This week was my eight year old rescue cat Puzzles’ turn for her checkup. Even though I see my cats every day, they get their formal checkups every year. I walk the talk, as they say. I did not expect Puzzles to have any issues. But, you never know. Her examination revealed a small weight gain, heart and lungs sounded good, coat, eyes, etc, looked fine. But, the examination of her mouth revealed gingivitis. I was surprised, as generally, my cats have good dental health.

So, Puzzles had routine blood work performed. Fortunately, the results were good. She also had dental work. Her teeth were cleaned and polished. Honestly, there was not a lot of visible plaque present. But there were issues under the gum line. She even needed to have two teeth extracted!

I am so glad this issue could be addressed now before it spread. Bacteria in the mouth can spread to major organs and cause significant problems. So, for now, her mouth is healthy, her gums feel better and I can relax knowing her mouth is no longer painful. I remember seeing Puzzles on Petfinder years ago and driving down to a rescue in the Philly area and bringing her home along with her sister Jigsaw as tiny kittens.  She has always been a good cat with no health issues until now. Hopefully, now that this problem has been taken care of, she will have many years left to hang out on the cat tree.