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Diagnosis | Feline gingivostomatitis

Lab Animal volume 39, pages 172–173 (2010)Cite this article

We diagnosed the cat's problem as gingivostomatitis1,2. In general, animals affected by this problem will present with partial or complete anorexia, halitosis, oral pain and drooling. Inflammation of the gingiva and other structures such as the oral mucosa (stomatitis), palate (palatitis), caudal fauces (faucitis) and pharynx (pharyngitis) are commonly associated with this syndrome. Because of oral pain, the cat had stopped eating dry food. Smell and taste are physiologically interdependent and dysfunction of one often disturbs the other, and we believe that dysosmia (a distorted sense of smell) resulting from the generalized inflammation of the oral cavity caused the cat to stop responding to catnip.

Gingivostomatitis in cats has many etiologies, including changes in the balance of bacterial challenge versus the host's defense3. Predominantly Gram-negative anaerobes related to the accumulation of plaque seem to be the cause. In such cases, dental prophylaxis may help reduce the bacterial challenge. Naturally occurring or acquired immunopathic disorders, such as immune deficiencies or exaggerated immune responses, can also contribute to gingivostomatitis. For example, cats affected with calicivirus, leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus have the highest prevalence of oral cavity infections and the most severe oral lesions4,5. In this case, the cat had been vaccinated against feline rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia and chlamydia, and the immunoassays for feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus were negative. Therefore, we ruled out those diseases as a cause.

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Figure 3: Photomicrographs of ulcerated gingival mass in Figure 1.

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Diagnosis | Feline gingivostomatitis. Lab Anim 39, 172–173 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0610-172

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