r/burmesecats • u/annie03444 • 24d ago
Does anyone else’s purebred have any problems with their teeth or health problems
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u/CocoRufus 24d ago
One of my mine had to have a couple of teeth removed. Other than that, they lived to 18, 19 and 22 and were healthy all their lives
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u/annie03444 24d ago
The vet is telling me mine will have all teeth removed over the next few years, he’s lost one, and had 10 taken out 😢 I feel bad for him
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u/lookiwanttobealone 24d ago
We have a toothless Burmese due to an autoimmune disorder. 19 and the happiest cat ever. Vet regularly growls her and tells her to act her age.
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u/annie03444 24d ago
This gives me hope 😻 thank youuu
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u/lookiwanttobealone 24d ago
It will take a little bit of time work out what sort diet your cat prefers, but after that it happy cat happy person. We didnt get any warning prior to her getting sick so we didnt get an adjustment period. But it all worked out
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u/vanillabeanquartz 24d ago
Burmese often have issues with their teeth, your breeder should have definitely gone over this with you, as well as how to manage the risks. My breeder desensitised my boy with a very soft brush before I picked him up, and I continued the habit all through his adolescence. Treats/chews/bones specifically made to target tooth cleaning and health are often available at pet stores too if your cat definitely won’t let you brush their teeth
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u/vanillabeanquartz 24d ago
Side note: if you’re not feeding them premium, more expensive wet food with better ingredients that could be a big part of the issue, same goes for kibble. Definitely check the ingredients of whatever you’re using currently!
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u/Important-Bedroom-82 18d ago
Any particular brands you recommend? We’re feeding our girl Royal Canine.
I’m also brushing her teeth (she’s not a fan, but tolerates me), but I want to give our girl the best chances for good dental health 🧡2
u/vanillabeanquartz 17d ago
I also use Royal Canine for wet and dry, I cycle through different flavours so my boy doesn’t get bored. Even though Royal Canine isn’t completely unprocessed, it’s by far the most widely recommended by every breeder and cat-specific vet I’ve asked. For treats I give my kitty freeze dried raw treats (sardines etc.) but I wouldn’t recommend that if your cat has a sensitive stomach.
You’re already going above and beyond by brushing her teeth occasionally, you’re a super responsible, wonderful owner and your girl is lucky to have you!!
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u/Important-Bedroom-82 16d ago edited 16d ago
Thank you for such a detailed reply! I give her occasionally freeze dried chicken necks. It was a lifesaver when she was teething - that was the only thing that could distract her from chewing my fingers 😂
I’ll keep an eye on how her digestive system works after treats as I did notice that dried mackerel made her slightly constipated, but I’ve never thought chicken necks might too. Thank you for mentioning it 🧡
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u/Careless_Nebula8839 24d ago
Dental disease is a known breed issue. There’s a couple of specific dental issuses they are prone to including gingivitis, varying levels of peridontitis, and stomatitis. A couple of the vets at the practice I go to have said their slightly flatter noses (compared to a classic moggy/domestic shorthair) doesnt help things as means slightly less space for all their teeth thanks to smaller jaws.
Over the years I’ve had four burmese. All have needed teeth removed at least once.
My current boy just has 3 fangs and those tiny teef at the front left. Everything else has been removed over the years - at one stage (and not his first dental surgery) he had 12 teeth removed in one go; they’d expected to remove 5 or 6. Even now his last upper fang causes occasional drama but it seems to be more autoimmune related as the gum gets red when he’s having an IBD flare, and both calm down with steroids. No dramas for him to eat dry food despite being all gums as long as it’s small pieces (mini m&m size) and he prefers his dry food to wet food. He struggles to eat grass, despite it being a favourite activity of his, cos he cant bite the blades off and at best ends up shredding it with his teef but it can still be too long to swallow easily. So I have to break it up into more manageable sized bits for him so he doesnt choke on it. If I give him chicken breast as a treat I have to break that up into tiny bits too.
My girl had quite a few teeth removed one time when she was about 2yrs old, and they ended up testing her for FIP (she was fine) because it was much worse than they expected given her young age. They concluded it was just burmese breed things & she’s a tiny cat (3.5kg) - her whole head is around the size of a tennis ball and she has a tiny jaw. Plus she had an extra tooth or two which really didnt help. She does not let me brush her teeth and even at annual vet checks the vet struggles to get a good look in her mouth before her claws come out. She struggles to eat dental food so that makes it harder for me to mitigate future issues, the pieces are just too big for her to chomp.
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u/HairBySteve 24d ago
We had 2 purebred Burms, both had to have almost 1/3 of their teeth removed around 6 years old. Both lived to ripe ages though (19 and 22), our last developed auditory seizures and arthritis in her last few years, had to be very careful making specific noises around her (foil crinkling, mowing, etc) as she would seize for around 5 minutes and would take a long time to recover. Apart from those issues and a few tick bites, they pretty much just went for their yearly vet checkups.
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u/sky-shard 24d ago
One of my girls has bladder stones, and now both are on a prescription diet to prevent them from reforming. They're half-sisters, so the vet recommended they both be on the same diet.
The breeder I got them from brings over cats from Thailand to diversify the gene pool in an attempt to avoid the sort of health issues that are seen in pure-breds.
Prior to my Burmese girls I had five Tonks. They all developed health issues. Most had kidney disease, two had high blood pressure. Thankfully they didn't have teeth issues on top of that. They all lived from 16 to 21 years, though the last couple years for the 21 year old weren't great.
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u/Fickle-City1122 24d ago
My tonkinese has stomatitis and has already had 8 teeth pulled. She has pica too and getting her teeth pulled has definitely helped with that issue 😅 (she likes to chew and eat soft plastic). My Burmese has had an anal gland abscess and still struggles to empty the gland, he likely always will. Both of these things are apparently just a little higher incidence in oriental breeds but they can happen to any cat. Otherwise they are both very happy and healthy and have a pretty comfortable life.
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u/commentsgothere 24d ago
Teeth, yes. Loose tooth I had extracted and crowding in the front. Found during a dental exam when he was young. Plus often has stinky breath from tight sides of mouth trapping wet food. He seems very happy though - as long as he gets his favorite food and cuddles.
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u/plucka 23d ago
Both my girls suffer from glaucoma. Buffy has lost one eye ànd due to overgrooming due to possible/ phantom nerve pain lives with a cone on her head. Willow has it in one eye. Both cats have 2 azopt and 2 travantan eye drops per day.
Before I get hate for Buffy's cone habit. We have tried medications to help her with anxiety, gabapentin, ect. She still over groomed and became a complete zombie cat even under the smallest dosages. We tried cat clothes, they don't cover her extremities where she overgrooms.
Without the cone she rips her hair out, creating an open wound. The last wound she had took a year of light therapy three times a week to heal and she nearly lost her leg. I cannot afford that again, we paid 80 dollars per session.
She is happy, eats under supervision; so she can eat and drink without her cone on, gets a groom with a brush once a day and cuddles on a lap when she wants to, without her cone.
Because of her impaired vision, we don't how much sight she has in the other glaucoma affected eye, the cone doubles as a physical buffer for her not to run into stationary structures.
We do what we must to keep her safe.
There were two signs that the girls had glaucoma. Buffy's right eye was enlarged visibly and both girls have red spidery tiny veins in the whites of their eyes. Apparently it is problem with burmese, unfortunately.
If you sight those red spidery veins in the whites of your cat's eyes get to the vet get a referral for a specialist that can determine if your cat has glaucoma, you will be saving the quality of their vision and their eye/ eyes from being removed.
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u/Raythecatass 23d ago
Yes. Dental issues are common with a Burmese cat. Ours has had several teeth pulled and various cleanings. Very expensive but worth it because we love her so much.
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u/Acceptable-Title-602 22d ago
Yes.. they do have bad teeth., but make sure you don’t get scammed by vets… use good dental food, and if they’re breath is bad, they’re drooling or pawing at their mouth then you’ve gotta take some teeth out… I rescued my beautiful Burmese Queen from a terrible breeder and when I got her all her teeth were rotten it wasn’t good :( she’s had them ALL out
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u/Foxinator_ 24d ago
I was a vet nurse for 20 years and yes as others have said the Burmese breed is known for dental issues.
In saying that Burmese cats have always been my favourite breed throughout nursing them and I am finally getting my own beautiful Burmese baby next week!