Faces of No-Kill: Helping a cat with a very sore mouth

With the sun cascading through the window and landing just right on her cat tree, Bae’s eyes close contentedly as she basks in the afternoon light. The comfort of her foster home is medicine itself, but it took even more care to help this senior kitty feel her best.

When Bae landed in a shelter, the staff noticed she was losing weight. With limited resources for veterinary care, they reached out to Best Friends for help. And soon, Bae was on her way to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.

When Bae arrived at the Sanctuary, she was withdrawn and not very interested in eating, despite caregivers’ attempts to offer her new foods she might like. She went to the Sanctuary’s veterinary clinic, where the team discovered she had two conditions that made her mouth ache: stomatitis and gingivitis. Both conditions cause painful inflammation of the gums. While gingivitis can usually be managed through dental care, stomatitis is trickier. Its cause is unknown, and its symptoms can flare back up even after treatment.

But the treatment for both involves a nice, clean mouth, so the team scheduled Bae for a dental cleaning. They also gave her medication to help manage the pain.

Bae’s trip to the kitty dentist — well, the Sanctuary’s clinic — resulted in a few pulled teeth. With those sore teeth out of her mouth, her interest in food returned. It was also evident she was feeling better in the way she began to come out of her shell and seek attention and affection from her caregivers. Bae’s personality started to shine like the rays of sunlight she so often basks in.

VIDEO: behind the scenes in Cat World at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

But even as her pain lessened, her mouth was still too sore for her to groom herself — something important for her hygiene and health. So the Sanctuary caregivers stepped in as her personal beauty salon, though she had big opinions about how they styled her fur. “She’d allow us to brush her for short periods,” says caregiver Riley Prewett. Then, once she had quite enough of the brush, she’d hop up on a perch and watch other cats in the building bustle about.

Bae needed a second dental procedure to continue to help her mouth heal, and then it was off to a foster home, where she could recover in a calm and cozy environment.

Andrea Kraus and Mike Lorrig had already met Bae a handful of times while they were volunteering at the Sanctuary. During one visit, Bae climbed into Mike’s lap — a rare show of trust from the cat who had previously been so withdrawn. So when Andrea and Mike heard that Bae needed a foster home, they jumped at the opportunity.

“She was kind of guarded and shy when she first came in, but she’s started to roam and explore more,” Andrea says.

Bae ventures out now to investigate the other cats living in her new space. She’s also been investigating new flavors of food, especially with her mouth feeling better. “She’ll eat one flavor for a few days, and then she turns her nose up until we offer her another one,” Andrea says.

Freed from dental pain, senior cat regains vivacious spirit

Bae’s a kitty who doesn’t want to miss out on the spice of life. “She likes to be involved,” Mike says, describing the way Bae hops up onto the kitchen counter to watch him prepare her meals.

Just like at the Sanctuary, when Bae needs her space, she’ll quietly slip back to her favorite cozy spots — the front window or the top of the cat tree — to take a minute to herself and watch as Mike, Andrea, and the other cats move around the home. But she doesn’t linger there as often as she used to. She seeks out Mike and Andrea for scratches behind the ears or strokes down her back more and more as she settles into life in her foster home.

Bae has come a long way from the withdrawn cat with the sore mouth who arrived at the Sanctuary. Now, she’s a kitty who’s unafraid to show just how she feels — about her food, her brush, and just how much attention she’s in the mood for — and that spark is everything her caregivers could have asked for.

While the inflammation in her mouth can still flare up, her care team has found a routine of medication and soft foods that help Bae have more good days — and help her on her way to a home of her own.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.