Gingervitis worries

[Count Oggy]

I got a cat last summer that a friend of mine found in town, almost bald and skin and bone. Last week I took him to the vets as his gums are red and his breath is pretty wiffy and I suspected gingervitis. My vet however said the prognosis was not good and he probably had either feline AIDS or leukemia contracted when he was a stray. He's on antibiotics and steroids but will be going back for tests if this treatment doesn't clear it up. I was just wondering what others thoughts are on this, is he being pessimistic or is this a likely diagnosis? The cat is between 1and 2 years old BTW.

 

[Umbongo]

There is a risk it could be FIV/FelV related, also calicivirus. However there is also a high chance it could just be bad teeth, although the cat is young if he was in a bad state when you got him then this could be a reason. Your vet should be able to do an FIV/Felv snap test pretty easily and only takes about 10 minutes for the results. Having worked in a vets and with rescues I believe the test is something that should be done routinely for all strays picked up, unvaccinated cats etc.

Good luck

 

[Count Oggy]

Thanks for your reply. He's finished the antibiotics but has another 12 days of steroids. The breath is better but his gums are still red but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'll definitely get any future cat tested.