My cat's lower canine tooth is loose

Question

Yesterday morning I noticed my cat's face seemed a little puffy around the left side of her mouth. I didn't see anything wrong and she didn't seem upset about it. Last night I checked again and her lower left canine was protruding outside of her upper lip like she'd had a severe underbite (she doesn't). Now this morning, the tooth is protruding at about a 45-degree angle out directly away from her face.

It's clearly bothering her because she spent half the night licking her mouth in my ear while I was trying to sleep. There must be some tenderness because now she won't let touch that side of her face, but she was happy enough to dive into her food bowl this morning.

I tried calling multiple vet offices but nobody could see us for several weeks. Do I need to take her to an emergency vet or should I just keep an eye on her energy and appetite for now? I'm concerned about possible infection and pain/discomfort.

Answer 1

Your cat may have abscess and yes, it would be a good idea to go to an emergency vet if you don't want your cat to suffer. They will most likely prescribe antibiotics for your cat to treat the abscess. If the abscess is bad enough, your cat may have to undergo a surgery to remove the tooth.

Answer 2

I would definitely take the cat to a vet. I had a cat with a loose tooth and our vet examined her mouth and discover that she needed to remove the tooth and prescribed her antibiotics and cleaned her teeth. They diagnosed her with periodontal disease and she had to go in every six months, sometimes earlier for a cleaning and removed her from wet food to dry food only. Better safe than sorry when it comes to our fur babies.