AnimalCare

After a relatively uneventful two years, Vincent’s stomatitis has flared up again.

Sigh…we know that there is no cure for stomatitis. We can only manage it. Throughout the two years after his two tooth extractions, Vincent’s condition has been stable. He was on Plague Off for maintenance and that did its job well. We didn’t need to give him Plague Off regularly (as too much of it can cause thyroid issues); only when I noticed the drooling – then a few days of Plague Off would do the trick.

All was well until recently, when he had thick drooling (with a most unpleasant odour) and his appetite dwindled.

Vincent is also very choosy with food and is not easy to feed. Sometimes, I have to offer all kinds of foods until he chooses the one he wants. Most of the time, in recent weeks, he only wanted cooked food, so I’ve been giving him that and he would eat.

He lives outside and is usually on the neighbour’s roof, but he comes back daily for meals.

Yesterday, at breakfast, Vincent didn’t want to eat. He just licked a bit of his cooked food and went off. By nightfall, I managed to call him back and he ate a bit of raw food. There has also been gradual weight loss, so we took him to the vet today (together with Indy).

This morning, he only wanted raw food. He only ate about two spoonfuls, after much coaxing.

But he drinks a lot of water every day.

The vet examined his lymph nodes and they were very enlarged. There is also very severe ulceration in his mouth, particularly at the back portion.

Vincent would have to go on steroid therapy and antibiotics; maybe subcutaneous fluids too as he is rather dehydrated and emaciated (due to the weight loss).  Vincent may even need to be on drips, depending on his condition.

The vet thinks it would be better if Vincent is warded so that he can observe Vincent and administer what is needed. We definitely agree. The course of treatment is uncertain at this point, so it’s better that Vincent stays at the clinic where he can be monitored.

So, Vincent is warded at the clinic now.

Blood work will also be done as the vet suspects Vincent may have kidney issues. Being warded, the vet would be able to monitor Vincent’s urination too.

We hope Vincent will recover to a manageable and comfortable level even though there is really no cure of stomatitis and as his previous vet had said, Vincent has such reactive gums and there’s nothing much anyone can do about it.

We know Vincent is in good hands at the clinic.