This was an interesting case that we had at Animal General Hospital today. A cat was presented with an extremely swollen mouth, caused by a serious infection. In fact, the infection was so severe that even the jawbone was exposed to the infection.

Upon examination, Dr. Borrego found a large foreign body to be deeply embedded in the cat's gingiva (gums). He proceeded to remove the foreign body and disinfect the affected area. Given further inspection, the foreign body was determined to be a complete grasshopper's leg.

A grasshopper's leg contains numerous tiny barbs that must have become attached to the patient's gingiva. The barbs have three distinct purposes - Cleaning, Singing (communication), and to hold onto surfaces prior to leaping into the air. Our patient must have captured the poor grasshopper moments before he was able to leap away.

The area between the technician's finger and the patients teeth is called the mandible. This is the bone structure that forms the jaw. The picture above shows the extreme infection to this region.

Patient's Prognosis: Guarded
This is because the bone was exposed to infection, making the healing process a lengthy one. In terms of recovery, this is a difficult area to suture, due to the fact that the gingiva tissue lacks holding power. We expect this patient to completely recover, but he will be prescribed antibiotics and eating canned food for quite some time.