Cats gums

Question
I have a 18m old male/neutered cat. He has red swollen gums that cover his bottom teeth. His vet advised me to brush his teeth every night with a toothbrush which I have always done but it doesn't seem to help. Ever since he was a kitten he has eaten Science Diet but the vet changed his diet to Blue Buffalo recently. Nothing seems to help, now his gums bleed when I brush them even though I go gentle. I have a 12m old female/spayed cat that eats the same %26 doesn't have this problem. They drink out of a cat fountain which I change the filters regularly. When the male was a kitten he chewed on every piece of wood in our house. Cabinets, doors, window sills, the vet has never heard of that. So my question is could the wood chewing have something to do with his gum problems now?
Thanks, Kelley

Answer
Kelley,

I'd like to start off my answer to your questions by first making sure that you understand that I am not a veterinarian, this means that I can't offer any kind of diagnosis or prescribe any medications or treatments and I'm unable to offer a prognosis when it comes to how a medical issue will likely progress. That being said I've always felt that the best possible thing that I could do for the cats that I share my home, heart and life with was to provide them with the best possible and most natural care that I could possibly manage. I don't believe that it's in any pet's (or person's for that matter) best interests to receive medications that aren't necessary, a diet made up mostly of highly processed convenience foods seriously lacking in quality and nutritional value, receive frequently administered repeated vaccinations or be repeatedly exposed to potentially harmful medications like cortisone.

There may be a variety of issues causing your kitty's odd wood fetish (Actually referred to properly as Pica which means eating foreign objects that aren't food) from a poor quality diet to excessive use of vaccines and certain drugs. I've taken the liberty of providing you with a list of websites that you may want to seriously consider checking out on pica, feline nutrition and holistic health care for your kitty.

Pica websites:

~ http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/PICA.htm
~ http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/home/beh/feline_behavior/pica.html
~ http://www.messybeast.com/pica.htm

Many conventionally recommended canned and dry cat foods are simply overprocessed, lacking in nutrients and quite possibly filled with potentially dangerous preservatives and other chemicals to extend their shelf life. After the Menu Foods pet food recalls of 2007 nearly claimed the life of my eldest cats I began to research feline nutrition and I learned so much more than I bargained for. When I approached our family vet about feeding a high quality, properly balanced homemade diet to our cats she recommended that I check out the first website on the list below ~ this vet is very down to earth, she explains everything fully and most of all she has recommendations about decent quality conventional foods for pet parents who aren't entirely comfortable with the idea of making their cat's food at home.

Feline Nutrition:

~ http://catinfo.org/ <-- The website my vet recommended that I check out.
~ http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php  <-- The website referred to on catinfo.org
~ http://www.halopets.com/pet-education/pet-articles/pet_food_what_you_need_to_kno...

This website has an article that I've seen on several websites that exposes the truth about conventionally produced dry/canned pet foods (even those that come highly recommended by mainstream vets who only practice conventional medicine such as Science Diet, prescription diets, etc). I really recommend that all pet parents who are concerned about their cat's long term health and wellbeing and the difference that proper nutrition can make over the course of a lifetime.

** NOTE: This article probably isn't good mealtime reading if you've got a sensitive stomach or you're easily grossed out.

~ http://www.felinespride.com/flash/intro.html

This company makes a high quality raw diet for pet parents who aren't comfortable making their own pet food at home or feeding commercially produced diets. Feline's Pride also delivers via courier and guarantees that their product will arrive still mostly frozen (meaning it's safe to refreeze it) provided of course that you are present to sign for the delivery and the food is stored in your freezer promptly.

There are a staggering number of veterinarians who practice conventional medicine that are quick to disregard holistic therapies since science hasn't yet advanced to the point where it can easily explain how some of these therapeutic approaches work. There are incredible numbers of veterinarians who still recommend annual, or in some cases more frequent vaccinations for pets in spite of the fact that studies in recent years have linked the overuse of vaccines to serious health problems including certain types of cancer, kidney failure, potentially fatal auto-immune diseases and serious allergic reactions both to the vaccines and other things that a pet is exposed to on a daily basis.

General Feline Care from a holistic standpoint:

~ http://www.holisticat.com/vaccinations.html
~ http://www.homeopathiccentre.com.au/
~ http://www.preciouspets.org/newsletters/articles/bach.htm
~ http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm

I spent many years looking for the ideal vet to care for my cats and during that time I found a good many things that I really didn't like while dealing with veterinarians who only practice conventional medicine and are convinced that it's the only way to care for our animal companions properly. One of my biggest pet peeves at several points during my search for the perfect veterinarian was that I often felt rushed and as though my questions or impressions about any illness or injury my cats were suffering from was being brushed aside as unimportant ~ in short it's fair to say that I often felt as though veterinarians I was dealing with were more interested in their financial gains than they were with how comfortable our cats and we as the feline caregivers were. While I truly believe that the vast majority of veterinarians truly get into veterinary medicine because they love animals and want to help them live the healthiest, happiest lives possible I must admit that I've met more than my fair share of veterinarians who seem to believe that every pet parent has an unlimited financial well to draw on at the drop of a hat...Some vets truly understand that pet parents aren't often independently wealthy and are willing to work with pet parents to create payment plans for pets that are in need of expensive diagnostic testing, surgeries or other treatments which is perfectly reasonable in my opinion.

Unfortunately there are other veterinarians who give the profession a bad name by refusing to consider the fact that some pet parents aren't able to spend thousands of dollars at the drop of a hat ~ these folks are often the vets who will do their best to send a loving pet parent with limited financial resources on a powerful guilt trip, some of these folks will go so far as to say that pet parents who can't afford to deal with serious medical conditions, accidental injuries requiring expensive treatments or surgical interventions or sudden illnesses that require a pet to be hospitalized and treated with expensive medications or specialized care really shouldn't have the pleasure of sharing their lives with animal companions. I truly believe that since the vast majority of regular people who love their pets dearly simply don't have the ability to spend thousands of dollars at a moment's notice the attitude that I've seen from some of these vets is absolutely uncalled for at best and simply unprofessional at worst.

Overall I have a huge interest in ensuring that my cats are living as healthy a life as I can possibly provide for them and above all I want to ensure that my cats are as healthy and comfortable as possible and living good quality lives for as long as possible. I think it's fair to say that I was almost ready to give up on my search for the perfect veterinarian when I finally found the wonderful doctor that we deal with now. Our current vet is a holistic practitioner which simply means that in addition to her mandatory schooling in conventional medicine our vet has taken the initiative to get extensive training and experience in the use of one or more alternative therapies ~ our vet is trained in homeopathy. The amazing thing about a holistic approach such as the one that our vet uses when caring for her furry patients is the fact that she'll often try to be as gentle and non-invasive as possible when treating health and behavioural concerns which we truly appreciate since our guys aren't generally fond of conventional medications or treatments. Unless a situation is serious enough to require immediate conventional treatment (ie: a serious infection requiring antibiotics in order to save our kitty's life) our vet will generally try to make use of homeopathic remedies which are safe, gentle and rather than only treating or even suppressing the symptoms (depending on the situation at hand) the right homeopathic remedy administered to the right pet at the right time will actually go so far as to treat the underlying causes of the symptoms which will then cause them to gradually disappear over a period of time and allow the kitty to return to a natural state of balance.

If you've got any questions about the information contained in this answer, on the websites that I've recommended or you have any further cat related questions or concerns I'd be happy to help you out to the best of my ability. Hopefully I can point you and your kitty in the direction of a better informed holistic vet who will help your kitty leave behind his over-interest in wood and will be willing to guide you through caring for your kitty with a more natural approach. I wish you and your kitty the best of luck and I look forward to helping you anytime in the future that you feel you need information or advice on caring for your cat.