Sore throat

I have an 15 year old cat who seems might have a sore throat.  She trys to eat dry food but can not.  She will eat a small portion of canned food.  She also has been drinking water and going to the bathroom ok.  I will be taking her to see the vet but is there anything I can do right now to make her more comfortable?

[Jade59]

Hello Catlover23 and welcome.  Given your kitties age, I am thinking more along the lines of her having bad teeth and it hurts her too much to chew the hard food.  Try giving her ALL wet food which is better for her, anyway.  I'm glad to hear you're taking her to the vet.  Do let us know how that goes, okay?  

[Catlover23]

Hi Jade, thanks for the reply.  I will be taking her to the vets on April 4th.  I will let you know how it goes.  I was on another site and I read the symptoms for a sore throat.  I am pretty sure that is what she has.  It is time for her yearly checkup anyway.

[Catlover23]

I took Smokey to the vets and explained what she has been doing.  He checked her mouth and she does have some gingivitis.  He said she could have dental disease but the only way to answer that is by taking an xray of her mouth.  They would have to sedate her to do that.  I told him I would wait a month and she if it gets better.  In the mean time, I have purchased through Pet Meds an antiseptic rinse and  toothbrush/toothpaste, to try for a month to see if that clears it up.  If not, than I will get her the xray.

[opus88]

aww poor kitty, we all know what tooth decay feels like, she must have a very sore mouth!!!
Hon the toothpaste and rinse would be great on healthy teeth as a preventative but will do NOTHING for teeth after they've begun to deteriorate. untreated gingivitis can lead to heart problems not to mention the pain.....
IMO I would make an appointment to have her teeth cleaned, while under the anesthetic they can also do the xrays  also any extractions as required.
Set up a payment plan with your clinic, most will do this for you if money is a problem...you can't allow kitty to be in pain like this and untreated. Please help her out.♥

[Jade59]

Hi Catlover23 - I second what Opus said.  Dental disease doesn't get better and if Smokey has signs of gingivitis, then most likely she needs a good cleaning under the gums and probably some teeth pulled, as well.  Did your vet look at Smokey's teeth real good?  An xray shouldn't be necessary - it's usually visually obvious what a cats teeth are like.  

Of course, Do brush and rinse Smoky's teeth as a preventative measure - nothing wrong with that at all, but I doubt this is going to clear up since certainly your vet would have examined her throat and notice if it was red or a problem.  This is a clear case of kitty's teeth hurting so I would encourage you to get the cleaning done and likely, some extractions giving Smokey's age.  It's expensive, but worth the money.  Meanwhile, keep Smokey on wet food only - please don't even attempt the dry any longer for your girls sake.  I think you'll find her more willing to eat if offered only wet.  ^.^