Hi everyone. It's been awhile since I posted, and don't know if any
old friends are still around. Jack is the newsgroup's boy - he started
life as a feral in Seattle, was rescued, adopted by Catharine and she
was dying of breast cancer. (Has since passed) I lived near St. Louis
and people here generously donated to send Jack on the pet bus to me.
He's been a real angel of a cat. I love him so much.

Well, he has stomatitis. He's negative for FLIV and all of that. Two
years ago, he came down with this and his vet extracted a lot of
teeth. I can't remember if it was upper or lower, but one set of
teeth. (So he has either his upper or lower molars...I just can't
remember, and he also has his front teeth and one or two canines) Her
approach was more conservative; she said some vets would extract all
the teeth, but she didn't think it was necessary.

I'm trying to remember the series of events. I *think* she gave him a
shot of some kind of steroid, maybe prednisone or cortisone, to cut
down the inflammation. Maybe there were antibiotics, but I'm not sure.
And he felt so much better after a day. He had his blood work done,
and it was all just fine, and then a week later he went in for his
extractions. Did really, really well.

But the last week or two, it's come back, and today it's bad. I'll
call the vet in the morning, but just wondering if there's anything I
can do for him tonight, and if there are any options other than
removing the rest of his molars (or all teeth??). I feel like he's
near starvation at this point. He's probably normal cat weight, but to
me, he's skinny. He was a 20 pounder when I got him, and I didn't do
well getting him to lose weight. He's just a big boy. Not obese, just
biggggg. I think I got him down to 18, and then he lost a couple of
pounds with the stomatitis.

I'm scared to death to find out what he weighs tomorrow....it's like
in three days he shrunk up. For the last week or two, I thought he was
being picky. He's a VERY picky eater. And he just wanted cat treats,
but would finally eat his food after he realized he only got a few
treats. But the last couple of days, all he'll eat are treats. And
today, just barely. He ate three, and I had to hand feed him.

He just sleeps a lot, isn't grooming himself; he even has a dirty paw.
And a very dirty mouth - that was one of his symptoms last time....he
just got crud around his mouth. That's just not Jack. And he isn't
sleeping in his bed or on my bed....he's found a spot either in the
hall or on the couch. It's heartbreaking.

I wouldn't mind trying alternative medicines, but I'm more interested
in getting him out of discomfort and having him eat. Is there
*anything* I can do tonight to make him feel better? I brushed him for
a little bit, and he liked that, but then had enough. (VERY UNLIKE
HIM) He purrs when I pet him, doesn't cry, but won't let me touch his
mouth.

Any help, ideas, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Juls