My kitten (about 8 mos) has gingivitis & Paronychia.
She went to the vet at around 6-7 mos. He asked if she might be older since it was unusual for her to have Paronychia at that age.
She came from a feral colony.
Could she possibly have a weakened immune system or something?
Thanks.
edit: She also had a severe case of hookworms. Some of her littermates had it too (6 total).
Hello, this is Dr Linda, a small animal vet with 10 years of clinical experience.
I'm sorry to hear your kitten has been going through all of this.
Gingivitis at this age can be caused by teething, so I'd want to rule this out. If there is pathological gingivitis, this may be indicative of an underlying viral infection such as Calicivirus, Herepes, FIV or FeLV. This is especially true assuming her mum and her were not vaccinated.
If she has other signs of cat flu (such as sneezing or runny eyes), we could swab for this.
A blood test for the other viral infections mentioned is also sensible.
At her age, I'd assume paronychia was subsequent to trauma or an ingrown claw. If it recurs or occurs in other claws, this would be more of an issue and would be something we'd want to look into further.
Please be aware, online vet advice does not replace an in person vet visit.
