Why can't my cat close her mouth?

Question

I went to go say hello to my kitty and i noticed her tongue was sticking out. I know that sometimes she just has it sticking out a little bit through her teeth, but normally her mouth is closed. Today, she cannot close her mouth and her tongue is sticking out. She has a lot of saliva in her mouth too and I'm thinking its probably because she can't close her mouth to swallow it. I think her teeth may be in the way or something. It kind of looks like the bottom ones are in the way of the top ones but I'm not sure if that's why. It's just a guess because I already know she has bad teeth. The vet said so and that we should eventually get them removed but could this be a result of her bad teeth? The vet didn't say anything about the placement of them, just that they were bad so I had the impression that it was the quality of her teeth themselves and not their placement. I tried to take a picture of her teeth but i only have my webcam. Please help and thank you.

Here's a photo:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/cimabella/Photo1.jpg

Answer 1

Does the cat go outside at any points? It could be that she might have had a slight trauma to her jaw. This is really easy to happen - I've had my jaw knocked out of place before.

It's generally simple for vets to fix, and as long as she doesn't seem in a lot of pain (Hiding, meowing a lot or growling at you when you touch her) she should be fine until your parents get home and take her to the vet.

It could also be possible that she developed a sore in her mouth (Dry food can sometimes "cut" their gums and cause what's like a canker sore for humans in their mouth) so it might be painful for her to shut her mouth (Hence, the "off-set" jaw). Her tongue is like sand paper, so you can understand why she wouldn't want to shut it! :-)

Good luck with everything - she should be fine, but make sure she gets to a vet sooner rather then later.

Answer 2

BRING HER TO THE VET!!!! you never know what it means only vets know... and since you reported this i think that you care very much about your kitty, you should probably book an appointment for a vet... or take her for a check... good luck to you and your cat!   :)

Answer 3

WHY are you taking pictures of the poor cat and posting them on the internet? WHY aren't you getting the poor thing to a vet's asap? Cat's hide dental pain very well - by the time it's reached this stage they're in a seriously bad way. Oh, and untreated dental disease can lead to kidney failure by the way.

Why didn't you get this problem sorted when you were told the teeth were bad, why did you let it get to this? Get her to a vet asap and perhaps it's not too late to sort it out.

Chalice

Answer 4

ok... you definatly have to take the cat to the vet. Maybe you can't do it right now... but it has to be done asap. Make the appt now and when your parents ge thome tell them what's up.

As for the not closing the mouth, it's serious. She may not seem like she's in pain to you, but she likely is. Cats are amazing at hiding pain so do not be fooled. If she can't close her mouth, then there is something SEVERLY wrong and it can't be dismissed.

A high possibility is that a bad decaying tooth has dislodged and is blocking her ability to close her jaw. :o( OW. Can you imagine how painful that would be? Torture. Or even worse... he jaw has popped out of socket. Bad teeth can decay a jaw so badly that it could eat away at the bone allowing it to easily dislocate. :o(

I know you are doing the best you can at the moment, but understand that anyone telling you to take her to the vet, is telling you that because it is what needs to happen.

I give you this advice from experiance. If this were my cat, as a driving adult, I would have them in the Emergency vet by now. Tell your parents as soon an they get home.  

Answer 5

I noticed this just recently in my cat and found out that he has a tumor in his lower jaw.  I hope this isn't the problem with your cat, we are still waiting to hear from the vet about whether is is cancer or not.  

Does her mouth problems keep your cat from eating well?  If so you may want to find out about food alternatives.  My cat has lost so much weight from his mouth issues, he is down to 5 lbs now, that I am having to get him kitten formula and feed him egg yolks (partially cooked) so he doesn't starve to death.

She may have gum disease causing her gums to swell which would make it painful for her to close her mouth.  Just do whatever the vet said and it doesn't hurt to call them and ask some follow up questions about that you can do at home to treat the issue.  There is no need to go back if she was just seen when a phone call will do.