Cats dental problems

Our 12yr old female tabby usually fattens up like a little bear during the winter because she just sleeps and eats.

Then in the summer she is on the roof, up trees and runs about the place and the weight falls off in fact she gets very slim.

This summer she didn't seem very active (we thought she was feeling her age and slowing down) and the weight came off too quickly. We noticed that we were throwing out more and more food. Then she just lay there not eating or drinking, infact she didn't even seem to sleep. She didn't seem to be in pain, as I said she just lay on the bed. And seemed quite weak

Once it finally dawned on us that something was really wrong, off we went to the vets. He gave her some fluids and an injection to help apatite and a painkiller. The Vet couldn't feel anything wrong but he did notice that her mouth seemed sore.

We left her with the Vet for more tests and fearing the worst we went home (The house seemed strange without her there)

The next day the Vet got in touch. Liver and kidney function were fine and her thyroid was ok also. But he was concerned about a tooth, and wanted permission to give a general antithetic to check it out. I didn't like the idea of a general, and I was convinced she was dying of something serious and the vet had missed it.

That night we got the call. The vet told us she had a neck lesion which he explained to be an exposed sensitive nerve under a rotten tooth. He removed the tooth and neutralized the nerve He said that it would have caused extreme non ending pain for our little kitty. And now that it was sorted she should be back on food almost straight away.Tho her mouth would be tender for a day or two. It is really fantastic the dental care they can do.Could you imagine drilling and working in a cats mouth?

When we brought her home she did cautiously eat some food. Over the next week it was amazing her appetite returned and she started to put on some weight.

Now a month latter she is almost her full weight and her fur is in terrific condition, and she has so much energy she is like a kitten.Infact earlier this evening I watched her jump out from a small tree and sprint up the garden. Now as I write this she is fast asleep and dreaming after eating a full dish of food.

I always considered myself a caring owner, but I can't believe that I was basically starving our cat to death and I let her suffer so long before doing anything. Also I should have trusted the vet a lot more.
I suppose I am saying if you notice anything a bit strange with your pet, don't hesitate to go to the vets. Problems don't always get better by themselves and don't assume that your little pet is getting old. There might be a simple enough fix to make your pet young again