Hi all lovely people! My 9 month old orange cat recently had multiple teeth extracted after being diagnosed with severe Feline Chronic Gingivostomatitis (FCGS) and food allergies, both of which are autoimmune conditions.
While we were at the clinic, I noticed that 7 out of the 10 cats in the inpatient ward were also orange and had similar diagnoses, all of them having undergone extractions as well. I realize this is a small and likely non-representative sample, but it made me wonder whether there could be any link. Given that the genetics behind orange coat color have been suggested to interact with aspects of T-cell regulation (as Claude informed me), I’m curious if there might be some correlation here.
I’ve also been struggling to understand how such a young cat could develop such a severe autoimmune condition, especially since he has tested negative for common viral triggers like FIV, calicivirus, and herpesvirus.
I’d really appreciate any thoughts or insights.