If you look in your cat’s mouth and find that the teeth are still there, but they don’t look like they used to, you might wonder what’s going on. Cats are prone to getting a condition called Feline Odontoclastic Resorption Lesions (FORLs) which means the teeth are broken down by cells called odontoclasts. Odontoclasts play a role in breaking down baby teeth, but strangely they continue to function in some adult cats for reasons yet to be discovered. The odontoclasts gather around the tooth root and begin to break down the surface. This leads to painful holes in the tooth which can expose the nerve and blood supply, leading to pain and infection risk. If your cat is diagnosed with FORL’s, the affected teeth will need to be removed so that they are no longer painful. Frustratingly, cats who have developed FORL’s on teeth in the past will always be prone to developing more on other teeth in the future.