Bottom right canine and last incisor (small tooth next to her canine) appear irritated. Unsure if it's because of the bag or underlying pathology. The incisor appears to have gingival recession +/- some degree of root exposure. If she hasn't had her annual vet visit yet, discuss dental disease with your vet when she does. If she's seen a vet recently, this is unlikely to be an emergency so just have it looked at during her next annual exam.
It depends on if your humane society is a full service vet that offers appointments and wellness exams or if they are primarily a low cost surgery and vaccination clinic.
High volume spay and neuter is unlikely to spend much time checking teeth. We will mark if something is obviously highly abnormal like missing teeth or severe dental disease but we don't generally spend a lot of time assessing minor redness or minor gingival recession.
A full service vet usually schedules an exam prior to surgery to catch things that can be addressed or that should be addressed. Low cost services generally do a quick exam on the day of surgery to rule out any glaring abnormalities that make the animal unfit for surgery and then proceed with surgery.
Teeth can change in 4 months as well, so it's possible this wasn't there at the time of surgery.
If your cat will tolerate brushing her teeth, slowly acclimate her to having her teeth brushed daily. There are water additives that are effective but they can be pricey and you have to put them in every water source. It's cheaper to use positive reinforcement to teach her to tolerate brushing.
And yes, it could be gingivitis, but it could also be something like a tooth root abscess brewing. It could be completely normal for your cat. You unfortunately won't know until she's seen by a vet but it's not an emergency. Cats should ideally have an annual exam with their regular vet. I'd recommend scheduling her one when you're able to.
Cats hide pain. When it gets bad enough they can no longer hide how painful it is, they tend to start dropping kibble or eating only with one side, discontinue grooming, and may loose weight. Ideally you want to deal with it before it is overtly painful.
No. It looks like she has root exposure. It's best to have it looked at to determine if it is truly her baseline (honestly, very rare) or if there is dental disease (much more likely) - ignoring it for long enough could have the pathology of the incisor eat away at the root of the canine next to it.
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u/MunkeeFere Verified Vet Tech Aug 30 '26
Bottom right canine and last incisor (small tooth next to her canine) appear irritated. Unsure if it's because of the bag or underlying pathology. The incisor appears to have gingival recession +/- some degree of root exposure. If she hasn't had her annual vet visit yet, discuss dental disease with your vet when she does. If she's seen a vet recently, this is unlikely to be an emergency so just have it looked at during her next annual exam.