However, I was lucky enough to get a whiff of her breath one day, and it was atrocious. Immediately I thought, “This isn’t a flea problem or some other feline medical mystery - this cat has a bad tooth.” It was kind of a “new” thing for us, because in the nearly 30 years of cat ownership, we’ve never had a cat develop a tooth problem. Still, it was obvious. So, I took her to the vet, told him my suspicions, and lo and behold it was a bad tooth. In a matter of seconds he had both located it and pulled it out. After about a week of antibiotics and special pureed food, she started gaining weight, regrowing hair, and loving life.

I think a mistake many pet owners make is neglecting the day-to-day stuff, like dental care. We take care of our own teeth each day, but when it comes to our pets sometimes we focus more on proper feeding, exercise, sleep, etc. (i.e. the in-your-face survival needs) than we do on the things that aren’t always so in our faces. It’s important to remember these things, too!