Our 18 month old cat Ro had stomatitis. She was habitually having problems with her mouth getting red and infected, so we made the round of three different local vets in Portland, one even recommended that she be put down. The diagnosis was always stomatitis, and everyone seemed to be less than confident that she would be okay.
Ro was getting worse - - our kitten had become introverted, didn't play, hid a lot and although she was hungry, didn't seem like she was enjoying life. It was pretty sad and she seemed depressed. One of the local vets with a large national chain wanted to pull the teeth herself, but after reading about the risks, I just couldn't trust that a general practice vet was doing what was in the best interest of Ro. So we let them give her another round of steroid shots and I took her to an internist specialist who I trusted hoping that I would get an answer. What specialist actually gave me was an excellent referral to the Animal Dental Clinic. I was determined to find a solution that didn't involve removing all her teeth. The technician assured me that it was a last resort and that the specialists would work with me and all the tools they have available to help Ro get her life back, and it didn't necessarily mean an extraction.
Dr. Block came in to see Ro and I immediately felt at ease. She was kind, clearly knowledgeable and Ro even seemed more relaxed with her in the room. The news wasn't good though. The second she looked into Ro's mouth, it was clear that this was BAD. In the past Ro hadn't been willing to let me look into her mouth, so I had only an idea what was going on. It was awful - she must have been in SO MUCH pain. Dr. Block knew right away what needed to happen - she needed a full mouth extraction. She walked me through the process, assured me that this was not "pulling teeth" as some general practice vets will do - that it was a oral surgery. She was also honest about the prognosis. She told me about some of her patients like Ro whose lives where changed by the surgery and also was honest that sometimes it doesn't solve the problem but it just makes it better. I knew that we were out of options. Ro was miserable and it was inhumane to let this go on any longer. I was also scared - removing all of a cat's teeth seemed so drastic but after Dr. Block explained the why's of stomatitis, it all made sense.
Particularly in a case like Ro, where the cat is young, the mouth is small and there is so much inflammation, it had to be done right. They couldn't get her on the schedule for a couple of weeks but we worked together with their cancellations and my schedule and we had her in for the surgery a few days later.
AMAZING!! Ro came home the same day and they had her the right medication to make it through the first days of recovery pretty happy. Lots of purring and kneading. Once the pain killers wore off we started to see Ro emerge. It's been a couple of months now and she's a different cat!
Ro now drops on the floor when she sees us to get her belly scratched, she doesn't hide, she LOVES to play and she's an all over happy cat. Dr. Block was right, we don't even recognize her. Pretty cool. People often asked us "how does she eat?" Quite fine I must say - she eats mostly wet food now and has actually gained weight. Her fur looks great and she's got spunk in her step.
I knew that Ro was in the best possible hands with Dr. Block. I saw that she graduated from Yale and University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School, one of the best vet schools in the country. It doesn't get better than that. She's compassionate, obviously talented and so so skilled. I feel fortunate that we found out about this amazing practice and I would recommend Dr. Block and the entire team to anyone. Thanks to all of you - - Ro has her quality of life back!!!