When we get a cat with a badly inflamed mouth like you described, we send it to be processed by our full service vet who is very aware of the lives and limitations of what can be done with unsocialized community cats. She sedates them and assesses the mouth. Some are worse than others. Sometimes with a steroid shot, antibiotics and a basic dental, the cat will be good for a very long time, especially without the stresses of ongoing mating behaviours. However, if they are much worse than that, a decision may have to be made. If we know that we have an attentive caregiver, which so many of them are, we will treat and return, advising the caregiver to let us know if it starts looking bad again or does not get better. And of course if we need to return, we will. But by and large, many of these cats do better for a very long time. Cats are amazingly resilient. But true Stomatitis will be chronic and may call for some tough decisions to be made. By and large though, we have had good luck treating and returning these cats. We have been using this protocol for 5+ years.
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Samantha Polen
Executive Director
T-Town TNR, Inc.
Tulsa OK
https://www.ttowntnr.com/------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 08-13-2024 09:17 AM
From: Morgan Redell
Subject: Stomatitis in Community Cats
Recently, I've scouted two new colonies that both have at least 1-2 cats that have potential stomatitis. (Caretaker reports multiple teeth missing, lots of mashing food before swallowing, and drooling.)
Does anyone have a playbook or policy on what to do with community cats brought into clinics with stomatitis? I personally am very conflicted on the right things to do here- there are no spaces in local rescues/shelters/safe havens for community cats, and less so for ones with progressive illnesses or medical conditions. I don't believe it is kind to RTF a cat, knowing it has a medical issue that will only progress and hinder it's ability to comfortably consume food, which could lead to other medical problems.
I'm interested in hearing what other groups are doing for cases like this when they pop up. Open to any and all guidance here!
#CommunityCatManagement
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Morgan Redell
Manager
FL
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