Good for you for taking in that kitten and taking care of its problems! May you be rewarded with lots of affection, fun, and a long-lived pet. Too bad the vets didn't do anything about the teeth sooner, in spite of your telling them about the blood. As you probably know, the bacteria in gum infections can cause problems elsewhere, so you were were wise to take care of things.
I don't know anything about cats' gum diseases, but I can chime in with your vet to assure you that they can live happily without their teeth. They don't need to chew their food well the way humans must for good digestion; it is enough if they can bite it into swallow-sized chunks, and their fangs are mainly for catching and holding prey, I would imagine.
Tooth care was practically non-existent years ago when we lived in Japan, and we had a female cat that lost more and more teeth (sometimes having them extracted, and sometimes just losing them before we were aware of a problem) as she got older and finally had only 1 eye tooth, but she was healthy and died just two weeks short of her 18th birthday. Of course, we had to make sure that her food was not something she would have to bite into smaller pieces.
The funny thing was, unlike a human, her face didn't even look sunken in after loosing all those teeth.

being it's a kitten I think the problem may be a virus such as FIV that effects cats' teeth and gums. You may want to ask your vet about these different health issues

It is a kitten and not an old cat.

Look deeper at other health issues. Don't keep flipping vets either. No vet can diagnose the problem without a history.

I hope the antibiotics help. Our stray kitten had gum disease too, and he lost three of the tiny front teeth before we realized something was wrong.

In our case, the antibiotics cleared up the gum infection -- he is three years old and has had no more problems.

I've been told that fleas contribute to this problem; bacteria from flea droppings gets into the cat's mouth when it grooms its fur.

I picked up kitty from her surgery today. She seems to be a lot happier in spite of 8 extractions including a canine. She was hungry so after the waiting period i gave her a soupy meal and she ate it with gusto. She's even purring which we rarely have heard. This morning after being on antibiotics she was her original self, playing the chasing game. I've always gone to the same vet for over 40 years but with this stray I didn't. What a mistake. You get what you pay for they say.

Has she been tested for FIV or FeLv? That would be my #1 suspicion for the health problems you describe in a young kitten. Also, was she declawed when she was spayed? That would be my #2 suspicion for the behavior changes you describe.

I would *think* the FeLV/FIV testing would have been one of the first things done. Also the blood panel would show FIV if it were present.

FIV is extremely similar to human AIDS, the cat can live with it for years and never have any health issues. Mouth and gum problems usually start in a cat that the FIV has become active or the cat's immune system is finally weakened.

I do know that many cats that have had a rough start on life and have URI problems can develop mouth/gum problems also. I have a friend who has several "unadoptables" and a few are the direct result of chronic URI. They can be fine for awhile and then get flare ups that can involve their mouth and teeth. She just has to keep a good eye on those cats.

She's been checked for all of the above and so far negative. They did a biopsy but results not back yet. She seems better, eating without problem soft food. It kills me to give her the antibiotic, it makes her gag. Wish they had given her something more palatable. She was just beginning to trust me and now I have to torment her with these awful meds. Her mouth looks a lot better though. Just hoping she doesn't have a recurrence. I told my husband, we have a $1000 cat, what a pedigree!

Hi, I would appreciate any help. We rescue adopted our lovely cat. She is 2 years old. In year 1, she had red gums and a lot of plaque. We had a full cleaning done and she began eating prescription food to help with the plaque. Her plaque is almost non existent but still swollen gums, especially on the top. The Vet recommended vitamins which we've been giving her for a couple of months now. She doesn't seem bothered at all, but the Vet is worried and we are worried about a systemic infection. Any suggestions? She hates having her teeth cleaned and we've been told that trying to brush with gums so swollen could actually irritate the gums even more. Many thanks for any help.

When I got my dog, his gums bled a lot and his teeth were covered with plaque. Maybe he had the same thing. I started him on raw chicken parts and his gums and teeth cleared right up. His teeth will never be pearly white, but at least he's healthy now.

I took in a cat (about 4 y.o.) last year that had terrible tooth and gum problems. The vet checked her for bartonella, which she had, and she was put on a special course of antibiotics to deal with it. I don't think it's been proven conclusively, but there's strong evidence to suggest that bartonella may cause chronic inflammatory disease, particularly in the mouth. You may want to discuss the possibility with your vet.

there is an all natural toothpaste and mouth foam used with human oncology patients for mouthsores and bleeding gums that I have found to be very effective with pets as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: prevent gingivitis

There is a condition called Lymphocytic-Plasmacytic Stomatitis (LPS) and it can be a symptom of Feline Herpes (NOT contagious to humans). Both Boots and Sammy have this problem which we keep under control with oral Interferon-alpha and lysine.

They have both symptom free for years, and aside from regular teeth cleaning once a year require no more attention other than the daily meds.

I have some information on this condition and how we dealt with it for Boots on my website if you're interested:

Here is a link that might be useful: Lymphocytic-Plasmacytic Stomatitis.