As cats are seldom
hugged by owners in
Singapore as
compared to dogs,
bad breath can be
present for many
years. Bacteria
multiply and attack
the roots. In this
unusual case, the
cat owner was
advised to do dental
in 2012 but she did
not want to do it.
Blood test did show
a slight increase in
urea and creatinine
levels indicating
abnormalities in the
kidney.
In early 2013, I saw
the cat with a
swollen left eye
with the conjunctiva
much swollen. I had
taken an image. I
treated the
conjunctivitis. Then
in Sep 2013, Dr
Daniel was handling
the case and advised
X-ray.
I
got the cat X-rayed
on Sep 10, 2013 at 9
am, on behalf of Dr
Daniel who starts
work in the
afternoon. The young
vet at the other
practice used
xylazine (1.1
mg/kg) and reversin
to sedate the cat to
get good X-rays
done. I had told her
that there was no
point struggling
with the cat to open
the painful mouth to
X-ray in the rostro-caudal
position. "It is
better to give a
light sedation and
get a clear view
rather than no
sedation and get a
blurred X-ray," I
advised.
"I would say that this cat has an abscess in the sinus," the slim young
lady vet told me.
"Her teeth are all
rotten too." I
thanked her for her
X-ray
interpretation. It
is always good to
have opinions from
other vets too.
"It was a tooth root
abscess, lanced," Dr
Daniel reported to
me. "The facial
swelling you saw in
April was due to
this problem." I
reviewed the medical
records. If only the
owner had accepted
dental scaling in
2012, there would
not have been this
left eye
conjunctivitis in
April 2013 and the
recent lancing of
the oro-nasal
abscess.
In April 2013, the
cat could have felt
the painful infected
molar tooth root and
rubbed her left eye
to relieve the pain.
For the owner and
for me, it was an
eye problem.
Actually, in
retrospect, it could
be a decayed tooth
root abscess.
It is easy to be
wise on hindsight.
This case could be
the feline
equivalent of the
dental fistula of
dogs with carnaissal
tooth abscess. Only
that in the cat, it
is rare and it was
in the early stage
such that I missed
its presence. Time
and space leads to
correct diagnosis by
Dr Daniel.
Regular dental
checkup and scaling
when advised by the
vet would have saved
this owner much time
and money.
Only one molar tooth
was extracted but
root has blood and
no obvious pus. Pus
accumulated mainly
inside the left
maxillary sinus. An
incision into the
facial skin over and
into the sinus was
made and the pus was
drained by Dr
Daniel. The skin was
stitched and the cat
went home feeling
much better.
TOA
PAYOH VETS
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