

    • Mellyfrance,

      Please, please, please accept my apologies for not responding sooner to your post. I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Robert.

      I regret that I know nothing about Deximetizone. I just did an online search and couldn’t find anything by this name. Could it have been Dexamethasone? If so, it looks like Dexamethasone is a medicine that is prescribed for for anti-inflammatory purposes, which would make sense if your cat had stomatitis. Here is what I found about the medicine – http://www.petmd.com/pet-medication/dexamethasone

      My prayers go out to you.

      Rochelle

  327. I have 3 cats, one of which has been diagnosed and treated with extraction of all teeth except his 4 canine teeth. The first and only treatment option presented to me was the extraction of his teeth. I am assuming this is because his case was in a seriously advanced stage. I could not afford this quoted $3000+ surgery initially so in the mean time he was prescribed Gabapentin as a pain reducer, which helped little if any. After the surgery he was immediately much much improved! Approximately 3 months after the extraction he is experiencing symptoms again. Not eating as much, pain during eating, losing weight and a *new* symptom of a runny nose. I have had to revert back to blending his wet food in a blender with warm water for him to even eat anything now! He has another appointment in 2 weeks on, Sept. 22nd 2014, to discuss our options and to go through a recheck. The vet has basically already said that he needs these other teeth removed. I am concerned because the last surgery really hit my family hard as far as money goes. The vet is aware of my financial situation as last time I qualified for a bit of help from their emergency fund which paid $850 and left me with a $1450 bill. This puts the total at $2300 which only changed once they had to help with the cost since I was initially over $3000 for this surgery. My questions and concerns are this:

    Should I be looking for a different vet? Or stick with the same since they performed his surgery and are familiar with his and my circumstances? I also don’t have the money to go “vet hopping” and dishing out hundreds on new vet appointments especially if it’s not going to work out with that vet.

    In anyones experience am I overpaying for this vet? I know prices at any vet will vary especially in different parts of the country (I live in WNY)

    The treatment approach my vet recommended went straight to surgery I was not told of any of these alternative options even though I did ask more than one time, they never even hinted there could have been a different approach. My cats were on a grain-free dry food (free feeding as they are not over weight) called Blue Buffalo Freedom from Grain. They also ate friskies wet food at night. Since Aries teeth surgery my other guy was diagnosed with Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease and I have had to cut out the grain free dry and keep them on the friskies canned food and added Purina Pro Plan for Urinary Tract wet food which I mix together and add water. Point being maybe the grain free dry was helping Aries and now that it’s gone he has began to have problems again? After reading this that is what I may suspect. I just can’t bare to watch him suffer while I fiddle about trying to treat this in a sideways way especially if it’s not ever going to help.

    I’m at my wits end and I’m not sure what to do. Aries is only 8 1/2 years old he is my buddy and one of the family, but these vet surgeries are costing my family meals at this point. I’m not sure what to do here. I don’t know if it’s humane to keep trying alternate ways of healing, or if maybe I could find a much lower cost surgical procedure or if I’m throwing money into something that is going to end up just making my guy suffer till it’s time to say goodbye. I’m LOST!

    Anyone who can help with any advice or anything please let me know I’m super anxious about all this.

    • Brooke,

      I am truly sorry about not responding to your comment sooner.

      1) Should you change vets? That is hard to say. If you are unsure about your vet what I recommend is that you contact several cat rescue groups in your area. Explain your situation and ask them who they think is capable of treating a cat with stomatitis. I pretty much guarantee that they know who the good and bad vets are because they have to use them for a wide variety of reasons.

      2) Is the quoted cost of dental surgery too high? Again, this is hard to say because location, I am learning, plays a big part in what vets charge for tooth extraction surgery. If you live in New York, then this might be accurate. I live in Florida and I paid over $2,000 for Lily’s surgeries. Someone who lives in San Diego said she was quoted between $4,500 and $5,000!

      At least one person that I know of was able to raise the money she needed for her cat by going on a crowd funding site. Most people do best when they offer something for donations, but this isn’t required. Popular crowd funding sites include Kickstarter, Crowdfunding, and GoFundMe. I haven’t used any of them so can’t recommend one over the other. However, the cat rescue group that I adopted Lily from uses GoFundMe, for whatever that may be worth.

      3) Dry food vs. wet food. I haven’t used grain free dry foods, but my vet spoke very highly about the Blue Buffalo brand of foods, and many other people have spoken highly of them, too. As for wet foods, my vet told me that wet food is actually more painful for cats with active stomatitis to eat. The reason why is because cats use their tongues to work wet food to the back of their throats so they can swallow it. When a stomatitis cat has an inflamed and/or bleeding throat, working the tongue causes pain to the throat. I don’t know if this is happening to your cat, but just wanted to share this bit of information.

      Please let us know what you decide to do, and how Aries does with the treatment.

      Rochelle

  328. I have wrote in the past about my two fur kids coming down with this nasty painful illness. They are on meds daily which is morning and night and Fred is doing really well…he does have some down days here and there. But Skibbers is taking a bit longer to turn around with all the meds. She is a fighter too with me so this makes it a little harder to get the full dose into her. But I have been using the lysine in their food twice a day and I had some stuff I’ve been using over 2 months now and does seem to be working. Its called ADVANCED CARE DENTAL WATER made by ARM&HAMMER. I got it at Petco and Petsmart. I asked my vet and he said yes this would be good to add to treatment for it kills bacteria and that’s what we need to do when you have stomatitis. It helps cut the plaque down too. This is a little cheaper and seems to be working. Just another idea for any ne trying to come up with ideas to help their kitty. This website has been so helpful for me and my fur kids. It has made life much more better for them. Thanks to everyone

  329. Hi what a great website and with up to date comments.
    I rescued a stray cat – in a shocking state with rotten teeth, dribbling and foul smell. A cat charity agreed to remove the offending teeth if I kept the cat. 13 teeth removed later and all seemed well. Then the dribbling with blood started and Timmy has now been diagnosed with stomatitis. This is complicated by a decreased kidney function – no steroids, no metacam and also shedding the calici virus – the link perhaps to his stomatitis.
    My vet has recommended as a first port of call removal of the remainder of his teeth which I did not want to do however he has tooth root visible from the earlier extractions (no x rays before or after!) and I have reluctantly agreed to this. This will include the canines since my vet thinks that though they are often far from the site of inflammation it does not necessarily follow that this means they are not contributing to the problem. He goes in tomorrow and I am worried witless. If this does not sort the problem he will then go on several courses of interferon. Has anyone had experience of this?

    • Janet,

      Please accept my apology for not approving your comment sooner.

      I’m so sorry to hear that Timmy had teeth roots remaining from his last extraction! That certainly could have added to the symptoms you saw. I have not used Interferon, but I know other cat owners have, and I think it has been helpful. Hopefully someone here who has experience with Interferon will be able to provide you with insight.

      How is Timmy doing now that he had his remaining teeth removed?

      Rochelle

  330. I just adopted an 11 year old cat with chronic stomatitis. She is on a lysine supplement and “pulse therapy” antibiotic, but for the last two days she hasn’t wanted to eat much. I think her mouth is bothering her. I had made her first vet appointment for Friday, but I am going to call the vet in the morning and have her seen. She has 3 teeth left (3 were removed at the shelter, and 6 is all she came to them with)-and I think she must have Feline Herpes or Calici virus because she has cold symptoms and her vet records from her 18 months at the shelter show she has had a few colds and eye infections. It is hard to say in her case if her problems are a reaction to plaque or a virus, or both. I will at least be armed with some extra information when I go to the vet. I will ask about steriods and pain killer for sure!

    • Jennifer,

      Please accept my apology for not approving your comment sooner.

      I hope that you and your vet have been able to find a treatment that is working for your cat. I’ve not heard of a “pulse therapy” antibiotic, so thank you for mentioning it.

      Rochelle

  331. Antonio,,,, thanks!!!! You described the situation with my own cat to a T! You also gave me a great idea, to move my cat’s foodtime to a higher level! He DOES run if anything interrupts those golden “peaceful eating” moments! Thank Mew!!!!
    >^,,^<~~~~~

  332. Just to add to Jimmie’s comments, our cat has the disease and found out quite early that eating was his big problem – he had a good appetite but would often run away from the food, in pain, as if it was chasing him. We decided that any small disturbance such as noise, doors suddenly opening, etc., would startle him causing the cautious way he was eating the food to change, causing great pain. We now feed him in a quiet environment, on a chair for ‘cat security’, with mashed up wet cat food of good quality, alongside a plate of milk with a little cream added, which he sips with the food. Somehow this eases the passage of food down his throat.
    We give him Lysine and occasional vit c, and spread a small amount of salmon oil on his paw (supposedly anti-inflammatory). Only time will tell if these three really make a difference.
    He’s doing well and purrs and eats a lot but of course the disease is still with him, he drools, which we carefully wipe away when necessary. All in all he’s living a good life, he stretches luxuriously in the sun, etc.
    He still has all his teeth.

  333. this is for mike, i’ve posted on here before about our scardy cat with stomatitis, up and down for a long time, used a lot of advice from here, he has never lost his appetite but does have problem with food because of drool and hair after grooming, i do the normal rinse and remove the hair etc, but to make eating easier i give him meat baby food, usually gerber turkey and broth or chicken and broth, the first food they call it. i always make sure he gets enough real cat food for nutrition but even though he is doing better for now he waits for the baby food after he eats, i think the smell and the fact that it is like soup makes him like it. we also buy the boars head natural turkey breast from deli and dice it up really fine for him, that’s where i put all his supplements and whatever pill he gets, the texture seems to agree with him even when he has excess drool. he has been responding very well to the plaque off and lysine and sometimes prednisolone. hope some of this helps

  334. we’ve decided to go ahead with the full tooth extraction, now the problem we’re having is keeping her alive until then. she turned a corner really bad since i posted last week, i’m considering force feeding/hydration and maybe checking her into a pet hospital.. still very nervous. we actually made an appt to euthanize and couldn’t go through with it so we found a line of credit to do the extraction.. it’s been a bad week.

    • Mike,

      I’m so very sorry to hear that your cat has taken such a drastic turn for the worse. I had a cat named Harry several years ago who was near death in what seemed (to me) overnight, and I ended up having to force feed him every four hours for about a week. Our vet was sure that Harry would die, but he didn’t. He made a turn for the better and ended up living for several more years.

      If you do force feed your cat, take great care not to push the plunger too hard or fast. I made that mistake just once, and the food ended up being forcibly expelled out of Harry’s mouth. I felt horrible about doing this to him!

      I’m sending prayers your way that your story has a good ending, like Harry’s did. Please let us know what happens.

      Rochelle

  335. Seraquin has Glucosamine HCI, Chondroitin Sulphate & Turmeric Extract in it, Agrimony helps heal oral ulcers and Yellow Dock improves liver function
    in an attempt to remove the perceived toxic cause of the lesion.
    Hope this helps
    Cat lover

  336. My cat Mini Fe (little Felix)He is named after his father Felix and his half brother Junior is too, thus Mini Fe. He has Stomatitis and has had antibiotic treatments several times they have helped until this last time. The Vet gave him a Steroid shot and told me his teeth have to be pulled. This is not his usual vet who is not quite as eager to do things like this. I am going to talk to his regular Vet on Monday and see what he recommends. I will tell him about the treatments listed above and see if he will be interested in trying them first. I hate to have his teeth pulled if it is unnecessary.

  337. My cat is in his 3rd flair up of stomatitis. He has had an antibiotic and steroid shots each time but it’s only the steroid shot that enables him to start eating again. He has seen 2 vets and both say he should have his teeth cleaned. One of them said he probably would have some teeth pulled at the same time of the cleaning. What I am curious about it what if I put him through all this and he still is in so much pain that he won’t eat. How do you get Lily to eat if she still has this?

    • Jessie,

      I completely understand your concern about having your cat’s teeth pulled and continuing pain. I am fortunate that Lily is not in pain at this time. She still suffers from stomatitis, but the inflammation and pain are under control because of the Prednisone cream (steroid), PlaqueOff, and Lysine that I give her everyday. So, eating for Lily is not a problem. In fact, I only remember a few times where she was visibly in pain when eating, otherwise she either was okay when eating or just didn’t show her discomfort.

      Sadly, there is no guarantee that tooth removal will resolve the stomatitis. It helps 80% of cats, but there is no way to know if your cat will fall into the other 20%.

      I invite you to follow up later to let us know what you ended up doing for your cat and how he responded. Prayers have been sent your way.

      Rochelle

  338. Hi All my cat has stomatitis & the calici virus, he has had all his teeth but he still has his canines, I give him Optixcare L-Lysine chews morning & night Aquadent in his water, Seraquin 3 times day and the new one I’m trying is 1 drop of Yellow dock root and 1 drop of Agrimony in a little hot water I give this to him when it gets cold, it is the best he has been in over a year

    • Hi Cat Lover,

      Thank you for sharing how you are treating your stomatitis kitty. I’ve not heard of Seraquin, Yellow Dock Root, or Agrimony. This is sure to be helpful to others who read this.

      Much luck to you and your cat.

      Rochelle

  339. nice to see these comments are current.. your site was very helpful in easing my nerves because i feel a bit more confident in treating this disease now. I was told there is no way to treat it unless you pull all the teeth, or else my cat could be terminally ill. But my cat is not severely ill, her breath does not smell, her teeth don’t look as bad as some of the pics i’ve seen, and she does eat and drink and shows signs of happiness.. kind of frustrated with my vets negative opinion on this, i’m quite sure the disease is much earlier than I was told, I’m going to try going about this a different way. thanks.

    • Mike,

      I’m so glad that the information here has helped calm your nerves. Stomatitis certainly is a distressing disease, both for our cats and for us.

      Please follow up later to let us know what you did for your cat and how she responded to the treatment. Prayers have been sent for you and your cat.

      Rochelle

  340. Hi Rochelle,
    I have an update on Fiona for you! Well, I took her to her surgeon vet this past Saturday, and it turns out she didn’t have stomatitis at all! The vet said she knew immediately that it wasn’t stomatitis because her throat & tongue looked perfectly healthy & unaffected by her teeth. What she DID tell me was that Fiona has terrible cavities, infections, & broken teeth (bad genetics wins again). So I was happy that it wasn’t stomatitis, but I still had to pay a little over two grand to remove 21 teeth, upper canines included (they saved the bottom canines at least)! Poor thing only has 6 teeth in her mouth. But even now, going on the second day after the surgery, she seems great, she’s eating soft food fine, her stinky breath is gone, she is going to be ok. The dentist said that her remaining 6 teeth might need to be taken out in the future due to the bad genetics, but I’m going to keep using that PlaqueOff hoping it will prevent further decay. Two weeks will be the follow up.

  341. Antonio!!!!!! Yes, yes, YES!!!! I, too, wondered how my Cat, Goat (yes, my cat’s name is Goat) could go from fine to foul in one day!!!!! He DOES go nuts, clawing at his mouth with NO apparent trigger,( like having just eaten)!!!! I use his mouth spray (surgical scrub/PlaqueOff drops mixed) to sooth him when this happens. I’ve even tried Cloraseptic (human) spray to numb it a bit.
    NOW I think you’ve hit on something here!!!!! Could it be broken blisters to create that rotten breath syndrome so fast?????
    I am So stoked!!!! I am starting a vigil diary to note if there is an Immediate connection between the onset of smell directly following a “clawing attack”!!! Very good notation!!!!
    Thank you!!! I will NEVER give up on helping my Goat. (Diagnosed one year ago. Has teeth. Treated with spray, Lysine, Plaqueoff.Has weekly rapid “stages” of fine to foul.)

  342. Donna,
    some eat from their own bowl and others eat from shared platters. I do the best I can to estimate the number of cats eating the food and mix in the appropriate amount. A bigger cat would eat more and get a bigger dose, but since it’s only lysine I don’t worry about it. If I have one I’m particularly worried about, I will often supplement with a lysine treat/chew just to be sure they get enough.

  343. KG …. Thank you for the info on ordering lysine in bigger baulk.. But do yr kittys eat togsther or their own bowls? If togather thn how do u know if they getting right dose of lysine each?? Feeding all in their own bowls would be a total pain but is a good question…thanks for any suggestions to help

  344. As an update to my comment on stamatitis earlier this month, I was a little premature in stating that Chado’s symptoms had almost disappeared. They haven’t but are much more bearable for him and ourselves. In a nutshell he has bad days, mild drooling and foul breath, the next dau he could be fine. I can only assume that blisters or sores in his mouth break, releasing the foul-smelling substance and for the next few days he acts fairly normally, eating well, purring well, until the next ‘attack’. He does sleep a lot.
    It would be interesting to hear if other owners have this periodic ‘bad day’, interspersed with almost-normal life and what actually causes it.

  345. For my foster horde, I mix it into the wet food. I have heard others say they sprinkleon top if they feed dry food.

    Much cheaper to buy in bulk! Google “Horse bucket lysine” and be sure to select a 100% lysine product. I just paid $22 each for 4 lb buckets. I buy enough to get free shipping and donate the extra bucket or two to my favorite local rescues 🙂

    KG

  346. If you are feeding around 15 kittys…how do you mix the lysine in their food?? Do I need to give thm.their own bowl or can they eat off the tray I use for thm to eat togather…any suggetions?? Thanks

  347. Another treatment option for stomatitis is cold laser therapy. My cat Jack has been receiving these treatments with positive results. Not all vets will have this technology but if you check around, you should be able to find one.

    • Diana,

      This is another treatment option that I have not heard of. THank you for sharing it! This may be of great help to owners whose vets have access to cold laser therapy technology.

      Rochelle

  348. Lynn, my cats had runny noses and the vet said it is a symptom of bartonella. They take azithromyacin and that helps a lot. Has your cat ever been tested its not a cheap its not something most vets test for but it is becoming a reason for severe stomatitis in some cats about 50% have bartonella

  349. Hi Rochelle! I was unable to reply to my comment.
    We ended up getting a steroid shot because getting the prednisone cream would take awhile to make. It’s an amazing thing to see my kitty after the shot kicks in. I get a sneak peak at how he would be without this disease. Although it only last 3 weeks. We had to wait 4 weeks to start the prednisone cream in his ear on July 4th. The office manager at the vet’s was able to get Clenz-a-dent ($30) 8 month supply and l-lysine ($18.50) that came in a tube and didn’t last very long. I did get some powder l-lysine on amazon and using that now. I am hopeful that this treatment gives him relief. Pawing his chin is still a problem he has. I do notice that he has a runny nose that is clear when he is having problems. I haven’t noticed if anyone in the comments have posted that yet. He does seem to be doing good for the most part but I know he is not out of the woods yet. When I give him his powder treatments in the soft cat food, he often turns and runs. Sometimes I have to pet him and get him to relax before he eats. My heart breaks because I know most cats wouldn’t have to think about eating normally. How long did it take Lily to start seeing signs of improvement?
    Looking forward to hearing back. Thank you again for taking the time to create this awesome website!!

  350. I now believe that diabetes can be a major cause of the dreaded stomatitis in cats. We did not consider this when we took Chado to the vet and he diagnosed not only diabetes but stomatitis. We were told that diabetes depresses the immune system.
    We followed a regime of injections to cure the diabetes which finally left him after about 5 months of treatment, but left the stomatitis. For the last two months it was necessary to liquidise all his food, but even this gave him great pain and he would run away from the food as if it was attacking him.
    Then we read an article about fish possibly being an allergen to some cats and stopped feeding it. We began to concentrate on pure food, i.e. liquidised human-grade beef, turkey etc. In the last week we have also obliged Chado to lick salmon-oil off his fur as he would not eat it otherwise.
    I can only say that the change has been miraculous, he has stopped drooling, his breath is only mildly odorous, he purrs constantly and is as clean as a whistle. He will now eat packeted wet cat food without a problem, but we will continue feeding pure food, without fish of any sort and definitely no dry food high in carbo’s.
    Morally, feeding human-grade food is dubious but very much cheaper than a series of vets bills and will allow us to make additional charity contributions for children in need etc.
    Don’t give up on your pet and try food alternatives before recourse to tooth extraction. But it may be a long battle, even longer if diabetes is allowed to prosper.

  351. Antonio—My grandmothers cat had diabetes as well. After doing my research, most dry kibble is very high in carbohydrates. I do think the dry food causes diabetes in some cats. What I have found to be good brands for high protein diet dry food is Evo cat and kitten, natures variety raw boost instinct, and purina one healthy metabolism. These have more protein than the prescription diabetic food. For wet food, same thing, most don’t have enough protein. For the cheaper foods, the best i have found is fancy feast classic… Only classic varieties. By changing the diet, his diabetes disappeared. I know this forum is for stomatitis, but after the last post I saw, just wanted to share. I tried to reply to your post, but received an error.

    Have you tried whiskas cat and kitten milk for your kitty? It has a lot of nutrients in it and some like it.

    As far as teeth being pulled, my moms older cat had it done and he was a new cat the next day. I’m still trying to decide if it is best for my little girl, as hers is just flare ups at this time (but getting worse). Good luck with your kitty.

    • Renee,

      Thank you for sharing! While it is true that this site is about stomatitis, I think that diabetes is a complementary topic because it can often be paired with stomatitis. In my case, I am watching for signs of diabetes in Lily because she is on a low dose of steroids which might eventually lead to diabetes. Just yesterday I was talking with my vet about this and she said the most obvious signs of diabetes are a huge increase in water when drinking and MUCH larger amounts of water peed out (which would be easily seen for those of us who use clumping litter).

      Evo is an excellent cat food and I used to give it to my cats. The only reason I stopped was because two of my cats were overly sensitive to it (Lily was one of the two) and got severe diarrhea from it. Now I give my cats Iams dry food.

      Rochelle

  352. Hi I have two wonderful sisters Cheza and Smores they were both diagnosed with stomatosis the first vet I went to said that Cheza would need all teeth removed and did no real other testing. after finding out how much they charged I decided to go to an old vet that I went to years ago that is an hour from where I live now and he told me most times when finding stomotosis there is a hidden cause she was diagnosed with bartonella. Sadly they both have it very badly. Cheza had all but her canines removed and Smores has had a deep tissue gum cleaning since her teeth are still very healthy. We have tried so many things they are both on azithromyacin and have been for a while and today he suggested a new treatment using lasers I was wondering if anyone has had any success with this.

    • Cassie,

      It sounds like you’ve found a good vet who you can trust. That is often half the battle when it comes to stomatitis.

      Laser treatment is not anything that I have experience with. Hopefully someone reading this has and can offer his or her thoughts on it.

      Good luck with Cheza and Smores!

      Rochelle

  353. I’d like to add our experiences with our cat Chado (pronounced Shadow because of his colour)
    He was very ill before we realised that he had diabetes. Our fault for not taking him to the vets early enough. During this period he also developed feline stomatitis, which the vet said is often the case. We treated him at home for the F.S., using Glargine over a period of six months, ending with two tiny doses per day and finally remission of diabetes. We use 0.5ml single-use micro-fine syringes.
    His diet was totally changed during this period, and now, he was forbidden any dry food. He is still in remission but the F.S. is still prevalent. He is refusing anything but very thin liquid food, of milk consistency. We make beef broth, etc. His only medication salmon oil which we apply to his fur.
    I share this experience because I feel that the dry biscuit diet led to being overweight and diabetes, with secondary infection of F.S. contracted when his immune system was poor and a cat possibly with the same disease was in the neighbourhood.
    Don’t let your cat go overweight on dry food, unless it has a very high percentage of dry meat.
    We hope to avoid tooth removal.

    • Antonio,

      Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. I truly hope that the new diet will be enough to prevent Chado from needing all his teeth removed.

      Rochelle

  354. Thank you for your info it was very very helpful… I had my 13yr old boy fred come down with stomatitis 4months ago it was horrible to see him in that much pain…the vet i went to first thinkin it was just a tooth….told me it be best to.put fred to sleep…um nooooo!! I took him to another vet 35miles from me an they have what they call a cocktail medication. They grind up like 4 diff. Pills into a liquid and o my lord it wrks!!! He does have some bad days but not horrible days..and he eats like a champ now. Now just 3 days ago my little 10 yr old girl skibbers now has this nasty stomatitis too. She also is on the cocktail now an getting better.. I wanted to put thm on the lysine for that extra help an you had good results with lilly…i wanted to put my fur kids on it to..i also have a cat with horrible skin issues an im hopeing lysine helps him. Months ago i had no hope only grief but this site has giving me more hope then i could ever ask for. Im so thankful for everyones comments i found it all very helpful an now i walk with a smile not sorrow. Thanks so much for that!! I am going to order lysine an plaqueoff today!! Even tho this cocktail seems to be helping…i want to use these two things for that extra support. Thanks again to rochelle an lilly an everyone else.

  355. i have just noticed the post about lysine, i bought the powder by the pound off ebay, did not know they had it just for cats, anyone know if it is the same. and a question about the prednisolone, i have 4mg tablets the vet prescribed for one of our other cats, is this the same as you use only in pill form. what product is it that you are able to put it in ear, is it liquid or paste. i know i’m asking a lot at one time but i am desperate to get this guy started on something that helps. i know he must be better or worse because instead of running and hiding when he sees me with a cloth he comes to me to have his mouth cleaned. he can go all day without out and he is a mess with the drool all over his legs and head. i’m hoping i’m headed in right direction now. i would like to try the mouth spray to help just before he eats, right now i am using chlorhexiderm disinfectant, diluted, to wash his mouth out, and he doesn’t like it when i spray into his mouth.

    • Jimmie,

      I suggest calling your vet and asking if you can safely give the Lysine powder to your cat, and in what dose.

      As for the prednisolone, I would not give that to your cats. The prednisolone that Lily gets is a cream that I rub in her ear, and it has to be made specifically for Lily. The dose needed will vary from cat to cat.

      I just remembered a product that I seriously considered getting at one time but didn’t because Lily improved and I no longer needed it. It is an oral gel meant for helping with mouth care for cats and dogs called PetzLife Oral Care Gel.

      I have no experience with it since I didn’t buy it, but if you read through the reviews you will see one from a woman who uses it on her stomatitis cat and she raves about how well it works. That might be something worth trying. I have no idea how quickly it will work. For example, PlaqueOff takes several months before you see a difference. It might be true of this as well. If you use it, please follow up with us so that we know how your cat does with it.

      Rochelle

  356. Hi Rochelle… I commented back on May 6 about our three kittens with stomatitis and just wanted to give you a follow up on them. We weren’t able to get their teeth pulled at the time that I last wrote as the vet we took them to was not only uncomfortable with the procedure but also not as well equipped as we thought he was. We since found a vet that is one of the best, at the Humane Society of Sonoma, CA. After an examination, our dear Dinky was the worst of the three followed by Montoya and Inigo with Inigo probably not needing surgery after all. We tried your suggestion of Lysine as well as the Plaque-Off and they’ve been on it since my last writing. Dinky did have the surgery last wednesday and has been a different kitty!!! He’s eating well, already, and showing no signs of pain. We thought he was going to need the pain meds but he would not even let is near his mouth with the syringe of meds. We thought that could just not be good at all but all he wants to do is cuddle and rub his nose on our chins or noses. We thought he was a cuddle bucket before but now he’s a total love bug. And his breath no longer smells of rotting flesh… He started out as a foster but he’s definitely not going anywhere!!! He and his brother, Inigo have found their forever home. Their sister, Montoya, now renamed Megatron, is awaiting her surgery date with her adoptive family and i know she’ll do just fine as well… Thanks again for helping us find the info we needed to help our fuzzy little friends.

    • Mark,

      Hello! I remember your comment from back in May about your three kitties. How wonderful to hear that Dinky is doing so much better after his surgery. It’s even better to hear that he and his brother found their forever homes with you, and that their sister found hers, too!

      Lily does the exact same thing that you said Dinky does. She will jump on my lap and rub her face on my nose and chin. I’ve never had a cat do that before, and I absolutely love it! It’s such an honest act of love and trust.

      I hope that Dinky continues to do well, and that the surgery is as helpful to Megatron as it was for Dinky. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. 🙂

      Rochelle

  357. thanks for the reply, as far as the other vets, rescue programs and other groups here no one seems to look much farther than their own vet. that’s the problem i ran into when this first occurred. i am just so hard headed i find it hard to accept some things, same with children and pets, i really get annoying at times. the cost of removing teeth was incredible, we had two cats done about the same time, one died not too long after, not sure why but he was old. the interferon might be worth looking into for you and others, really hard to get a vet to deal with it but it isn’t that expensive. it has to be bought by a vet and diluted, the one we are using now finally gave in after several months of pestering him, i forget the exact numbers but the minimum you can buy makes about 5000 doses. i have the info somewhere if anyone needs it. i think my vets brother was using it for something is why he finally gave in. i believe it either has to come from the UK or used to. let me know if you want info on it. what it does is stimulate the body’s own immune system, used for cancer in humans i think.
    and i started scardy cat on the lysine tonight and the interferon this morning. i put the lysine in chicken baby food and he laps it right up. i will get the plaqueoff tomorrow and start it too. i may do the steroid if this doesn’t help, thanks for all the information.

    • Jimmie,

      You know, I think my vet might have suggested Interferon to me. Early on with Lily I remember her telling me about a treatment option for a drug that had to be ordered from the UK and the order had to be for a large quantity. I decided against it because it was too pricey for us at that time, especially since there was no guarantee that it would help, but she said that the drug looked promising for a lot of cats with stomatitis.

      If it was Interferon that she recommended then it is good to know that you have had success with it.

      Rochelle

  358. i just saw your post on the plaqueoff on their site about price, that is really helpful. my other question is without teeth is this necessary, i thought plaque build up was on teeth and the reason for pulling them. i will try this as at this point and after such a long painful ordeal for scardy cat i have been advised to put him out of his misery, although this may be best for him i’m not sure i will be able to do that so i am willing to try anything now.
    if i didn’t mention it in my other post above i want to say i was really touched by lily’s story. i was never a cat person until it was forced on my by my wife. she started years ago with rescuing in our neighborhood, all the expenses were out of pocket for years. she eventually ran into others doing similar things, now she is involved with several organizations and works with the petco adoptions. seven nights a week she goes out alone all over our side of town and feeds all her colony’s. at least now we are helped with food donations and several programs for spaying and neutering. we still run across the occasional dog or cat we end up taking care of but it is easier now. of all our cats we ended up with we had several feral, i have domesticated 3 that are now inside cats and one outside that will come to me and let me touch her most of the time, one outside we have caught several times for treatment but still refuses to be touched.
    got off subject, i have the lysine in powder form and tried for all cats and they didn’t like it at all, now that i see it will help one or all i will make sure they get it now.

    • Jimmie,

      Is PlaqueOff necessary if there are no teeth? When it comes to stomatitis, my opinion and experience is yes. Keep in mind that PlaqueOff is not specifically made for stomatitis. I happened to find it when I was desperately trying to find something that would help Lily and it proved to be miraculous for her.

      My guess is that the mouth continues to make plaque even when there are no teeth. What I do know is that I will give it to Lily for the rest of her life.

      Thank you for your kind words. I was born loving cats, but my husband never liked them until he met me. Now, he’s also a cat lover. He has fallen totally in love with Lily (I think she is his favorite cat!). The cost of removing her teeth was painful for us at the time we had to pay the bills, but we’ve never regretted caring for her and giving her back her life.

      Your wife sounds like an amazing woman! The cats that the two of you care for are very lucky to have you.

      Please let us know what you decide to do with Scaredy Cat and how he does. I’m sending prayers that you are able to find something that helps him get better.

      Rochelle

  359. i have been aware of lily for some time now and finally got my wife to read the story. i don’t know where to start with our two cats with stomatitis, my wife is a rescuer and we have 17 of our own. the one i am writing about is scardy cat, this has been going on for years, he has had all teeth pulled but two, the vet has had him on cyclosporin seems like forever, also his brother who still has his teeth, we have lost one older cat to same thing after his teeth were pulled. i did research last year and finally got our vet to get interferon for us, after a while he told us to quit using that and go back to cyclosporin, from what i read this is not the right treatment. he drools so much it’s hard for me to take, i clean him constantly and practically spoon feed him. i am willing to try anything, my wife seems to believe in the two vets she uses but i look at results. we have also had several laser treatments for him, the cost of all this has been ridiculous as i’m sure you can understand but is not a problem if anything would work. yesterday i decided to quit the cyclosporin but not sure to go back to interferon, any thoughts on this at all.

    • Jimmie,

      Wow! You’ve been through quite a bit with stomatitis and your cats.

      I have no experience or knowledge with either cyclosporin or interferon, so I am unable to give thoughts on that. What I would normally suggest at this point may not be relevant to you since you are cat rescuers, but I will offer it anyway.

      Have you spoken to other cat rescue groups to see what vets they use and recommend? They may have insight into vets that you haven’t yet gone to. That is how I found my current vet and she has been wonderful.

      Rochelle

  360. My little black kitty Fiona (2.9 years old) looks like she has Stomatitis; I took her to the vet last month & followed the vet’s instructions to give her Clavamox for the first 5 days, and then a steroid every third day for a month straight to see if that would help her gingivitis & stinky breathe. Brought her back last week & she noticed a tiny improvement in the gums, but nothing worth noting. She said it’s probably Stomatitis & suggested that she could clean her teeth really good & get rid of any infections in her teeth for $440 (and this doesn’t guarantee it will help it), or I should consider taking her to the board certified dental vet and have her teeth removed for $3,000. I live in NYC, so that’s why the prices are absolutely absurd, BTW. She said that even though some people try to keep the canines, eventually they all need to be taken out so I might as well get this done in one shot. And she told me I have time to save $$$ for the procedure since she’s still playful, loves to eat, and doesn’t seem to be in any pain. Her lower mouth looks a little “glisten-y” at times and her tongue has been slightly sticking out more often, but she’s a happy kitty overall. So I made an apmt with the dental vet for a month from now for a consult, and possibly for the surgery if need be. My other two cats have great pearly white teeth so I doubt it’s contagious but pretty sure it’s hereditary. I am just hoping that if we do go through with the teeth removal this subsides & it won’t stick around.

    • Karyn,

      Reading about the cost of tooth extraction in NYC took my breath away! Since it sounds like Fiona is doing fairly well right now and the stomatitis isn’t impacting her quality of life, you might want to try Lysine and PlaqueOff. It will take a few months before the PlaqueOff shows any improvement, but you could do that while saving up money for the surgery. The best case scenario is that the two supplements work so well that you don’t need to do the surgery.

      Please keep us posted as to what you do and how Fiona does.

      Rochelle

  361. My little Penny is 10 years old and had FiV. She was doing very well until about 4 years ago when she developed stomatitis. My vet said it was the worse case she’d ever seen and that I needed to have her teeth extracted immediately. It cured her completely but recently it has returned. My vet can’t give her the steroid as we can’t chance immunosuppressing her more than she already is with the FIV. For the moment she is able to eat if I give her 0.5 ml of Sucralfate 15 min before eating. It coats the inflamed mucous membranes and makes eating less painful ( she only eats wet food). In addition, she does get the Buphrenex orally every 12 hrs but half the time I miss the cheek pouch and she swallows it. My sister gave me some Buphrenex ear gel and she seems to be getting good relief from that. I’m do glad I found your blog! I’m ordering the lysine,
    Plaque Off, and Aqua Dent tomorrow.
    PS… Tramadol is a non-,steroidal anti-inflammatory that is only approved for dogs. This is because is can cause kidney damage and renal failure in cats and should really be avoided. The Buphrenex is the safest.
    –Pat
    –Pat

    • Pat,

      Poor Penny! It sounds like she’s faced a lot of challenges. Please let us know how she does with the supplements you ordered for Penny. Thank you, also, for clarifying about the Tramadol.

      I’m sending prayers your way that Penny’s stomatitis gets back under control and doesn’t return to how it was four years ago.

      Rochelle

  362. I’m sure stomatitis is not contagious. Frankie, 8 years old, arrived on our doorstep in August of 2013 with a very bad case. The other 6 cats eat, drink and play with the same toys and they are just fine. Pretty sure its genetic.
    Frankie is doing great, not in any pain, but he is on azithromycin 1 ml every other day and 1 ml of prednisone every other day. Up until 2 weeks ago he was taking his lysine and placqueoff regularly and now he’s decided he doesn’t care for it. So tomorrow we try fish oil and sardines in the mixture. He’s 11 pounds, eats like a trooper and especially loves Temptations Wild Salmon treats. Yes, he’s still got most of his teeth although we did have some removed months ago. Didn’t seem to make a difference. We’ll have to see how things go when he isn’t on the two meds mentioned. Keeping the fingers crossed he is such a delight!

    Thanks for the stomatitis email messages I read them religiously.

    • Miriam,

      It’s such a frustration when our cats decide they no longer want to eat what we know is good for them! I hope that Frankie does okay on the fish oil and sardines.

      Rochelle

  363. Just wanted to add I don’t believe it’s contagious,my other cat has excellent teeth gums and yes they do eat and drink out of each other’s bowls.

  364. Thank you rochelle,I’m still hoping it’s not that,I still need confirmation from my vet,he’s seen her mouth before and said it was ok,so hope I’m not panicking ,but she does get periods of being unwell,and although perhaps not at the same stage as her mother ,I do fear the worst,hoping I’m wrong in this one,not wanting to go through it again,and especially for kitty’s sake.

    I’m so glad lily is doing so well gives us all hope,long may she continue to do so.

  365. I was told by my vet it can be genetic,I do believe this to be true,I have a mother and daughter,the mother had this horrible disease ,and sadly she is gone now,but due to cancer ,I’m now seeing similar things going on with her daughter ,and although not nearly as bad,I fear she may well have the same condition,I’ve yet to have it confirmed by my vet,I’m hoping I’m wrong,but her gums are a bit red and her breath a liittle smelly at times,she appears to be unwell on and off too,I’m from New Zealand,and it’s been interesting to read these comments,.
    We tried antibiotics,steroids and tooth removal ,for a while my cat was Improved,but it started to come back.
    Its a really nasty horrible condition,and it makes you feel so sad for your kitty ,I wish there was a cure.

    • Carole,

      You are the second person I have heard of with a mother and child who both have stomatitis. Given that stomatitis is an auto-immune disease, it makes sense that it is hereditary.

      My kitty Lily is doing wonderfully today. You’d never know there was anything wrong with her unless she tried to bite you and all you felt was her gums. Her stomatitis is not cured, but it is controlled to the point where she no longer feels pain and is an incredibly energetic and playful cat. I truly hope that your cats can get to this point, too.

      Rochelle

  366. I have found a successful and safe treatment for feline stomatitis. My cat had all teeth removed, except fangs. The diseases persisted. So, I began spraying a 10ppm colloidal silver mist into his mouth three times a day (about 6 sprays each time). This kills the bacteria that triggers the disease. The mouth will heal with regular treatment. But, my cat’s mouth inflames if I forget some doses.

    • Sam,

      This is a treatment option that I haven’t heard of before and I’m so glad you shared it. Thank you!

      I had a similar experience with the Lysine that I give to Lily. I ran out and she went without for a week until I got more. During that time, she flared up like your cat does. The silver lining to these experiences is that it shows us that the treatments are helping.

      Rochelle

    • Sabine,

      The cream is absorbed through the skin, and the ears have the most fur-free skin.

      Rochelle

  367. Thank you for all this info. One of our rescue cats, Pete has been diagnosed with this after 2 treatments of antibiotics and steroid injections. He is taking prednisone 5mg every 3 days right now and has been doing ok for about 3 wks but the last few days he will hardly eat at all. He has been eating pro plan savor which is low in grains but won’t eat it at the moment. I have science diet canned food which he will eat a little of but if I put l-lysine or coq10 on it he won’t eat it. I need to ask the vet for the pain med you use. He is such a sweet cat and I feel helpless at the moment. How can you feed the supplements if they aren’t eating? I did go to amazon and order the plaqueoff. We have a lot of rescue cats and dogs and we are retired so we can’t afford the teeth pulling at this time. What about finding a food with just duck or salmon-cool foods-do you know if that helps? I bought 2 cases of applaws but he only licked the liquid off. He couldn’t eat the meat because it was hard to chew. Appreciate all your info and appreciate any suggestions.

    Update – My vet won’t prescribe oral buprenex . I ordered natural instincts grain free canned duck and salmon. Hope he likes one of them.

    • Leslie,

      It sounds like your kitty is in a lot of pain if he won’t eat the foods you offer. What reason did your vet give for not wanting to give him the Buprenex pain medicine?

      I don’t have any experience or knowledge on grain-free foods other than that my vet suggested them as an option. I chose not to feed these foods to Lily because I have four other cats and it would be much too difficult to feed her separately. Please let us know how your cat responds to these foods.

      As for advice on how to get your cat to take the supplements, I’m not sure. Perhaps you could try mixing the supplements with a bit of canned tuna? Or, since the meat may be difficult for him to chew, you could put the tuna and supplements in a blender and add a bit of water, then mix it up until it is like baby food.

      I sincerely hope that you are able to find a way to give the supplements to your cat. Please let us know what you ended up doing in case other people have the same problem with their cats.

      Rochelle

  368. Thank you so much for sharing! You have provided so much knowledge here. Of course since I am on this page, it does mean I am seeking treatment for the most lovable kitty ~ Brian. He just is just over a year old. Brian found us, a poor stray kitty that needed love and a home. He has become to be one of my kids. His teeth have been pulled and recovered amazing. 1 month later he started pawing his mouth, not eating or drinking and just laying under the bed. I knew he didn’t win this battle. He did get a steroid shot 3 weeks ago and we are back to square one. Yesterday started the drool again, no eating and pawing 🙁 I will check your recommendations and call the vet.

    • Lynn,

      I am so sorry for not responding sooner to your comments!

      How is Brian doing now? What treatment options did you give to him? Please keep us updated.

      Rochelle

  369. Greetings and thank you from Sweden! 🙂

    My beloved Maine Coon “Åke” suffer from stomatitis and I found this page on Google! Not much useful information in swedish. Åke has calicivirus so we tried Interferon. Injections and orally for 3 months! My vet havent even mentioned antibiotics.. Interferon didnt help much, still red and swollen. But he is a big boy eating well and very playful (on a small dose metacam) so we will see what the next step is! We’ve discussed extractions but first I’ll give the supplements a try! 🙂

    Thank you and good luck with your cats!

    Anne

    • Anne,

      I am so sorry for not responding sooner to your comments.

      It is good to hear that Åke is playful. That means he is feeling well. Please let us know how Åke does with the supplements.

      Rochelle

  370. My cat Benny had stomatitis. He was drooling, in horrible pain and lifeless until I found a treatment at the Dallas Animal Clinic. They were doing a clinical trial for a medication. The medicine cost about $48.00 a month and you have to do blood work periodically. The medicine is fantastic. My Benny still has all of his teeth and thanks to the medicine they are all pearly white. When first taking the medication I saw a slight improvement daily and about the 45 day mark, Benny was restored to good health. The only side affects are they get hairballs from suddenly cleaning themselves and some cats get weight gain because they start eating like pigs. The medicine has to be ordered by a vet and the medicine is sent to the Vets office. The vet has to sign a non-disclosure agreement stating he will not tell anyone what is in the medicine. Every drug in the medicine is FDA approved. My vet said that what is in it does make sense and he now has 4 other patients on it as well. I can tell you that it saved my cat’s life. The clinic is very helpful. I found this treatment from another board and I am so happy I did! I am no way connected to the Dallas Animal Clinic other than my Benny is a patient. They will ship the medicine to anywhere in the United States. Their phone number is 972-385-8400.

    • Lynn,

      My sincere apologies to you for not responding sooner to your comments!

      This is wonderful information! Thank you so much for sharing it. Hopefully this will be of help to other people.

      Rochelle

      P.S. Seeing a hairball from a stomatitis kitty is a reason to celebrate 🙂

  371. Thank you so very much for posting this information about Feline Stomatitis. After today, I now have 3 kitties with this horrible disease, Twinkles, Boogs and Scrawny. Our vet treats it with shots every 30-60 days. Each kitty costs $55 so it’s becoming a bit expensive. I have searched the internet for other alternatives and finally came across your page. I am definitely going to start trying all your suggestions. I have another kitty, Pepper, who already had all his teeth extracted. Poor guy, he’s the only kitty I own that won’t eat wet food too. So he still eats dry food with no teeth! I don’t know if this is contagious but it seems like all my cats are getting it! Again, thank you for this post.

    • Shelia,

      Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your comments.

      The woman I adopted Lily from is a kitty foster mom. At any given time she has 30+ foster cats. She believes that stomatitis is contagious because she has seen the same thing happen that you are seeing.

      My experience, fortunately, has been the opposite. I have five cats, and all four of them lick Lily’s bowl after I give her medicine. No one else has come down with stomatitis.

      This makes me wonder if it may be contagious under certain circumstances, possibly at different times of the illness. I honestly don’t know, though.

      Are your three cats related? If so, it could be a genetic thing. I remember hearing from someone who has three cats – a mom and her two children. All three have the disease to one degree or another.

      Much luck to you and your kitties as you battle their stomatitis.

      Rochelle

  372. I found this interesting article on herbs to help cats. http://www.animalwellnessmagazine.com/articles/top-5-herbs-for-cats/

    They say the herb marshmallow can help stomatitis. Have any of you tried this?

    My poor baby jade (I posted about her before) is going in for teeth cleaning and possible extraction tomorrow. If the teeth are bad and/or causing the stomatitis to flare, they will pull her teeth. I am scared to death of her being put under anesthesia (she just reached her teens so she isn’t a young baby anymore) and possible reactions. Also if she has teeth pulled, I’m so worried she will be in pain. She is not the easiest to give medicine to, I have to pry her mouth open and that just makes me cringe knowing she might have wounds from extractions.

    Anyway, all we can do is try to help these babies. I love them all. I hope everyone will give their sweet babies kisses from me!

    • Renee,

      Please forgive me for taking so long to post your comment. I am so sorry!

      I have never heard of herb marshmallow so have no information on how it might work. Hopefully someone else will be able to offer input. Did you try it on Jade? If so, how has it worked?

      Rochelle

  373. Back in June of 2013, my wife and I helped rescue four litters of kittens and became foster parents. One of the litters was a pair of grey tabbies and a ginger which we named Inigo, Montoya and Dinky, short for Prince Humperdnk. 🙂 All seemed fine till one of our adoptive families reported that they were having bad breath and eating issues with the kitten they adopted, Montoya. They took her to thier vet for a checkup and found out she had stomatitis. They tried the steroid treatments and dental cleaning routines to no avail. As soon as we heard of what they were going through we decided to check Montoya’s litter mates and found they they all had stomatitis, with Dinky being the worst. We’ve decided to go the route of having thier teeth pulled as thier mouths are quite ulcerated and they won’t let us near thier mouths to administer treatment. We’re no strangers to in home medical treatment as we have had a couple of cats, and a dog, with diabetes requiring shots every 12 hours as well as others with kidney failure requiring fluids twice daily. But I have to say that it’s heartbreaking to have something this serious happen so early in thier little lives. I am glad, however, to know that we’re not alone in this and to hear of the success others are having. Dinky, the ginger, is especially dear to me and though I know this is the best route to take for the three of them, I’m still laying awake the night before surgery, worried. Thank you for a wonderful website, not just for all the info as there are many others that are very clinical, but for the human side of the issue as well.

    Sincerely,

    Mark

    • Mark,

      What a sadly interesting comment. Sad because I hate to hear about any cat having stomatitis. Interesting because it leads me to believe that, for some cats, stomatitis is genetic, and this is the first I’ve heard of that possibility.

      Yes, this is a heartbreaking disease. Hopefully your kitties will find relief from the tooth extraction, and possibly also with supplements and medicine. Please keep us posted about their progress.

      Rochelle

      P.S. I LOVE their names! “The Princess Bride” is a favorite in our house. The names remind me of three cats we had almost 20 years ago. They were named Jacob, Marley, and Neezer, short for Ebeneezer.

  374. Tara,

    Someone named KG provided feedback about Tramadol. For some reason the response came directly to me via email, so I am sharing HG’s response here:

    “Tramadol is routinely given by my veterinary surgeon/dentist for post dental/extractions, and also was given by an orthopedic surgeon for a foster of mine who had a pin put in her broken leg. It seems to work okay, but I have three gripes against it.

    – volume of medication to be swallowed
    – forcing mouth open to give oral meds to a cat with horrible mouth pain
    – cats HATE the taste and often froth and drool

    Bupe seems to work much better because you put a tiny volume of fluid in the cheek pouch, and it doesn’t seem to taste anywhere as bad. It can also be injected, if I’m not mistaken, although I’ve not used it that way. The strongest med seems to be a fentanyl patch which is placed on shaved skin, but I don’t believe that is used for routine pain control but rather for a short period of time. My first stomatitis cat was given a patch by a veterinary dentist in Towson, after she had all of her teeth out at once.

    KG”

    If you do use Buprenex, it is important to make sure it goes in the cheek, not on the tongue. It needs to be absorbed in the skin. If you put it on the tongue it will get swallowed, and the helpful pain killing effects will be greatly diminished.

    Rochelle

  375. My 8 year old cat caught the feline calici virus. As a result , she has a very bad case of stomatitis/dental issues, and 2 teeth have been removed. She is on antibiotics because of the bacteria which has also caused chronic lower respiratory infections. Because of the virus, she cant have the steroids. She is going to have a full mouth extraction soon, with the exception of the front canines. The bleeding and swelling of the gums, inner cheeks and ulcerated tongue seems to be causing much pain. I am using Tramadol HCL for her. Has anyone used this drug before? I cant tell if it is helping her pain, or if she is just experiencing a high.

    • Tara,

      My cat was given Buprenex for her pain, which seemed to control it very well. Unfortunately, I have never heard of Tramadol HCL so I am unable to offer an opinion one way or the other. I just did a quick search about it and it appears that it is helpful to cats in controlling pain. Hopefully someone else has experience with it and can chime in.

      Rochelle

  376. Just a quick update on Newman, he is doing wonderfully! He has gained back all the weight he lost, such a solid guy again instead of skin and bones. He eats his dry food with the L-lysine and Plaque Off, and drinks the AquaDent water, all without objection. He is happy and playful again, I am very hopeful that he will have continued good health!

    • Wendy,

      That is wonderful to hear! Please continue to keep us updated on Newman’s progress.

      Rochelle

    • Teddie,

      I honestly don’t know the answer to this. I use a Lysine powder that is specifically manufactured for cats and includes a scooper with the proper dosage for cats. That being said, my vet told me that the proper dose of Lysine for Lily was 500 mg per day. I hope that helps.

      Rochelle

  377. Hi! Reply function doesn’t seem to want to work, but I have a small update. We went to the follow up appointment with my vets, and it turns out she herself has had cats with stomatitis in the past. She said Cass’ gums are recovering well from the extraction, and her gums are only a bit red but otherwise not too bad. I talked to her about PlaqueOff, and she also recommended an oral cleansing gel called Maxi Guard. I’m hesitant to use both at the same time, so until I get a reply from the manufacturer I’m just gonna stick with the PlaqueOff. Thankfully, my order of PlaqueOff came today, so we’ll be starting that tomorrow morning.

  378. our Samson also has stomatitis, began about a year ago at age 13, started him on a specific plan of antibiotics which helped some, he continued eating but was drooling a lot and forcefully pawing at his mouth, previously had been a dry food eater but started preferring the softer canned food, blood work was good including kidneys for his age, over this year he has had 3 dentals removing all his teeth except his canines; now at age 14, past month Samson stopped eating but still drinks some water, we have hand fed him the canned foods he was eating on his own and given fluids as needed, plus syringed fed him the Recovery RC, now he smells his food but will not eat on his own at all, vet visit yesterday shows kidneys are now failing with CREA 5.5 when a year ago it was 2.3, vet says he has never knows a kitty to survive from that high a number, started him on Renal LP Modified which my vet says will take about 2 weeks giving him this canned food for his body to clear out the impurities in the kidneys to see if it will work, also started him on oral pain meds twice a day. My question is about the pain meds to anyone who has used it – how long before you see any improvement in the tenderness in your kitty’s mouth and/or throat, and how long did you use the pain med? Samson has only been on two days and I think during my hand feeding him the Renal LP M, he doesn’t seem to paw at him mouth as much, or maybe I am imaging it because I want it to be. We are trying the pain meds a couple days to see what happens to determine whether or not to continue, but wondered what others’ experience had been and how long it took for other kittys. Thank you, Diane

    • Diane,

      I’m so sorry That Samson is going through all of this.

      The only pain medicine that I have experience with is Buprenex. That is what I gave to Lily when she was in horrible pain with the stomatitis, but I haven’t had to give it to her in over a year. From what I remember, it helped with the pain pretty quickly and lasted for something like four or six hours.

      If anyone else here has given pain meds to your kitties, please share how long it took for the pain to subside.

      Prayers to you and Samson.

      Rochelle

  379. Thank you for your website, I cannot tell you how vital your cat’s journey is to so many of us out there. The information available is so confusing and it helps to listen to testimony from someone who is living through this painful disease.

    My cat, Kia, was diagnosed with stomatitis in January 2014. We caught it very early, as we took her to the vet as soon as she started screaming and running from her food. Our vet waited a while before taking blood. She also was diagnosed four weeks ago as 4+ positive for Bartonella. She is 22 months old. On her first visit, our vet gave her a shot of Medrol and a two-week course of oral azithromycin. That took away some of her inflammation. The symptoms subsided for nine weeks. Five weeks ago, she received her second shot of Medrol and is beginning her fifth week of oral azithromycin to combat the Bartonella virus. Our vet wants to see if the azithromycin will get rid of her virus, although he said she might be a life-long carrier. She eats Purina One wet food for breakfast and the same brand in dry food during the day, I found soft treats for her, which she loves.

    I would like to try the two supplements. Are the supplements safe for my other three cats? She is my first kitty furby and love her more than I thought possible. I am okay with having her teeth pulled if that would alleviate her pain in the long run, although our vet said we are not at that point yet. She has not started to drool and continues to clean herself. She doesn’t favor any side of her mouth, although she does eat one piece of food at a time. She loves chin rubs and lets us rub around her mouth with no problems. Also, she tolerates the syringe well and clamps down on it to indicate when she needs to swallow her medicine.

    Thank you again. Your journey helps many cat parents!

    • Margie,

      I’m so glad that my experience with Lily was also helpful to you.

      Re: PlaqueOff and Lysine for all your cats – To the best of my knowledge, Lysine is safe to give all cats. My vet said it is like Vitamin C for humans in that it helps boost their immune systems. As for PlaqueOff, the only time you wouldn’t want to give it to a cat is if the cat has hyperthyroidism. Otherwise, it should be perfectly safe. That being said, I recommend discussing them with your vet if you are at all worried, just to make sure they are okay.

      The benefit to giving PlaqueOff to your other cats is that it will help keep their teeth and gums healthy because it minimizes the amount of plaque in the mouth.

      It is a good sign that Kia isn’t drooling, still cleans herself, and is okay with being touched around the mouth. We couldn’t touch Lily on or near her mouth for about a year. Today, though, she is fine with having her mouth area touched.

      Much luck to you and Kia as you go through this journey. You are welcome to come back and update us any time with how Kia is doing and how you are treating her stomatitis.

      Rochelle

  380. I recently rescued a cat that was diagnosed with gingivitis. Upon closer look, it appears to be stomatitis. In the past it’s been depo injections in the handful of cats I have seen over the years. I hesitate to have all the teeth extracted since the cat is only about 8 months old. I want to try the supplements first and avoid the rash option of surgery. Following the comments that are posted gives me hope.

    • Hopefully your cat will respond well to whatever treatment option you choose. Please come back and share the results, as well as the treatment(s) you used.

      Rochelle

  381. Hello,

    Thank you for taking the effort to put up such comprehensive information on Stomatitis. My cat, Che, 7.5 years old, has recently been suspected with Gingivitis-Stomatitis. We didnt realize until he slowly stopped eating his lunch completely. We assumed it was because he needed to be dewormed.. or that it was the annual vaccination time. When we took him over to the vet.. He gave him a dose of a deworming medicine and two vaccinations…

    Post the vaccinations,his eating habits have completely gone downhill… he barely drinks water (when he does drink water, his nose first touches the surface of the water, and he ends up jerking his head back suddenly, i suppose because of the pain in swollen gums)… We took him back to the doc who then examined his teeth and told us he has mouth ulcers and pointed out the swollen gum around his canine.

    Its been 5 days now. We’re force feeding him with glucose water, watered down chicken broth…(almost half of which he’s drooling out, he literally just manages to retain 5 ml of the food we give him)… He hasnt peed or pooped in three days.. The doc asked us to observe him carefully for three days and prescribed Metrinidazole to be applied on his gums three times a day after a meal…

    It’s harrowing trying to feed him, and trying to make him keep it down… I am very upset and sad to see him suffering this way… and hence have been surfing the net to figure out what i can do… Your blog has not only helped me with information, but made me feel not so alone in this situation..

    So Thank You so much. 🙂

    • Devjani,

      Reading about this breaks my heart! How is Che doing now that he’s been on his prescription medicine for a few days?

      No, you are not alone. Honestly, I’m shocked by the number of people who have found my site and shared their stories of dealing with stomatitis. Please come back any time you need to and know that you are surrounded by people who understand what you and Che are going through.

      Rochelle

  382. My cat, Missy, was just diagnosed with stomatitis, complicated by a 1cm sessile growth protruding from her gingiva. We just never thought to look into her mouth for the cause of her bad breath!! We changed her diet, and added peppermint oil to her water, but still the bad breath. By the time we took her to the vet, the growth was causing her significant problems. She has had the growth removed, but still has the stomatitis (the growth is currently being sent to the pathologist to ensure its not squamous cell carcinoma, SCC). The vet also has recommended tooth extraction because of the extent and duration of the stomatitis, but now that I’m looking at her teeth I’m noticing that unlike a human’s mouth, the decay which is occurring is not accompanied by the same black deadening of the tooth, in fact, aside from the actual reddening of the gingiva, the teeth actually look very clean, and white. I’m wondering what other options people have tried to lower the inflammation. If this is an autoimmune mediated condition, I’m wondering what would happen on high dose curcumin (Dr. Karen Becker recommends 100 mg twice a day; which seems like a good number to me – for someone with something like Rheumatoid Arthritis, I would use a couple thousand mg a day to manage); I also read on a website that people are also using Low Dose Naltrexone for their pets with Autoimmune conditions. I read a dose of .03mg x weight of cat – and confirmed this dose on the Yahoo group LDN4pets – this would be the starting dose, and then would ratchet up by .05 or so every few weeks, until symptoms subsided. Also, as part of any antiinflammatory regimen, fish oil is a must – 1000mg per 10 to 20lbs body weight in divided doses per day.
    I’m also figuring out how to administer Frankincense essential oil easily to her mouth. We are also using the pain killer for now, but we’ll see if the redness diminishes at all, then come off of that and see how she does.

    • Wow! I haven’t heard of any of the treatment options you wrote about. Thank you so much for sharing them!

      Please let us know if you try any of them, and how Missy responds to them. If you haven’t already seen it, you might also want to consider trying the PlaqueOff, which is what I give to Lily. It has been miraculous and gave Lily her life back. It takes about two months, but it does bring down the inflammation.

      Rochelle

  383. Thank you so much for this page! I’ve only just found out today that my cat Cass has stomatitis. Back in December, my vet noticed that her gums looked a little red, and advised me to try changing her diet to grain/wheat/soy-free with a novel protein (venison, rabbit, duck), and she gave me some Aquadent. She’s been eating a limited ingredient wet food (sometimes mixed in with the same brand of dry food) since then, and she’s never really shown a reluctance to eat, nor drooling or bleeding. She was not a big fan of the Aquadent in the water, and in an effort to get her to drink it, I think I might have used too little to do her any good.

    I noticed two weeks ago that her gums still looked red and her breath was terrible, so I made an appointment with my vet for her to have an exam and cleaning. When I did got her there today, they ended up having to remove two of her rear teeth due to abscesses, and after the cleaning they gave her a steroid shot and sent her home with some painkillers. I ran out of there before I could make a follow-up appointment, but I plan on giving them a call to do so asap.

    I’m so glad you’ve put this information up; it’s given me lots of things to ask about when we do go in for the follow up. I will definitely ask them to do an x-ray, to make sure they extracted the teeth they’ve already removed fully. I’ve never heard of stomatitis before today, and trying to figure out the treatment options has been an upsetting mess of conflicting info. I even saw people saying that if you were unwilling/unable to afford to have the full mouth extraction, you should euthanize your cat! My vet has already told me she considers the full mouth extraction a last resort, so I’m hopeful. And all these people relaying their stories of cats living comfortably with this illness give me hope and make me a little less scared.

    Oh, I should also mention that Cass is almost 2 years old, and from what I’m reading, that is young for a cat to develop stomatitis. That worries me

    • Amber,

      Please accept my apology for not responding sooner to your message.

      Aquadent can be hit or miss. Some cats are fine with it, while others aren’t. It’s worth trying, as you did, since it does help many cats.

      I have no doubt that there are people who euthanize cats that are diagnosed with stomatitis. We spent a LOT of money on Lily, which was a huge stressor for a while, but we cannot imagine not having her with us. She is such a sweet, loving, friendly ball of fur! My husband and I have often discussed that we probably saved Lily’s life by adopting her, that if someone else had adopted her she that she could very well have been put to sleep.

      I wish I could offer you advice about Cass being young and developing stomatitis. Lily was less than one year old when she got it, and our vet also said that she was very young to get it. I can tell you that, as of today, Lily has been pain free for over a year, and she is super happy and playful. We just take it one day at a time with her.

      Rochelle

  384. (I also could not get the reply button to work, but, no worries!!! Here I am again) and….
    Hey, Wendy!!!! Goat’s Meowmy here! Your news is PAWsome!!! “LIKE”!!!!!! If not fur me finding Rochelle’s pawsome page, I am sure my cat Goat (yes, Goat, he is a Tux Kitteh) would still be in pain. He was diagnosed a few months ago, and with one month on Lysine and PlaqOff , he has shown drastic improvement.
    I definite saw better eating results when I fed him on a cloth placemat. He is terrified of his food bowl. I’m pawsitive he associates it with pain.
    Rally on, Meowmies!!!!! Thanks a million, Rochelle!!!!!!!
    #smiles through stupid Tears!
    ~PatzAdvoCat x’s 15 >^,,^<~~~

  385. Hi Rochelle,

    Sorry, I can’t get the reply button to work! But yes, happily, Newman is drinking the water with the AquaDent in it! I wasn’t absolutely sure until today, as I have 3 cats and a dog who all have access to the various water dishes, and if had to have at least one filled with plain water as my cat Gideon refuses to drink the AquaDent water. But tonight I saw Newman drinking the AquaDent water happily, so I am very encouraged. He and the other two cats all also readily eat their dry food with the PlaqueOff and the L-lysine on it. Since Gideon is also very prone to plaque buildup on his teeth and has had several extractions, I decided to feed everyone the supplements instead of just Newman.

    The cleaning was amazing for Newman, and he only needed one extraction of a back molar that was being resorbed. He was supposed to stay on canned food for two weeks, but I had to have dry food out for the other two, and I can’t keep him out of it, he feels so much better! They gave him a steroid injection and sent him home with two weeks of antibiotics and pain pills. Because most of the lesions were in his throat and the back of his mouth rather than along the gum line, they are hopeful that he will do well. So far, so good!

  386. Here is an article I found about lactoferrin, a supplement that has been studied and has been found to be effectuve at treating stomattitis as well as other bacterial, viral and parasitic infections. I have not tried it yet for my cat Matisse who is 11 months old and diagnosed with stomatitis December 20th.
    At the time of diagnoses we gave him clyndamycin and a steroid injection…symptoms cleared rapidly only to return 2 months later. Began giving him plaqueoff about 6 weeks ago and while I still see darker pink inflammed areas around his teeth, they are better than they were and have not began bleeding again or caused him to alter his eatung or grooming habits in anyway. He appears to not be in pain and accepts having his face rubbed and touched with no response indicative of him being in pain. For the past 4 days we have him on another course of clyndamycin but it only helped a bit. I know the steroid shot will likely take away all the inflammation but im scared to keep giving it to him due to the side effects. I amalways reading and researching online about stomatitis as I am dreading the day the pain returns and we have no other option but the full mouth extraction. I found the info on lactoferrin and found info on actual medical studies that show it can be effective in reducing or removing stomatitis…I just wanted to share this with everyone so we can all research it and try it. It apparently has no known side effects and is relatively inexpensive so its worth giving a shot. I’d love to know if anyone else has heard of it or tried it. I’m going to order some and give it a shot…ill post about to let everyone know how it works. There are many articles about so I encourage all to do a google search and research it.
    As always my prayers are with all the pet parents and furbabies struggling with this awful painful and fully understood disease.

    Warm regards,
    Kristin

    http://www.fivtherapy.com/lactoferrin.htm

    • Kristin,

      I’m so glad to hear that you are seeing improvement in Matisse. It’s been a month since you posted this (sorry for not seeing this sooner!). Has there been any more improvement?

      Thank you for sharing what you found about lactoferrin. Please let us know how it works for Matisse if you give it to him.

      Rochelle

  387. A PAWsome breakthrough!!!!! Dignosed a few months ago, my cat, Goat, showed a DRASTIC imorovement in “little to none” pain free eating! Today is day 11, and I am thrilled! I realize this may come and go , but fur now, we are BOTH relishing in the fact that he can eat without pain!
    I used Lysine and PlaqOff. Religiously spray (fine mist) Clorhexidine in mouth twice, three times a day/night. Lysine twice a day,,, mixed in a tad of hot water to dissolve it and about a tablespoon or 2 of goats milk or tuna juice. PlaqOff in all water. Feed is Call of the Wild, grain free, dry. Wet food is Evo can, grain free, and other meats in very, very small bits. Grain free cat treats. Any moist type food is placed on a cloth placemat, as he developed a fear relationship to his bowl due to pain when he tried to eat. He does eat MUCH better from this cloth, and when I sit next to him. Hey, whatever works. I will do it. I do feed him seperately, so the others don’t get his food. He is NOT interested in their food, which is 9 Lives dry, as its “cross shape” hurts his mouth. His dry food has a small round shape.
    Thank you fur this page!!!! I have learned here, that each cat/method of treatment/length of pain is different. It seems to be a trial/learning thing. I love reading the others stories. I rally on>>>>furever in the quest to ease Goats plight. Always will.

  388. Feline diabetes can be managed successfully, even if the cat needs to be on steroids, just as it can in humans.

    You may need to give subcutaneous injections of insulin twice a day, but the amounts are small, the needles are thin, and most cats barely notice you’ve done it.

    For more information, please go to http://www.felinediabets.com

    • Thank you for sharing this. It is encouraging to hear that diabetes may not be the end if Lily develops it.

  389. wow, great information on this web site.
    Today is such a sad day for me. I have to put my feral cat `Mumps` down tomorrow. He is FIV+ and has stomatitis. He showed up at my door 2 years ago. He lived on my covered porch with a Feral Cat Tube and a heated mat. He had on and off episodes of not eating and I realized he had mouth pain. I had all his teeth except for canines removed in November and I have been trying to make him comfortable since then. I wish I saw your website then. The vet did not do an Xray. Now he has a terrible mouth pain. It started 3 weeks ago when he did not eat for 8 days! How sad is that? Then we got a big snowstorm here in MD and he went into my garage. I closed down all the doors and locked him in. A few days later he started eating..everything I gave him licked clean…what a relief! I started him in ClinDrops antibiotic, but 4 days into the ClinDrops he started not eating again, drooling and bleeding on one side of his mouth. So sad. I cannot touch him. He is trap smart as I had him neutered last year (trapped first time) then I trapped him again in November to remove his teeth. His status as a feral and the complications from FIV+ make it almost impossible to give him proper treatment and a quality of life. I am so sad to come to this conclusion. Right now he is warm and dry in my garage with a heater, a heated dog house and his food and water on a heating pad. He also has a window perch and I see him from the outside laying on his perch and enjoying the sun. When I go into the garage he goes and hides but in the past when he was feeling ok he would come near when I called and even get within a few feet of me. Today is day 4 of not eating and I have a friend who does wildlife rescue coming over to help me net him and bring him to the vet. I hope there really is a rainbow bridge 🙁

    • Maria,

      As sad as this is, please comfort yourself with the knowledge that you improved Mumps’s life simply by giving him a place to eat, get warm, and be loved, even if only from a distance. That’s more than many feral cats will ever have.

      As for the rainbow bridge, I’m confident there is and many of my cats will be waiting there for me someday.

      Rochelle

  390. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this website! My cat Newman was just diagnosed with stomatitis, and I was searching the internet for info. It’s all so conflicting, and I was so happy to find you site with all of this excellent information! Newman had abruptly began losing weight and hiding around six weeks ago, and I mistakenly thought he had just become stressed because I had all the carpets shampooed (he’s very shy and timid). I offered canned food to entice him to eat, and he immediately did so and regained the weight. Then, when I tried to wean him off the canned food, he suddenly began losing weight again, and I realized that he could not eat the dry food for some reason. I have 3 cats, so it was impossible to monitor who was eating how much food. I went back to canned food for Newman, and he immediately began doing better again, though I noticed his breath was horrible.

    I took him to the vet yesterday, and they did an exam and blood work, but due to the inflammation in his gums they immediately suspected stomatitis. They sent him home with pain meds, which have perked him up amazingly, he is running around and playing like I haven’t seen in weeks! The blood work came back today, and they said it is consistent with that diagnosis (but thankfully, otherwise completely healthy!). He goes in tomorrow to get his teeth cleaned, and after will start his first course of steroids and antibiotics. I am going on Amazon today to order the L-lysine and PlaqueOff, and may give the AquaDent a try. Thanks for the video showing how to give them! It’s such a relief to find this site and know what to try for him!

    • Wendy,

      Hopefully all the efforts you are making with Newman will help get the stomatitis under control.

      I’m very curious as to how Newman does with the AquaDent. Did he drink the water with it? If so, does it seem to be helping? My cat Lily absolutely refused it, so I wasn’t able to know if it would help, but my vet said she has many cat owners who swear by it.

      Rochelle

  391. My cat, Lucy, has been living with stomatitis for almost 7 years. She has it because of a weakened immune system due to FIP.

    At 2 years of age she had a surgery to remove some teeth and have some of her swollen gums laser-ed down. We do a monthly antibiotic to control infection, but lately it’s not enough. She has had episodes of extreme pain and I think we’re going to have to get the rest of her teeth extracted.

    With her weakened immune system it took Lucy a very long time to recover after her first surgery. She was not expected to live this long, which is why I put off a second surgery. She has until now been happy and seemed healthy with her antibiotics monthly.

    Thank you for sharing your story – I’m just up with a sore and tired cat surfing the web looking for ideas before we go back to the vet tomorrow.

    • Caitlin,

      Based on your comment I think you’ve already been to the vet, so you may already have the information you are seeking.

      You said that Lucy has been on antibiotics, and that she has had stomatitis for seven years, but you didn’t say how long she’s been on the antibiotics. One thing to be aware of is that long term antibiotic use is bad because cats (and humans) build up immunities to the antibiotics. Since Lucy is no longer doing well, it is possible that they are no longer effective because of this.

      You are in a difficult position because of the age of Lucy. Older cats are much more likely to have complications when put under anesthesia, and having a weakened immune system makes it an even bigger challenge. Don’t hesitate to seek a second opinion if you 1) don’t like the answer your current vet gave you, or 2) you want confirmation that what your vet said is the right choice for Lucy.

      I sincerely hope that you are able to find a course of action that brings relief to Lucy.

      Rochelle

  392. I think it was about 2 years ago that I found out he has diabetes. At first I had to give him a shot every 12 hours, but he is much more stable now. Now he only needs it 1 time a day. Before he would be on pain killers, antibiotics and steroids every few months. Stress would usually aggravate and cause flare ups, like when I moved to my house and got a dog. Stress definitely makes stomatitis worse. Pippin helps a lot too so Denny doesn’t have to lick himself. I imagine it would be very painful to have hair stuck in a sore throat. I have noticed that wet food sticks to his throat more and makes him have a lot of pain. So I do small dry food and he nums it down.

  393. Thank you all for your kind thoughts for my sweet Ruffy. He was so very special to me, from the moment I met him and he only became more special as time went on. I didn’t meet him until he was 6 years old and the 10 years we had together seem so short. Please don’t ever think that you must raise them from rom kittens to have a wonderful pet and friend. I do hope that there is a “Rainbow Bridge” and that I will see my beloved pets again. Each are special and all left their footprints on my heart.

  394. Wow I wish this site was up when I found out my cat’s stomatitis. Denny is 8 1/2 & has had stomatitis for 6yrs. He was starving himself then thousands of dollars later I found vet that had 2 cats with stomatitis! Dr Truesdale in Albuquerque. She saved my cat’s life! His mouth was so bad they had to extract all teeth except for the bottom canines & the itty bitty ones on the bottom front (to help maintain the integrity of the jaw). I’ve never tried the plaqueoff, I will and I have not heard of trying the supplements yet. He has pain from time to time and I do use the Buprenex every 4-7 months. Antibiotics rarely now and steroids sadly has given him diabetes.

    I wanted to say too that since he has become diabetic I give him 2 ml insulin through needle every night. He is MUCH better with insulin shots than ever before. And he doesn’t lick himself but I do notice rough times when he leaves drewl marks. That’s when I know he is hurting more. He has formed a symbiotic relationship with one of my other cats, Pippin. He started licking Denny about 6mo after the first surgery. Now He goes to Pippin for all “baths.” Denny was always top cat of the house, so it seems Pippin is given status for providing grooming services. Together they both enjoy picking on my 3rd cat, Meri. Luckily Meri holds his own.

    • Daniel,

      It is very encouraging to hear that your cat has survived for six years with stomatitis. How long did you give steroids to Denny before he came down with diabetes? My vet and I know that this is a possibility for Lily, who is on steroids, but we have her on the lowest dose possible.

      I love that Pippin has become his groomer! It is amazing how cats sense what other cats (and other animals) need.

      Is it safe to say that you are a fan of Tolkien? I love the names. Two years ago my daughter had a pet rat she named Frodo.

      Rochelle

  395. (This post fur Connie, prrrrease,as “reply” button not working fur me…thanks)
    Connie, I send my condolences to you over your cats rough path. I consider this cat blessed in the fact that you gave the best gift of all,,,, you helped end his suffering,,,, and I also know how this feels. Thank you fur sharing his story. This may well educate and help another person in a same situation.
    ~PatzAdvoCat x’s 15 > ^, ,^ < ~ ~ ~

  396. Thank you SO much for lysine dosage/kind info! He, Goat, now has 500 mg in him, easily taken in powder form in chicken broth. I bought Grain free Taste of the Wild dry food/small kibble bits, which he loves, and I will order PlaqOff online tomorrow. Today was a good day fur him! THANK YOU!
    I will continue to follow this post and describe his progress. I am so happy I found this page!!! It was Godsent!
    ~~~PRRRS N HEADBUMPS!!! >^,,^<~~~

  397. Very sad news. I had to say goodbye to my sweet boy Ruffy last week. It hurts so badly to tell you this. After taking him to the vet, getting the antibiotics, pain medication, l-lysine plaqueoff etc., he just kept getting worse. His face was swollen and I began to suspect that the vet had only diagnosed based on his past history of stomatitis and didn’t really examine him thoroughly. I took him back and they confirmed my worst fear, that he had a sublingual tumor. It progressed quickly and I couldn’t let him suffer. I’m so sad and miss him so much! I wish that more vets would be more informed and caring. He was the sweetest, most unique cat I’ve ever known. Thank you all again for this website and the help you provided.

    • Connie,

      I am so sorry to hear about Ruffy. This is so sad to hear. It is obvious from your comments that you are a wonderful kitty mom.

      My neighbor lost her kitty to exactly the same thing this past December. After Bandit passed I gave her a poem, which I am going to share with you, too. You can read it at http://petloss.com/rainbowbridge.htm.

      My heart and prayers go out to you.

      Rochelle

  398. Help! I have L Lysine from the health store. Is there a diff between lysine for humans and lysine for cats? I don’t know dosage for a (15 lb.) cat. I do not want to give him the wrong thing/dosage!
    Thanks fur info!

    • I believe that Lysine for humans is the same for cats, though it may come in different forms. The powder is what you want to give to cats. I’m pretty sure the main difference between Lysine for humans and Lysine for cats is that the cat version includes a flavoring that smells fishy to make it appealing to cats.

      The instructions for the Lysine that I give Lily says to give 500mg twice daily to cats older than six months. It includes a spoon that measures out this amount and the spoon is about 1/8 teaspoon. I hope that helps.

  399. I have one further question about possible dietary supplements. Has anyone had experience with vitamins as supplements to boost immune system performance, apart from Lysine? Thanks!

    • John,

      I do not have any experience with vitamins and cats, but hopefully someone else does and can comment on it. However, I have a suggestion that might help you. Contact one or more of the cat rescue groups in your area and ask them about vitamin supplements. I suspect they may have experience since they deal with untold cat problems and have loads of experience. I also recommend that you tell them your cat has stomatitis and ask what they have done for their cats with stomatitis. This is what I did and how I found out about Lysine and the steroid cream that I give Lily.

      Rochelle

  400. Glad to have found your site and all its information! Great work on your part!

    I have three “rescued” common moggys: an elderly brother and sister, Dreyfus and Mims, who are close to nineteen, and a youthful and sometimes overly rambunctious two year old male, P.C.P. Jeeves. My female, Mims, started to come down with stomatitis approximately eighteen months ago. Unfortunately, I haven’t the money for extensive dentist’s visits, and the cost of tooth removal and threat of complications with anesthetics has left me with few options.

    Much internet research has brought me down a curious path to using the antihistamine Cetirizine Hydrochloride, one 10mg tablet per day, to combat inflammation, and one-half tablet of low-dose aspirin, for pain, every three days, or on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Weekend Off schedule. This has combination has alleviated excessive pain and retarded the advance of the Stomatitis significantly. I have also found that at least supplementing Mims diet with a purchased raw food diet(exclusively chicken-base for the protein) combined with basic (Friskies) canned food has had a positive affect on her appetite and protein intake. (My experience here suggests that there is no inherent reason for fear of a raw food diet, and noticeable positives. I have continued with saturated “Dry Food” and standard canned food as a base line for potentially missed supplements. I notice all three cats seem to assimilate the raw food differently, apparently with greater ease, and are noticeably “perkier” with a consistent supplement of the raw proteins, and even the raw vegetable matter seems to be helpful with digestion.)

    Unfortunately, after a largely positive eighteen month period, Mims’s Stomatitis has spread and is once again causing her pain. I suspect that she needs a “holiday” from the antihistamine, even as humans may, when a collateral response to the antihistamine causes its own reaction. This leaves me at a loss, but I am now considering the possibility of the Lysine with the steroid, as mentioned, with the possibility of the water supplement. The treatment above has never eliminated or “cured” the Stomatitis, only managed it. It would be great if any of these new ideas could reverse the current trend to some extent! Any observations or comments would be more than welcome.

    Sincerely,
    John

    • John,

      This is the first time I have heard of using an antihistamine and aspirin. Thank you for sharing that, since it might be helpful to others (though I encourage anyone reading this to discuss the use of aspirin before giving it to your cat just to make sure there are no possible problems with doing so since it is a blood thinner).

      As for raw food diets, I know that many people have had success with raw food and their cats for a variety of reasons, not just stomatitis. This was something my vet and I discussed for Lily, but I decided not to for reasons that have nothing to do with my cat. My vet agrees that it can be helpful.

      You said something that I think cuts to the heart of the stomatitis issue. From what I have seen with Lily and read from other people, stomatitis is not cured (with the possible exception of tooth extraction for some cats, but there is no way to know before pulling teeth if this will work for any given cat). Rather, we may be able to control the symptoms of stomatitis. My cat Lily is not cured, nor will she ever be, but I am able to greatly minimize the inflammation, redness, and pain. The tricky part is figuring out what works best for our cats to control their symptoms.

      It sounds to me like you already have a really good handle on this matter with Mim’s. Hopefully the Lysine and water treatment will help her get past this particular bump in the proverbial road.

      Rochelle

  401. Rochelle,

    I have been reading the posts about these kitties. I am in tormoil, Tabitha is 8 years old and she is losing weight. She is a real trooper, I have been feeding her wet cat food and she eats until it hurts, then she runs around the house and shakes her head violently, it is very difficult to watch. It is like she is trying to escape the pain.

    I took her to the vet and he says that it is stomatitis. He gave me some options. The steroid option, he didn’t recommend because he has seen 0 good results from this. He suggested pulling her teeth .

    This is a very expensive option, as you know. It will cost over $1000. I will probably guilt myself into doing this. I love my kitty but I have to justify spending that much money on a ( maybe ). Does anyone know of any financial options ? Maybe some agencies that help with costs ?? I am not a wealthy person and a widow . All of the treatments that I have read about on your page seem rather pricey. I guess it is expensive to be a pet owner.

    Thank You for starting this page, I have been searching for information about stomatitis and I stumbled across it. Everything I have read has been helpful and it is nice to know that their are some options for Tabitha.

    Sherry

    • Sherry,

      I’m so sorry your kitty is suffering as she is. You are right that it is difficult to watch.

      After reading about your vet I want to urge you to get a second opinion. The fact that your vet doesn’t want to try something simple (steroids or other easy options such as antibiotics) makes me pause. A tooth extraction should, in my opinion, be the last thing you try, not the first. It is both the most expensive option (it cost us over $2000 for Lily’s two tooth extraction surgeries) and final. You can’t put the teeth back in if pulling them doesn’t work.

      My suggestion is to contact a cat rescue group in your area and explain your situation. Ask them what vets they recommend. Visit one or more of their recommendations. It may be that a tooth extraction is the best option for Tabitha, but I think it makes sense to try other treatment options first.

      If you do end up having Tabitha’s teeth pulled, it is critical that the vet who does this performs x-rays of her mouth AFTER the teeth have been pulled to make sure there are no tooth fragments left in her mouth. Cat teeth are fragile and break very easily. Tooth fragments can lead to infections and additional health problems.

      I do not know of any financial assistance sources specifically for pets, but perhaps someone else does. That being said, I know that of one person who used a crowd funding site (I think it was Indigogo.com but I can’t find it to confirm this) to raise money for her cat’s tooth extraction surgery. Here is a link to a post from a source I trust that explains several different crowd funding sites:

      http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=12002

      Rochelle

    • Sherry,

      Someone responded to your comment, but it came directly to me via email instead of posting here. This is what the person said:

      If you can get to Richmond Va, the Helping Hands clinic does all inclusive dentals for $175 plus $45 if blood work needed. That covers everything! No matter how many extractions. Meds included. Awesome specialty dental and surgery clinic. Check it out. Dr Pasternak has been on good morning America show and was a HSUS vet of the year. I have used the clinic many times. Good luck.

      Rochelle

  402. Wow, this website is a Godsent! I, too, have a cat diagnosed by the vet with stomatitis. I stumbled on this website last night and read and read and read! Wonderful information here! It is such a relief to have found this website. I’m sure you all share my feelings of desperation when you found out your cat’s diagnosis. My cat, Goat, has had stomatitus for about 6 months now. He is a middle aged kittie. What prompted me to take him to the vet was his horrid breath, so I thought he had a bad tooth, He would eat, then run and claw at his mouth.The vet performed a dental deep cleaning. He gave me surgical scrub spray, which I put in an aluminum sprayer that has a fine mist. I am diligent in applying this twice a day. Goats course has been up and down. Good days, bad days. On bad days, he refuses to eat. He eats well when I sit real close to him, so I do
    I am most confused about diet. One site said they got consistent good results by cutting out poultry and seafood, Have fun with THAT! All catfood I found contained these two ingrediants. One with just vineson was $2.00 a can. Rabbit was way expensive! I am beginning to doubt poultry and seafood are to be eliminated. This was only one suggestion. Most posts blamed grain. But, cattle eat grain, so,,,, I am confused. I think I am going to search for a small kibbled dry cat food with no grains. I did NOT know canned food is harder to swallow. Thank you for that info! I have been pureeing his food. Only beef and pork. He also loves pumpkin, squash, and sweet potatoe. I added spinach for greens. He has homegrown catnip and grass was well. (The legal kind/MOL!) One site said no potatoe. Yikes! I wondered then if I should cut out sweet potatoes?
    I am most Definately going to purchase lysine and PlaqOff! Those two keep showing up most in posts.
    This is a continuous learning process for me. Bless you for this site and continuing information!
    ~PatzAdvoCat x’s 15 >^,,^<~~~~

    • Patrice,

      There is a lot of confusing or conflicting information regarding stomatitis, isn’t there? I think the reason for this is because no one knows for sure what causes it (there can be any number of reasons for the inflammation, not a single reason), and there is no one way to reduce the inflammation. Something like feline leukemia or diabetes is much easier to deal with because their causes are known, as is treatment. Stomatitis is, to me, more like throwing darts at a dart board while blind folded: You hope something will work at controlling the symptoms but you don’t know for sure which actions will work, if any.

      I’m with you on the food issue. It wasn’t realistic for me to use specialty foods on Lily for two reasons. First, I have four other cats and I don’t have it in me to isolate all five of them twice a day for feeding times. Several years ago I did that to put one of our cats on a diet and it was a nightmare for me. Second is the cost. I simply can’t afford the cost of rabbit, venison, duck, or the other foods that were suggested.

      Interestingly, pumpkin is a great food for cats for helping control both constipation and diarrhea. I’ve given it to my cats before and they love it! I don’t know about the other veggies, though cats naturally eat grasses, so they might be good, too.

      I hope that Goat responds to the Lysine and PlaqueOff and am keeping my fingers crossed for him.

      Rochelle

  403. Just wanted to say how glad I was to find your site. I have two kitties that seem to have what you have described as Stomatitis. I took one to the vet when he first had symptoms and they said that I could try antibiotics, but the only way to really treat the disease is to pull his teeth. I decided to defiantly try the antibiotics first. It has taken a long time, but Buddy is much better.

    I, now, have another cat that is showing the same symptoms. This just makes me sick and I am wondering if there is a stronger antibiotics than amoxicillin that will help Tigger faster. I do a lot of rescue and love all my kitties and want the best for them. I do not have the funding to have their teeth pulled nor do I want to do that if there is any other solution. Please, any info to help my babies would be so much appreciated.
    Sincerely,
    Sue Johnson
    Dixon, MO.

    • Sue,

      My apologies for the confusion you experienced when you left a comment. I have the comments set up so that I have to I have to manually approve all comments, which means I need to log in to the site to approve them. I was out of town when you left your comment so wasn’t able to see and approve it until I got home today. The reason I do this is to prevent the comments from being overwhelmed with spam, which it would be if I didn’t do this. I wish spammers would leave sites like this alone, but, sadly, they don’t.

      Based on what you wrote, one of your cats responded positively to antibiotics, while the other one is now starting with them, and you want to avoid having his teeth pulled while also wanting to find a faster way of treating his stomatitis. I think it is wonderful that your first kitty did so well with antibiotics! Not all cats do.

      As for your other cat, I regret that I am not at all trained in medicine so I do not know if there is a stronger antibiotic that you could try. My advice for that would be to contact another vet for a second opinion. If you don’t know if another vet, contact a cat rescue group in your area and ask them what vet they recommend. You might even explain your situation and ask if they have any experience with stomatitis. The group I adopted Lily from has been very helpful to me and they are the ones who suggested that I ask my vet about using Prednisolone (a steroid cream).

      What I can recommend is trying what I use on my cat Lily. I give her a combination of Lysine (to help boost her immune system) and PlaqueOff (to prevent the growth of plaque, a common cause of stomatitis). What I cannot do is guarantee that they will help.

      You may also want to read through the comments to see what other people say they have tried. Perhaps something they have done would be helpful for Tigger.

      Sincerely,
      Rochelle

  404. Thank you all for your comments and prayers. I took Ruffy in to the Vet and they put him on Clindamycin and gave him a three day Bup. shot. I’ve also got the PlaqueOff and L-Lysine. I checked his paperwork and they charged me for a second x-ray so I don’t think he has a tooth or root fragment. I can ask my new vet. She was kind but not very well read on the topic unfortunately. But, she wasn’t the type to be angry at me for asking my questions or sharing information. I hope the anti-biotics work. The Duralactin can be purchased online and was recommended for Ruffy by my previous vet. “Duralactin Feline is normally used in place of powerful prescription anti-inflammatory drugs including NSAIDs and steroids that can become toxic when used constantly for chronic conditions.” I found it on Amazon and http://www.naturalpets.com too. Again, thanks for the responses and I will keep you posted.

    • Connie,

      It is very good to hear that your vet took x-rays of Ruffy after the tooth extraction. Not all vets do this, unfortunately for our kitties, and not all kitty parents know it should be done (I didn’t).

      It is also very good to hear that your vet is open to you asking questions. Any vet who isn’t open to being questioned is not, in my opinion, a good vet. We have every right to ask questions and get answers, no matter how trivial our questions may be to them. Never be afraid to ask questions! I do, pretty much every time I go, and even bring a list of questions after I have done research online before a visit (I do this with our family doctor, too).

      Please let us know how Ruffy does on the Duralactin Feline. And, thank you for sharing where you found it.

      Sincerely,
      Rochelle

  405. Connie,

    I just received an email from someone named Michael who thought he was responding to your comment but instead sent his response to me. Since he is unsure how to post his response here he has asked me to do it for him. Here is what Michael wrote:

    “Connie, One thing I thought of… if there’s a piece of tooth left in his mouth after removing them, it can become infected. This is extremely common because cat’s teeth are very ’soft’, or break easily. It is recommended that an x-ray is taken of the mouth to be sure there’s absolutely nothing left there. Perhaps this is why he is drooling again?? Is it possible that something is in the whole where the tooth used to be and it became infected?? How about just trying a round of antibiotics to be sure to kill any infection!! Can’t hurt to recommend this to your vet. I don’t know, it’s a hard one. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.”

    He brings up an excellent point. One of my cats has a tooth fragment in her mouth because the vet who removed it didn’t take an x-ray after the surgery, and I didn’t know at the time that x-rays should be taken to confirm there are no fragments. Sasha has been lucky that the fragment is not causing her any problems, but our current vet (the one who found it and showed it to me on an x-ray) said that it could later develop an infection, exactly as Michael said.

    Sincerely,
    Rochelle

  406. Hi Rochelle,
    My cat Sandy is only 10 years old and got bad case of stomatitis…the clindamycin along with weekly shots of Depo-medral injections have reduced the swelling in the front of her mouth but in the back base of her tongue it is swollen thick and the doctor thinks its cancer because it appears bluish in color sometimes, even her tongue gets bluish when she is licking her food hard. He says that pulling the teeth is not easy on the cat because their jaws are very delicate…How do I know if her teeth needs to be removed right away without waiting.
    I ordered L Lysine and Plackoff but getting Prednisolone is a problem.
    Her Vet said that he never heard of Prednisolone…So how do I acquire it, what are the steps, Do you know who sells it and what strength do I get.
    Lisa

    • Lisa,

      My apologies to you for not responding to you right away.

      I honestly don’t know how to determine if teeth should be pulled immediately or if it is okay to wait. Did your vet tell you that pulling Sandy’s teeth would help if she has cancer?

      If Sandy was my cat I would first want to know if she has cancer, and, if so, how it can be treated. After having that information I would then want to know how pulling teeth will help with cancer, because having teeth pulled is incredibly expensive and I’m not sure how the teeth affect cancer. But, I’m also not a vet, so please know that these are just my thoughts.

      As for Prednisolone, it is a steroid cream. Honestly, I’m surprised to hear that your vet doesn’t know what this is. I get Lily’s Prednisolone from a specialty pharmacy in town that has to make the proper dose/strength for Lily, and the pharmacy knows how to do this from a prescription written by my vet. If your vet doesn’t know what Prednisolone is then I’m not sure how he/she can prescribe the proper dosage.

      You might want to get a second opinion on what is going on with your cat’s tongue and mouth, and about the Prednisolone. If you don’t know of a vet to go to for a second opinion, contact a cat rescue group in your area, explain your cat’s situation, and ask them who they recommend.

      I truly hope that your cat does not have cancer, and that whatever is going on can be easily treated. My prayers are with you and Sandy.

      Sincerely,
      Rochelle

  407. Sorry, my guy is telling me it is time to quit typing and make my lap available. Please keep him in your prayers. He’s such a sweet, special boy.

  408. Thank you all for this website! My sweet boy is having another flare up of Stomatitis. He had all his teeth removed about 4 years ago. It took him nearly a year to get over having his incisors out. Then, one day he was just ok! Tongue back in his mouth, no drooling. He’s been fine until a about a week ago when his tongue started peeping out again. He’s diabetic too but controlled by diet. This is the second cat I’ve had with stomatitis. My first had all but her incisors removed at 8 years old and lived happily ever after until she was in her 20s! Both had had FCV. I’m going to try everything described here and I’m also giving him a milk-based anti-inflammatory called Duralactin. I don’t yet know how effective it is but I found it on another site. Please

    • Connie,

      I’m sorry to hear that your boy is having a flareup after being okay for several years.

      Duralactin is something I’ve never heard of. Please keep us posted on how it works for your cat. That information may be helpful to others with cats suffering from stomatitis.

      On a side note, I expected Lily’s tongue to stick out or droop to the side, but it never has. The only time I notice anything off about her tongue is when she washes herself or licks us. When she does, her tongue rolls all over the place since there are no teeth to keep it aligned straight. It doesn’t seem to bother her, but I don’t really like watching it happen.

      You and your kitty boy are in my prayers.

      Rochelle

    • Yes, that is how I gave it to Lily. Buprinex can a tricky to give. You don’t want to just squirt it into your cat’s mouth. It is meant to be absorbed by the skin in a cat’s mouth, so you want to aim it towards the cheeks. Your vet can explain better than I just did, but I wanted to let you know because I was doing it wrong for a while. If done wrong and is simply swallowed, the medicine doesn’t help much to provide relief from pain.

      As for stomatitis being contagious, I can’t say for sure. My vet has told me that it isn’t, but the woman who I adopted Lily from swears that it is, but only when there are open sores (I think that’s what she said). I can tell you that none of our other four cats have gotten stomatitis, and they all lick the bowl after Lily finishes taking her morning and evening medicines. Lily’s spit is in the bowl, so they have come in contact with it. This would be a good question to ask your vet to see what he/she has to say.

  409. I am sorry to hear your story about Lily’s long journey. Were dental x-rays done by the veterinarian to see if all of the tooth roots were removed?
    Thank you,
    Brett

    • Yes, and I was shown the before and after x-rays, showing me that the roots were all gone. It is critically important that a vet does x-rays after a tooth extraction because cat teeth are easily broken. Any fragments left in the gums has the potential to cause infections.

  410. Thank you Rochelle for your reply, and my prayers continue for Lily and everyone and their kitties suffering from this awful disease.

    Matisse responded very well to his steriod injection and 14 day round of antibiotics. All the inflammation in his mouth has gone away except for a very faint pink line at his gumline. He is obviously not experiencing any pain as he continues to eat with great fervour. I realize this may be a temporary improvement and am poised to move forward with full tooth extraction if we see a relapse that causes pain and suffering. I will continue to update in the hopes our experience can help others.

    With regards to the vet stating that Lily is the product of inbreeding…I must say that I don’t think that was a helpful statement considering she doesn’t know this for a fact. Many inbred cats have no problems whatsoever…and many non inbred cats have health problems. I understand she meant no harm in saying that…I just feel that it doesn’t make Lily any more likely to be cured , so why give you any more things to worry about? All the research I’ve done online does not specify stomatitis as a symptom inbreeding. I just feel that its enough for us pet parents to deal with just getting the stomatitis diagnosis, let alone worrying about what else is coming down the pike as a result of our cats possibly being inbred.

    Thank you again for this site…best wishes and love to all our kitties.

    • I’m so glad to hear that Matisse is responding well to the steroids. If the inflammation returns, this may be an indication that he would do well with some kind of daily steroid treatment like what Lily has. The tricky part to doing that is finding the right dosage, and it can take a few attempts to find what works best for your kitty. But, hopefully, Matisse won’t need daily steroids.

      Please don’t think that my vet was being insensitive or unhelpful. My vet was just responding to my inquiries. She never said that stomatitis is the result of inbreeding. Rather, we were discussing all aspects of Lily’s health, and the fact that Lily has a repressed immune system, which could have led to the stomatitis. Given that Lily was a stray, as well as all her health problems, that led to her suggesting the possibility of inbreeding as the cause of Lily’s problems. At no time did her saying this cause me concern about potential future problems.

      Also, I am the mother to a daughter with chronic health problems. Because of this, I have learned to ask far more health related questions than most people. This trait has also shown itself when I am at the vet with Lily. Both my primary care doctor and vet give me far more technical and detailed information than they would normally give their patients (they have both told me that they do this with me), so that may also play into why she mentioned the possibility of inbreeding.

  411. I took my 13-year-old kitty to the vet 10 days ago because she has a broken canine and was drooling all over the place. It turns out that she has a severe case of gingivitis stomatitis. We did a 7-day course of antibiotics and pain meds, and it seemed like it cleared up (or was this wishful thinking?). 2 days later, however, it was back with a vengeance. The vet said he would recommend a much longer, stronger course of antibiotics – 3 weeks with a refill for 3 more weeks if it was working. It’s only been 2 days, but I’m afraid it’s not working this time.

    I’m so very sad because he said his only other recommendation is to remove her teeth – a complicated and painful procedure that will likely cost between $1500 and $2000 (that I absolutely can’t afford). He said the same thing you do, that the removal of the teeth only cures the problem in 60-80% of cases.

    I lost my mother 5 months ago after a very painful 8-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She did everything she could do, enduring the pain of procedure after procedure to try to lengthen her life. Even 4 days before she died, she begged me to drive her to the hospital to try yet another experimental procedure. (Much harder than it sounds since her limbs were grossly swollen – over 120 pounds of fluid – and she was too weak to move them.)

    At any rate, I am feeling like the kind thing to do is to euthanize my kitty. If she’s looking at most of a year to recover from a very painful surgery that may not help the problem, years of pain and difficulty eating, and supplements/medications several times a day, I just don’t feel like that’s a very good life to live. I’m heartbroken, but I don’t want her to live a life of pain.

    • Tara,

      I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother. And now you have a sick kitty. How heartbreaking!

      I realize that you wrote this two weeks ago, and that you may have already made your choice regarding your cat. Please know that the situation you wrote about is an extremely difficult and personal one. I was in a similar situation with our cat Harry. He was an older cat and took ill. He was very overweight and stopped eating. He developed jaundice as a result of not eating. The vet didn’t know what was wrong with him, and said that all Harry needed to do was start eating again. But, he wouldn’t.

      It didn’t take long for the vet bills to start adding up. My husband and I discussed it, and we agreed that if the bills reached a set limit, that we would put Harry to sleep. Amazingly, Harry recovered just before his bills hit our limit.

      Then, a few years later, the same thing happened. He stopped eating and, again, got jaundice. By this time he was either 13 or 14 years old (we didn’t know for sure because he was a stray when we got him). We made the decision to put Harry to sleep this time, instead of trying to treat the problem. This was one of the most difficult decisions we made as cat parents. I wondered for a long time if we did the right thing, but I know now that we did. We couldn’t have afforded the bills that we knew we were facing, and Harry was an elderly cat and extremely sick.

      In your case, you are right that you wouldn’t know if the tooth extraction surgery was helpful for at least half a year. If I was in your situation, I am pretty sure I would also consider euthanasia.

      My prayers go out to you.

      Rochelle

  412. My 8 month old little boy kitty, Matisse just got diagnosed yesterday with stomatitis. He had mild bad breath without other symptoms for about 6 weeks prior but I thought at first it was that he was still teething. I checked his mouth often and began to see more and more redness and the breath got worse. Yesterday, he chewed up a postcard he got a hold of and there was blood on it. I called the vet and got him in immediately, and the diagnoses was made. Luckily, it got caught before the inflammation had spread beyond the gums. He is still eating with a vengence so he does not seem to be experiencing much pain. The vet gave him a steriod injection and antibiotics. Already this morning after the shot and 2 doses of antibiotic, I see the redness reduced dramatically and his breath has lost its bad odor. I am starting him on lysine next week and will also get the plaque remover you suggested. I’m so thankful I noticed a problem before it got really bad and caused him a lot of pain. I’m so glad to have found this website. Ironically my other cat, 2 year old Schnitzel just got diagnosed with Feline eosinophilic granuloma, so needless to say I’m feeling a lot of worry for my babies.

    My biggest questions at the moment are these:

    will Matisse’s stomatitis prognosis be better because it was caught early before it had affected other areas of his mouth outside of his gums and gotten severe?

    In cases of juvenile onset, is the long term prognosis any likely to be better than adult onset?

    I am very concerned about an otherwise healthy vibrant young cat having a shortened life span and a future of suffering ahead of him as you can well imagine:(

    • Kris,

      It sounds like a good sign that Matisse is so willing to eat.

      Re: “will Matisse’s stomatitis prognosis be better because it was caught early before it had affected other areas of his mouth outside of his gums and gotten severe?”

      I wish I knew the answer to this, and it is something that I have wondered many, many times. Unfortunately, the only experience I have with stomatitis is with my cat Lily, and her case was very advanced by the time I realized she had a problem.

      If you are willing to do so, kindly share how Matisse does. Your experience will provide us with an answer to your question.

      Re: “In cases of juvenile onset, is the long term prognosis any likely to be better than adult onset?”

      Again, I regret that I do not know. About the only thing I can tell you is what my vet told me when I discussed this with her, but I doubt it will be much help to you, nor will it answer your question. I spoke with my vet about Lily having glaucoma, the problem with her remaining eye (it is very cloudy and has what looks like spiderwebs in her eye), and stomatitis before the age of one, and my vet said that she is likely the result of inbreeding. Lily is also a very small cat, possibly a runt. Our vet said that both glaucoma and stomatitis are normally seen in older cats, and that all of her health problems probably stem from inbreeding. But, we will never know. That is all that she said to me about it.

      As for a shortened life span, I completely understand your concern. We have accepted that Lily will likely have a much shorter life than our other cats. The good news is that Lily is a loving, happy, playful cat now that her stomatitis is under control. I would much rather give her the life she has now, even if it is brief, than a longer one filled with pain and misery (although I acknowledge that such a life would probably be brief, too, simply because she wouldn’t eat due to the pain). As of this writing Lily is almost 2 1/2 years, and we are grateful for every day we have with her.

      Please accept my apology for not being more helpful in regards to your questions.

      Sincerely,
      Rochelle

  413. I also have a cat with Stomatitis, we’ve tried various treatments, antibiotics, etc, but unfortunately she had to have her teeth removed before she was a year old, she is also one of those 20% that it didn’t work for,she is just about to start steroid treatment and I pray that this helps. I am certainly going to look into Lysine and PlaqueOff, anything is worth a try at this stage, it is such a nasty disease. I like you have decided to try steroids anything to help elevate her discomfort in my view is worth trying, a shorter more comfortable life has to be better than a longer life in so much discomfort. Unfortunately Bella also has an extremely sensitive belly and whatever food we try seems to go right through her, she certainly has more than her fair share to deal, despite all of this she has the nicest nature I have ever known and is the most loving of my five cats. Thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge with us.

    • How unfortunate that Bella has a sensitive stomach on top of having stomatitis. 🙁

      Yes, I agree that a shorter life of comfort far outweighs a longer life of misery.

      If you find something that Bella is able to keep down, please share. It might be helpful to someone else to know what worked for your kitty.

  414. Hello Rochelle,

    My baby girl Jade was diagnosed with Stomatitis in September. They gave her the steroid injection, that helped almost immediately. However, it weakened her immune system and she got a horrible upper respiratory infection. This almost killed her. We had to have her in the emergency hospital for a day on fluids, normal vet one day on fluids, force feed, pain meds, antibiotics…it was horrible. The vet said that when animals are positive for the herpes virus, they don’t react well. Herpes positive can’t have steroids at all, just like diabetics. And for those reading this, herpes in a cat is not the same as herpes in a human 🙂

    We force fed her back to health and she finally started acting better, in fact, better than she had in a VERY long time. I felt so guilty that I didn’t realize this was the issue. She had lost so much weight from this sickness, she was down to 5.5 pounds from 8. I feed her a can of fancy feast that she loves every night(I know it isn’t the healthiest, but as long as she eats something at this point is good).

    A few weeks ago I started noticing her fur standing on edge again. I can see it in her eyes and fur when she doesn’t feel good. She eats, that is good, but I know its not comfortable. My mom’s cat has Stomatitis as well, and they started him on Atopica (cyclosporine). I figured I would try the same thing seeing as how she reacted so poorly to the steroids.

    It has been 18 days since starting Atopica. I thought she was getting better. She started fighting harder to get the pill and acted more perky. Last night though, she laid on my lap all night with this pitiful look and fur standing up. When she cleaned herself, I noticed her breath smelled not so good. When she ate her wet food last night, she ate really good taking big bites, but I noticed it must have gotten caught on her teeth or something because she started pawing at her face. It freaked her out for a minute, but then she came back and ate more.

    To top all this off, she is a terrible pill taker and will NOT let me look in her mouth. The vet had a hard time getting a looky loo in her mouth to even see she had stomatitis. She always seems to look away while yawning… just my luck. I need to see her in mouth.

    So, my questions to everyone are as follows:
    1. When they have a flare up, do you give antibitics? When I had her at the emergency vet for the upper respiratory stomatitis combo, they gave her antibiotics to help with the infection from the flare up. I’m just wondering if I should start on antibiotics and what kind. My vet isn’t in the office today so I can’t talk to her, I have amoxicillin and wondered if that would help.
    2. Do you have a trick for looking in your cats mouth? I can get it open enough for a pill shooter while my husband holds her down wrapped like a burrito. This tiny cat turns inside out when you try to do anything. She always flicks her toungue around too, making it even harder. I’m so afriad to hurt her when opening her mouth, I know she is already in pain.
    3. Has anyone else tried Atopica and had good results?
    4. I noticed in above comments that wet food isn’t good for these cats? What if they don’t eat enough dry food? From research, I’ve read that dry food is awful for cats. If they chew it (which Jade does) it gets deep into the gums around the teeth causing tartar…which is part of the problem on this.
    5. The plaque off, I went to the link provided but I didn’t see instructions on how to use it. I will keep researching, but is it a pill, treat, or something in their water?

    I will start her on L-Lysine tonight. I have it and use it when the cats get the sniffles. I’m just so worried about my baby girl. It breaks my hear that our kitties have to go through this. I wish there was a cure. I am hesitant to have her teeth pulled.

    Thank you for listening and helping with all of this 🙂

    • Renee,

      I’m so sorry to hear about all the difficulties and pain your kitty is going through. 🙁

      When they have a flare up, do you give antibitics?

      The only time Lily was on antibiotics was at the very beginning of this ordeal, when we first learned she had stomatitis and before any of her teeth were pulled. We hoped that the antibiotics would be sufficient, since my understanding is that this helps some cats, but they helped Lily only temporarily.

      Lily no longer has flare ups, so I don’t need to do anything other than continue giving her the POrednisolone cream (a steroid), Lysine, and PlaqueOff. Over the past year we have greatly lowered the amount of Prednisolone that Lily is given, but our vet doesn’t want to completely stop it, for fear of causing a flare up.

      Do you have a trick for looking in your cats mouth?

      No, no tricks. It was pretty much impossible when Lily’s stomatitis was at its worst, and I never attempted it myself during that time. Only my vet would look, and she did so very gingerly. Eventually I started to pay attention to Lily when she yawned. Yawning is a great way to get a quick glance inside the mouth, even if it is brief. Now that Lily is feeling okay I take a look about once every month or so, just to make sure she doesn’t have a flare up. I hold her carefully and slowly open her mouth. She doesn’t like this, though, so I let her lead the way, and I let go as soon as she makes it clear she is done.

      Has anyone else tried Atopica and had good results?

      I don’t know. I’ve never heard of Atopica, but maybe someone reading this post has and can provide input.

      The plaque off, I went to the link provided but I didn’t see instructions on how to use it. I will keep researching, but is it a pill, treat, or something in their water?

      PlaqueOff is a powder. You can sprinkle it over food. In my case, I mix it with a bit of wet food and a touch of water (I plan on making a video soon showing how I do this). It comes with a measuring spoon, so just use a level spoonful. It is a very small amount, something like 1/8 tsp.

      Please know that you are welcome to share your experiences as you go through this with your kitty.

      Rochelle

  415. This has been the third time, since August that my cat has been back to the vets for this disease. We just had the last of his teeth removed. (except for the canines) He does well after each removal for about 6 weeks and then he stops eating and cries in pain. I take him in and they gave him an antibiotic and a steroid and then schedule him for surgery. You cannot look into Panthers mouth unless he is under. The Vet has been very understanding and really didn’t want to yank all his teeth out at once, if they didn’t need to go, but this is the only thing that seems to have a shot. The side of the mouth where the teeth were all extracted is healed, it was the other side, so lets hope this is it!

    I would like to know how much L-Lysine you give your cat and how you administer it? My cat wants nothing to do with anyone trying to jam something into his mouth.

    • I am so glad to hear that the tooth extraction seems to be working for Panther!

      As for the Lysine, I give it to Lily twice daily (am/pm). I use the scoop that comes in the container to measure it out and I sprinkle it on a bit of wet food that has been mixed with a bit of water. I have been thinking about making a video that shows how I give the Lysine and PlaqueOff to Lily, and you have now motivated me to do so. Hopefully I will get a chance to make the video some time this week. Keep an eye on “Lily’s Story” for the video.

      Rochelle

  416. Our cat Arthur is going through his own stomatitis battle right now. He started having steroid injections over a year ago. After a while the vet said they would need to take out 4 teeth from the back of his mouth which didn’t help at all. He’s also tried antibiotics which seem to take off the symptoms slightly more than the steroids but they comes back within a matter of weeks. I am now seriously considering a full mouth extraction. If 80% of cats do better with this then imho it’s worth a shot, I can’t leave him in agony any longer.

    • If Arthur falls into the 20% category, as my Lily did, it is possible that Arthur will still benefit from the extraction. Lily’s stomatitis didn’t go away after her teeth were pulled, but it did help improve the symptoms. She will always have stomatitis, but we manage the remaining symptoms, and her quality of life is now VERY good.

      What decision did you make for Arthur? How is he doing?

  417. my feral cat has stomatitis. after 4 teeth extractions and the antibiotics wore off i noticed he was still having problems eating. he lost a lot of weight. i have been making organic chicken soup for him. i let a whole chicken simmer overnight. clean the meat off the bones and puree it. he loves it, and 2 months later has gained weight and seems to be eating without pain. i just ordered lysine and wysong dental powder. i’m keeping my fingers crossed.

    • I know of people who have had success with making their own food, as you are doing. Have you seen any improvement yet with the supplements?

  418. Thank you so much for your informative website. Just learned yesterday that my 10 y/o male has a mild case (according to my vet) and I will be taking him in for steroid shots tomorrow. Having done some investigation, I feel horrible that this was not diagnosed before and that I did not realize sooner that something was wrong (his breath has been terrible for many years but eating was never an issue until recently).

    I’m horrified that he may at some point need to have his teeth removed and wondering which pet foods you recommend to prove benefit for this condition?

    • Stacey,

      I just answered a similar question to Dyane, so what I said to her will probably be helpful to you, too.

      You might be tempted to give your cat wet food, thinking that this is still easier for your cat to eat. My vet told me that this is not true, that it is actually harder for a cat with stomatitis to eat wet food because the tongue has to work harder at getting wet food to the back of the throat. Depending on how bad the stomatitis is (i.e. if the throat is also inflamed), this can, and likely will, cause pain to your cat.

      I don’t know of specific foods that will help, though your vet may be able to recommend something. What I do recommend is adding supplements to your cat’s diet. There are several you can use, and I mention them under “Supplements” on http://stomatitisincats.com/treatment-for-stomatitis. The two that I give to Lily, and will for the rest of her life, are Veralys L-Lysine powder and PlaqueOff for Cats.

      Please feel free to share if you use something different that works for your cat.

      May your kitty soon feel relief from his pain.

      Rochelle

    • Dyane,

      I am not sure if you are looking for specialized food to address health problems, or just want any type of cat food for your kitties. So, I will answer, as best I can, for either scenario.

      Lily had all her teeth pulled, so I found a dry food that has very small kibbles. I have learned that cats don’t actually need to chew their food, that their stomachs do a great job of digesting it without being chewed. Therefore, I wanted to find something that Lily could easily swallow without fear of her choking on it.

      The food that I feed Lily and my other cats is Iams Active Health. This is a very small, round kibble that Lily tosses to the back of her throat and swallows.

      My vet told me about some foods that are supposed to be helpful to cats with stomatitis, but I chose not to get them for the following reasons:

      – I have four other cats, and it would have been very difficult for me to feed Lily with one type of food, while giving another to the other four.
      – The special foods are very expensive, and I don’t have the funds for them.

      Because I didn’t get the specialized foods, I do not remember what the brands or names of these foods. I’m sure your vet can help you with this.

      What I do remember is that the foods are meant to eliminate food stuff that some cats are allergic to. Food allergies are thought to sometimes trigger stomatitis.

      Some people have put their cats on a raw food diet, since this is also supposed to help. I just did a quick search for “raw food diet cat stomatitis” and saw that there are a lot of websites with information on this. I do not have any experience with raw food diets and cats, so I cannot recommend one site over another.

      I hope this helps.

      Rochelle

  419. I took in a foster cat from the humane society. They estimate she is about 12 years old. She was a forced surrender via animal control because she had had a mouth infection for about 2 years that had gone untreated. Having had good luck with tooth removal in other cats with long-term dental issues, the vet removed all her teeth. I took her into foster while she recovered. She was on antibiotics (clindamycin).

    After a month, she had a re-check, and the vet said her mouth was in terrible shape. She diagnosed her with stomatitis. She put the kitty on prednisone for a couple of weeks to see if it would help. It didn’t.

    Because the only option for a 12-year-old cat with chronic, potentially expensive medical issues at a humane society is euthanasia, I have decided to keep her to see if there is anything I can do for her other than EU. She is very friendly, playful, seems happy, and eats well, so I hate to euthanize her.

    I took her to my vet today, and we are going to continue the Prednisone and add in Cyclosporin for a month. It is quite expensive at about $50/month.

    I live paycheck to paycheck, so taking on a cat with medical issues is not the best thing for me to do, but sometimes the heart wins out over the head.

    I do hope I can help her, as she is a joy of a cat. (I am in the process of introducing her to my resident cat, and it’s been a bumpy road for both felines, but I do hope eventually they will be able to happily coexist.)

    That’s my story so far. “Precious” has now become “Persia” and is sitting in my lap as I type. I did make a pre-adoption video for her, but of course, she is no longer going up for adoption–at the humane society, at least. If I can get her stomatitis under control, I may try to place her.

    Here is her video: http://youtu.be/Xyeg_BS6ZT8

    • Kate,

      I absolutely LOVE the video you made of Persia! She is a very active cat for her age! I have a cat who is around 13 years old, and she mostly sits or sleeps. Occasionally, though, she gets what we call the “kitten crazies” and chases a toy around the house.

      I understand about our hearts winning out over our heads. That was the case with Lily. I would hide the cost of her vet visits from my husband because I knew it was more than we could afford. The good news is that bills associated with her stomatitis appear to be behind us know. Hopefully the same will be true for you, too.

      If you can get the stomatitis under control then you should be able to adopt her out. It would be important, though, to make sure her adoptive family continues whatever treatment you start to prevent a relapse. But I’m guessing that you already knew that 😉

      How is Persia doing now?

      Rochelle

  420. Do you think having all the teeth pulled out from lily’s mouth helped to improve her condition (although it is not cured)? Have you ever regretted removing her teeth? I had a cat who contracted this painful disease about a year ago. During this year I have tried a lot of remedies and medicines, none of them seem to work well, and her condition is even worse now. My vet said he could pull all her teeth out if she is not too old (unfortunately I do not know how old she is. I’ve had her for 4 years, and she was already a grown-up cat when I picked her home from outside). I am living in a third-world country. Our veterinary condition is much worse than that of yours. There are few vet who have the skill and equipment to perform such an operation, and this is almost the only vet whom I can trust in this city. There is no way to carry out a X-ray on the teeth, the doctor told me. Sometimes I am afraid having this operation will not help her at all. But when I saw her in such pain and depression I though maybe it is the only way to try now. I feel so frustrated and I am not sure what I should do.

    • Midy,

      No, I do not regret having Lily’s teeth pulled. It is easy for me to look at this with 20/20 hindsight, and things might have been different if I recognized that there was a problem much sooner, and had the knowledge then that I have now. But, I didn’t. By the time I knew there was a problem, the stomatitis was extremely advanced.

      This is actually something I’ve thought about a lot. Would Lily have improved if I had started her on PlaqueOff and Lysine before having her teeth pulled? Honestly, probably not. She was in a very bad way, and it takes up to two or three months for the PlaquOff to fully work. I don’t think Lily would have lasted that long had we not gotten her teeth pulled.

      She does great without her teeth. Today I was watching her groom herself and was amused to see her gnawing at her leg, as cats often do. I wondered if her actions were effective, given that she doesn’t have teeth, but I guess it was because she was satisfied and continued to bathe.

      You are in a very different situation than I am. What did you decide to do, and how is your cat?

      Rochelle

  421. August 1, 2013, we acquired a kitty, I think someone dropped it off because they knew we had cats. Took it to the vet and he said he had never seen such a bad case of stomatitis. Mouth was inflamed. The vet prescribed Amoxicillan, 1 ml in the morning and 1ml in the evening. It has a steroid in it to help with the pain.
    The good news is our Blue-eyed Frankie (Seal Point/tabby) 7 years old, we think, and the sweetest guy in the world, went in for his 1 month exam and came out with flying colors. The inflammation in his mouth had reduced to 1/8 of what it was—-I could hardly see the redness.
    I had found Rochelle’s website, Somatitisforcats.com and purchased L-lysine and sent for PlacqueOff which arrived from Britain a week later.
    I made the mistake of giving the PlacqueOff in the morning and the evening. May have been a good thing, but Rochelle said the PlacqueOff should be given once a day, whoops!! Maybe 2X helped.
    Anyway, Frankie and Willy play in the yard every day,(cat fence so they are safe). Our others are still checking Frankie out as is the dog.
    We’ll see how things go after the Amoxicillian is finished, but for now its going beautifully! Thank you, Rochelle for your website

    • Miriam,

      You are so very welcome 🙂

      How are Frankie and Willie doing now? Lily still has slight redness at the back of her throat, which will probably always be there, but the redness is completely gone around her gums.

      Rochelle

  422. I don’t know if anyone can answer this, but I just read that giving lysine is not a good idea when the cat is also on steroids. Has anyone heard about this?
    This was from this website http://www.petmd.com/
    Lysine may react with these drugs:
    Steroids or any other immune system suppressing drug
    Calcium supplements
    Aminoglycoside medications

    • I don’t know if that is true or not. In Lily’s case, our vet knows that she is taking Lysine in addition to her steroids, and she has never said that there would be a problem with this. It may be a case-by-case kind of thing. I do recommend that you tell your vet if your cat is taking Lysine, just in case.

  423. I have a FIV+ cat, Marsha, that was just diagnosed with stomatitis. I’ve been looking for info on stomatitis, it’s very hard to find. This website is very helpful.I’m definitely going to her the lysine.

  424. Joey was just diagnosed with stomatitis. he had his teeth cleaned and ashot of covenia. vet said it was not as bad as he thought. Said he is good to go now for a year. It’s been a little over a month now and I noticed that his gums are starting to look red around some of the teeth. I’m looking into ordering llyscine and plaque off but i ws wondering where i might find more informaion about diet changes. perhsps raw diet or what foods brands are best. Have you any suggestions
    Judy

    • Alas, I know next to nothing about raw diets, other than some people have had luck with it for their cats. It is something that my vet and I discussed for Lily, but decided against it. I have a child with chronic health problems, and my vet and I both agreed that it would be best not to have raw food around for my daughter’s sake.

      As for brands, I know that there are several that would be good choices, but I don’t know their names. A lot of them are pretty expensive, ranging from $50+ per bag. If your cat is getting his teeth pulled then you will need to be concerned with the size of the kibbles, so he won’t choke on them. I give Lily Iams kibbles. They are small and round, and she has no trouble at all eating them. Our vet said that the quality of the Iams is fine. This would be a good thing to talk to your vet about, but make sure you mention the need for a small sized kibble.

  425. Great site, I couldn’t sleep well last night because my Little Girl is scheduled for all her teeth removed tomorrow. She is 19 yrs and is always been small but now is less than 5 lbs. She has tried 4 antibiotics rounds and refuses teeth brushing because we never started when she was born till now. So much pain is involved should I let her go now rather than put her thru so much aggravation?

    • I’m so sorry to hear about your Little Girl.

      My first thought upon reading this was wondering if your cat is able to withstand being under anesthesia at her age. That seems dangerous to me. Did you consider getting a second opinion from another vet? I think that’s what I would do, though I also understand the sense of urgency to relieve your cat of her pain.

      I certainly cannot be the one to decide if it is time to let her go. What I can do is try to answer this as if she was my cat, but with the knowledge I now have thanks to my experience with Lily. Gosh, this is a hard situation! I truly do understand the amount of pain your cat is in because I saw it first hand in Lily. And I know that I wanted to do anything I could to make her feel better, which is why we had her teeth pulled.

      I didn’t know about any of the supplements that Lily is currently on (Lysine and PlaqueOff) that have almost completely eliminated her swelling and pain. I will forever wonder if giving those to her instead of pulling her teeth would have made enough of a difference that she could keep her teeth. That being said, I can say in all honesty that having no teeth has not affected her quality of life at all. She eats dry food, just like she did before, but I have to make sure the kibbles are small enough for her to swallow without choking on them.

      Lily was a young cat when she had her teeth pulled, so there was no major concern about her surviving the surgery. However, the supplements would probably have taken far too long to work to help her had I done that instead of the surgery. The PlaqueOff takes several weeks to start working. Her health might have deteriorated beyond help if I had to wait several weeks. So, all things considered, I think having her teeth pulled was the right thing to do.

      Also, Lily is a very small cat. Although full grown, she weighs less than six pounds and is the size of a six month cat. I don’t know what your cat weighed when fully healthy, but I am guessing that it was probably in the 10-12 pound range. Getting down to five pounds means that she is probably critically sick. I really can’t imagine that having surgery would be good for her. I’m afraid that her body would shut down during the surgery simply because it has already been through so much. But I also think that she is too far gone in her stomatitis to be able to hang on several weeks or months waiting for PlaqueOff to reverse the effects of this awful disease. In all honesty, if she was my cat, I think I would end her suffering, as hard a decision as that is to make, and it is one I have had to make in the past.

      No matter what you decide to do, please know that it is obvious that you love your cat. My thoughts and prayers are with both of you.

  426. I wanted to thank you for your site & all the great info you have taken the time to share!

    My Boy Webster came to us about 5 years ago out of nowhere. Came by for a meal & he stayed. He’s was already fixed & loved cats, dogs & kids, so I checked with all the neighbors & no one knew him… so he became ours. He’s an absolutely loveable boy.

    About 1 year ago I took him to the vet because he just looked sick. The vet thought he was an older cat because of his pour dental health which in turn kept him from grooming, so he looked haggard. Now 3 different vets, 4 rounds of antibiotics & finally got a diagnosis. This last vet did the 2nd surgery & said that not only did he have swollen red gums, but he had no surface left to the center of his tongue. His throat seems OK, so I was told to fed him soft food. He’s seems to be doing much better, but it’s something that we will always have to stay on top of. I ordered the L-Lysine & it came today. The Plaque-Off should be here in about 2 weeks. I just had no idea how tenacious this problem can be.

    Thanks to your (and Lily’s) journey, I found these products & feel like I now have a chance. I hope you know how much you have helped.

    Thank You
    Deb

    • Deb,

      Thank you so much for your kind words.

      I truly hope that the Lysine and PlaqueOff help your kitty boy as much as they have helped Lily. I looked in her mouth the other day and could barely see any evidence of redness.

      If either of these is helpful to your cat, make sure to order more long before you run out. Early on I reordered Lysine and the company sent me the wrong product. I had to wait for them to send the Lysine, and had run out of mine before that happened. Lily’s stomatitis backslid during the time we had to wait, which is how I know it works for her. Granted, this was before I knew about PlaqueOff, so I don’t know if this would have happened if she had also been taking PlaqueOff while we waited for the Lysine, but I take no chances any more. I order more whenever one container is down to about 1/4 of the contents.

      Please keep us posted on how your cat does on these supplements.

      Rochelle

  427. I have heard of stem cell research being done at University of California at Davis Veterinarian facility to help with stomatitis. You might want to check into this, as last I heard, they are accepting new patients.

    Good luck.

    • I had heard about this before, possibly from my vet. If I lived in California I would contact UC Davis about this, but I live far, far away. Hopefully someone who is closer will read this and contact them, and possibly get help for their cats. Thank you for sharing this information.

  428. Hello, You can also get the Vetiquinol Viralyse Gel, it is very palatable. Also the Plaque-Off can be bought from your veterinarian and is called Clenz a Dent/Plaque Off and is made by Sogeval. Another product is called Henry Schein TDC Periodontal and joint health and comes in a 60 count soft gels. You can pierce the soft gel and rub it on their gums. This has also been published on the human side for its efficacy. Ruby is doing fabulous. Just one small ulcer still existing beind her top teeth and her gums are much improved!

  429. Thanks for your reply Rochelle. No, I have not tried supplements for Boyo, but I will now if it seems to help alleviate the discomfort. My vet suggests that I have him taken to Penn Vet Hospital here in Phila. vand have the rest of his teeth pulled. It just kills me to have to come to this fork in the road, but it doesn’t seem like I have a choice in the matter. They are very expensive also……..looks like I’ll be moon-lighting.
    He is such a good boy taking his pain meds, he doesn’t give me hardly any resistance because he knows he getting it one way or the other.

  430. There have been quite a few comments on this page that I am very delayed in approving and responding to. I sincerely apologize for the delay. My children got out of school in June and I have been busy with them since then, which is why I have been so slow to approve and respond to comments. I will be working over the next few days to get caught up.

  431. hello! im so grateful for your stories. that among the many others have been invaluable to me and my cat, castro.
    we found out he has stomatitis 6 weeks ago. his 2nd round of antibiotic and steroid is wearing off, and its apparent, sadly. the shots are depo Medrol and covenia.
    the last 3 weeks ive been getting him and myself into a routine with supplements and herbs. grand total, the different things ive incorporated into his life, depending on his time of month, is: propolis daily (natural antibiotic and immune booster and nutritious), colloidal silver daily (natural antibiotic), l lysine treats daily, salmon oil(supposed to be good for inflammation). also, he eats blue wilderness dry food, grain free. I give him some canned food with a good natural kitty vitamin mix sprinkled on it. the canned food is also blue wilderness grain free.

    shortly after he got his 2nd steroid and antibiotic shots, I started using a plaque remover spray with chlorhexidine also. chlorhexidine is supposed to be soothing and healing for inflammations. now his pain is back with a vengeance and he doesn’t want me to touch his mouth, so ive eliminated the spray to minimize fiddling with his mouth and to focus on controlling inflammation and pain more directly.

    so right now i also squirt a slippery elm infusion in his mouth (soothing for inflammations), and later apply a goldenseal tea (immune boosting and healing) to whatever gums I can access, mostly just the front. it seems that those two do help with the pain a little because he seems to be in a better mood and often eats afterward.

    I hate having to experiment on him, there is such little knowledge of natural stomatitis treatment.
    I wonder if the supplements and herbs could possibly fight back this 3rd round, now that the drugs wore off. he has a vet apt for shots in 2 days though.

    my question is if the lysine treats that I give castro are not ideal for stomatitis cats. the brand is GNC pets. they seem to have good ingredients, but im not sure if starch, canola oil, oat barley and rye flour agitate stomatitis, especially if its an allergy to grain. theyre chewy too. but he loves them, even when hes in pain. hes such a picky cat with food and treats that I relieved to find something that’s healthy and a reward and not just another medicinal torture.

    another question… ive read over and over about a raw diet being important, and I wonder if this blue wilderness canned food is comparable or if its not ideal. grain free (corn wheat and soy), no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors. contains meat, eggs, yada yada yada.

    im prepared to get him shots one or two more times but im really hoping I can control it. im going to have his teeth cleaned soon, for the first time. im hoping the combination of the cleaning, the plaque spray or daily teeth brushing (if possible, hes onery!) plus the supplements and herbs can keep it at bay. that’s probably two months down the line, and maybe 2 more rounds of shots.

    also, do you know how many steroid shots a (big) cat can get before the diabetes risk becomes likely?

    do you get the Buprenex and steroid cream from your vet? how much do those cost?

    ill probably get this plaque-off that you have. however I do have 2 different plaque remover sprays, 2 different kinds of toothpaste and brush, and a water additive for plaque removal. I haven’t used any of this, except the spray. I just don’t know whats effective.

    argh, I wish there was more information out there!

    also, I read online about a several-month long propolis study of 21 people who suffered from stomatitis. the placebo group got frustrated and continued to suffer from pain. the propolis group was joyous that something was controlling their stomatitis. they weren’t cured, but they experienced continuous relief by taking a 500 mg pill daily.

    well, thanks for reading my looong post.
    how is little lily? I hope shes good!

    • Hi Jolene,

      I am so sorry for not responding sooner to your post and questions. How is Castro doing now?

      Re: Steroids and diabetes
      No, I do not know. What I do know is that it depends on the strength of the steroid given, and how long your cat takes it. This is a very good topic to discuss with your vet.

      Lily is doing so well on the Lysine and PlaqueOff that we are now weaning her off the steroids. She is now on an extremely low dose, and will be for several months. Then I will take her back to our vet for a follow-up visit. She will decide at that time if Lily can go off the steroids, or if we can lower the application to once a day.

      Re: Steroids and Buprenex
      I get the Buprenex from my vet, though Lily hasn’t needed it since around February, and I get the steroid cream from a specialty pharmacy. They have to make the dosage specific to Lily’s needs. If you get the steroid cream, ask about getting a 90 day supply. Doing so will most likely lower the price (I only recently found out about this).

      Re: How is Lily?
      Lily is doing awesome! She is a ball of energy and loves to chase toys around our house. She feels so much better now, and we can safely pet her face without fear of causing her pain. She loves to jump up in my lap and rub her face on my face, which I absolutely love 🙂

      Rochelle

  432. My cat had all of his teeth pulled a little over a month ago. We went back yesterday for a checkup but his gums are still red. My vet was a little disappointed but did say he was still healing. All of the sutures had not dissolved yet. He also said it could take months. There isn’t any drooling and his breath does not smell. Is it typical in your opinion that it could take several months to see improvement? I also need to let you know that my sweetie pie is a diabetic.

    • I’m so sorry for not responding sooner. Hopefully your cat is seeing a bit more improvement from the time when you wrote this.

      Yes, it can take up to six months to see improvement after tooth extraction surgery. Stomatitis takes a very long time to clear up. Just be aware that while 80% of cats make a full recovery after tooth extraction, 20% don’t. Lily fell into the 20%, In her case there was some improvement, but not enough to keep her from being in constant pain. Fortunately, I have been able to almost completely eliminate her symptoms with the Prednisolone (a low dose steroid), Lysine, and PlaqueOff.

      As of this writing, it has been a little a year since Lily’s teeth were pulled. It has been seven months since she started taking PlaqueOff (I don’t remember when she started Lysine, but it was shortly after her surgery). Only in the past month or two has she been almost completely recovered, thanks to the medication and supplements she takes. It has been a long, hard road for her, but she is now a happy, playful cat.

  433. Hi, my poor little Boy Lucky got this terrible disease. Today he is having his Canine teeth removed. Other teeth were removed previously. I am so distressed and worry for him not to be able to cope. Also the vet frightened me by saying that some cats have to be put asleep if the condition does not improve. I am crying my eyes out not knowing what to do. I will try L-Lysine and Aqua Dent and ask the vet for pain medication you recommended.Hopefully all this will help. I fully trust my vet as he deals with cats only the last 30 years at his Cardiff Cat Clinic, but I still fell so helpless. I am glad I came across your site and it gives me a little hope that we may not loose Lucky soon. Thanks for all the information. Doris

  434. Thank you for your time. I know that it takes a lot of work to take care of a special needs kitty. I have one with advanced stomatitus, a diabetic, one with an enlarged heart, one with part of her bottom jaw missing and one eye, and many others with special needs and they are all truely loved. And I can not imagine life without them.

    The information you have pro used is great, because like you I had never heard of stomatits even my vet had never actually seem it before.

    Thank you again

    • It sounds like you are a very special cat lover to be the caretaker of so many special-needs cats 🙂

      Like you, we cannot imagine not having Lily with us. It was incredibly expensive, but it has been worth it to give Lily her life back.

  435. I have several foster cats with stomatitis, as well as diabetics, FIV+ and segregated FELV+ fosters. Feline leukemia (FELV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) cannot “turn into” stomatitis. They are a retroviral and viral infection, respectively. Infected cats that are not able to defeat the infection suffer immune system disorders and suppression, so they don’t fight infection well. FIV+ cats in particular are susceptible to inflamed gums. I tend to disagree with you on the dentals: putting a cat on constant antibiotics and steroids leads to a rollercoaster of inflammation and pain. They can become very mouth shy so medicating them is a battle. After several rounds of that with my first stomatitis cat, she had full mouth extraction which was luckily curative. She has done wonderfully without teeth! Since then I will do a round of antibiotics and steroids, but then proceed to cleaning/extractions if not resolved. I have one FELV+ now who has improved with extractions except lower canines, but not enough so now we are back on injected steroid and antibiotics. Oral medications are just not feasible unless he is kept crated, and way too stressful. So I of course am watching so carefully for diabetes — which is NOT a death sentence! Treating it is more difficult, to be sure, but with extra care and hometesting, a diabetic can do well despite steroids. Thanks for the plaqueoff tip, I’ll try it!

    • I didn’t mean to keep a cat on constant antibiotics, and I apologize if what I wrote sounded that I did. What I meant was that a round of antibiotics might clear up the stomatitis, not that a cat should constantly be on them. As for the steroids, I totally agree that it isn’t good to keep a cat on them forever, but there may be cases where nothing else will work.

      As for diabetes, you are right that having diabetes does not mean the end for a cat. However, a cat that has diabetes and is also on steroids is a different issue. I don’t remember exactly what my vet told me about it, but what I recall is that you cannot treat diabetes if the cat is on steroids, but if the steroids are what is keeping the cat’s stomatitis at bay, then stopping the steroids will likely cause the mouth to flare up to the point where the cat may stop eating. That’s why I said it was a death sentence, because both cannot be treated, and not treating one may very well lead to either extreme suffering or death. I can see where I wasn’t clear on this.

      I’d love to know if the PlaqueOff is helpful to your cat. If you get a chance, please let us know.

  436. Hi Rochelle:
    Which L-Lysine product do you use? I noticed Amazon has several options.

  437. Wow! What a fablulous website you have created. My baby, Ruby was just diagnosed yestarday, she is 10 month’s old. Such a touching story that you have shared about Lily. I have 1 other option that is currently being used for Stomatitis. It is called Laser Therapy. You can look at the site http://www.companiontherapylaser.com for more detailed information. In a nut shell that laser light increases blood flow to the area, which in turn brings in the cells that help to reduce inflammtion, pain and speed up the healing…all this goodness, without any know side effects! 🙂 Also, while the laser therapy is being administered, the kittys brain releases endorphins and ATP, which produces an overall feeling of wellness. Cats can be treated without anesthesia and even with their mouths closed. This is just one more modality that can help with their quality of life. Not a cure. And you have to find a Veterinarian that has invested in the Therapy Laser. **I ordered the Plaque Off with the expedited shipping and will pick up the Lysine tomorrow. (Thanks for the recommendation!) You can also try CET Oral Hygiene Chew, manufactured by Virbac Animal Health, to keep plaque off. The chews are soft and almost look like the foam packing, small log shaped, and are easliy chewed…although they do make a bit of a mess. You can get them from your Veterinarian. Best, Wendy

    • I have not heard of Laser Therapy. I’m pretty sure it is not available in my area because none of the vets I’ve taken Lily to have discussed it with me. Plus, my current vet has told me of all the options we have, and this was not one of them. Please consider keeping us posted of progress with Ruby if you choose this treatment, since it will be helpful to other people who may be able to use this therapy for their cats.

      Also, I’d love to hear how Ruby does with the PlaqueOff and Lysine. It can take months before you see positive changes (it took at least one before there were any noticable changes in Lily’s mouth, and it has now been six months and I just looked in her mouth and the inflammation is about 90% gone). Please keep us posted when you get the chance.

  438. Wow, I had no idea how long it takes to care for this problem. My cat Boyo has had around 6 teeth pulled so far. I went for his six month check up a little earlier and he is inflamed again.
    This has been well into four years.
    It started out as “gingivitis” and seemed to progress from there.
    He too is on the pain meds again and a doze of antibiotics. My doctor is monitoring him but I have a feeling that they will pull all my baby’s teeth in the end. I wish I had a magic wand and make it all go away.
    Poor little Lily. Thank you for a great site.

    • Yes, it does take a long time to know if treating stomatitis is working. After almost 1-1/2 years Lily’s stomatitis is finally under control, but it took every bit of the 18 months we’ve had her to get her to where she is today. Have you tried any supplements for Boyo? I can’t tell you for sure that they will help, but do know what a difference they have made for Lily.

  439. I had a cat die of stomatitis. We didn’t know what it was. She started losing a couple of teeth and had the red gums. The doctor said she needed to have her teeth removed. At first it was three. Then during the surgery he called and said it would be 11, then 14. crazy. She seemed to be doing better after surgery, probably the pain meds. But after they wore off…not so good. She died about two months after her surgery. It was extremely sad for us and I am still struggling to figure out what we could have done differently. Thank you for your insight.

    • This is absolutely heartbreaking to read. I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. You are trying to figure out what you could have done differently, but it sounds to me like you did everything you could.

  440. Hi again…. regarding the feral cat I trapped on Sunday who was diagnosed with severe gingivitis and stomatitis, turns out he’s not feral. He’s allowing me to pet him, scratch under his chin and brush him. He’s a good boy! Anyway, I did purchase L-Lysine and can’t wait to try it. I wanted to ask…. I thought I remember reading somewhere that you said to feed a cat with stomatitis wet food with water added to it to make a kind of slurry. But I just read some where else that wet food may cause more pain and that you prefer iams dry. So I need some clarification as to what is the best thing to feed him. I’ve been giving him a can of wet food with water and he eats the entire thing. Anyway, looking forward to hearing from you.

    • Ellen,

      How wonderful to hear that your kitty is not feral, even though that means he was probably abandoned. He may have even been abandoned because of his stomatitis.

      Re: Giving wet food to cats with stomatitis. You are right that giving wet food to cats with stomatitis does cause them more pain than dry food. The reason why is because they have to use their tongue more with wet food than with dry, and this aggravates the swollen gums and throat, causing pain.

      Here is what I do: I do not give wet food to Lily as-is, nor do I give her very much. Each morning and night I take a small amount (maybe a Tablespoon or so), then add enough water to turn it into mush. Making it watery is important, because Lily doesn’t have to work as hard to eat it when it is watery. Then I add the supplements and mix it all together. Next, I rub her steroid cream into one of her ears, then I reward her with the wet food. At some point I will make a video showing exactly what I do. I hope this helps, but if you have any other questions don’t hesitate to ask.

      Rochelle

  441. Thank You so much. I had no idea that after teeth removal they could still have this problem. My baby girl has it bad and is going into surgery tommorrow. This is her second. She went last Aug. and had 3 teeth removed and I prayed it would cure the problem. I was wrong and it has come back worse then ever. Like you I have more then one baby, so a diet will not work. The vet gave me the choice of having them all removed or some. Teeth that is. I think I will try some and if this don’t work then all. I will take your advise with the L-Lysine and plaqueOff. I do have her on pain meds. The same you mentioned. It’s so hard to get near her to give it. Do you have any advice on how to make it easier on her to give?

    • I’m so sorry that your kitty is going through this. Have you considered having all the remaining teeth removed? If removing some did not help, then having just a few more removed might not, either. Plus, if you end up having to remove the remaining teeth in a third surgery, it will be much more expensive than having them all out while your kitty is at the vet’s tomorrow. Just a thought, though your vet will know far better than I do.

      The Lysine and PlaqueOff have been truly miraculous! Every time Lily yawns I peer into her throat to see how it looks. She yawned this morning and I was delighted with how much better she looks. And the real measure for her is how often I have to give Buprenex to her. I refilled her prescription of it last month and have only given one dose to her. She’s been doing great, and I know it is because of the Lysine and PlaqueOff. I truly hope that it helps your cat, too. Just know that it will be months before you see noticeable improvement, either from the surgery or the supplements if they are going to help. It has been two years a little over one year (sorry, I remembered wrong) since all of this started with Lily and it took all that time for her to improve to where she is now.

      As for giving the Buprenex, what I do is place Lily in my lap and hold her by the scruff of her neck. She hates getting the medicine, so I have to hold her firmly. If she squirms too much I sometimes wrap her in a towel so only her head is showing. Then I slowly insert it into her cheek. In case you don’t know, do not mix it with food. It won’t work well if ingested. It needs to be absorbed into the skin of the cheeks or under the tongue. I was giving it to her in her food until my vet told me not to do that. I noticed a big difference in her pain relief once I started giving it properly.

  442. I just trapped a feral cat to get him neutured and was told when I picked him up that he has severe gingivitis and stomatitis. I knew something was wrong by the way he ate. I was also told the stomatitis could develop into feline leukemia. Because I can only get so close to this feral I’m afraid that if he starts to lose weight and is in obvious pain I may have to have him put to sleep 🙁 total bummer!!!!

    • I am so sorry to hear about this! I can only imagine the difficulty of dealing with a feral cat who has stomatitis.

      I have never heard that stomatitis can turn into feline leukemia, so I am unsure about that. I have grilled my vet pretty hard on this topic, and I’m sure she would have told me if this was a possibility because she knows that I have a multi-cat household.

      About the only thing I can suggest is for you to try one or more of the suppliments. Maybe it will be enough to make his life comfortable. Much luck to both of you as you deal with this nasty disease.