Meet Sami. This loving and adorable fellow is one of four cats that Basepaws community member, Giuliano Argenti, rescued and welcomed into his family. At the wise age of 19, Sami is living a healthy and full life—yet this wasn’t always the case. Learn about how the Basepaws Oral Health Test helped Giuliano and his veterinarian save Sami’s pearly whites, and ultimately, his life. It’s a story with a happy ending that gives us all something to smile about!
Bringing Sami Home and the Journey Ahead
In 2008, Giuliano and his father came across a bedraggled cat on the streets. Much the worse for wear, the frightened feline had sustained head and mouth injuries, including broken and missing teeth. They took him home and named him Sami.
Sami’s road to recovery would prove harder than most. Despite the Argenti family’s best efforts to rehabilitate their newly adopted cat early on, Sami’s health began to significantly decline in the months and years that passed. When he reached around 12 years of age, Sami was suffering from heart problems, which, as it turned out, were only the beginning of his troubles.
Getting to the Root of the Problem
Despite treatment after treatment at different veterinarians’ and specialists’ offices, Sami’s heart issues would temporarily subside, only to then reemerge. In domino-like fashion, other organs in Sami’s tired body exhibited signs of failure, further compromising his health. Giuliano and his family were at a loss of what to do.
In his quest to potentially learn more about any root issues that could possibly be causing what was going on with Sami, Giuliano conducted a lot of his own research alongside his discussions with veterinarians. That’s when he stumbled upon Basepaws and our new (at the time) Oral Health Test for Cats that is now included in our flagship Breed + Health Cat DNA Test.
Meanwhile, given all of Sami’s other issues and how quickly his state of health was now declining, Sami’s internists were narrowing in on how to address his failing organs. That process ultimately led to a decision to schedule Sami for general surgery.
After receiving the test in the mail, Giuliano performed the quick 10 second swab of Sami’s mouth to collect his DNA and then sent it off to Basepaws. As he waited for Sami’s results, he researched and learned more about how poor oral health can not only cause dental issues in cats, but also more serious overall general health conditions such as heart, kidney, and liver problems. Considering Sami’s mounting health struggles, this made Giuliano wonder about whether he might also be suffering from a dental condition.
Did you know that by age three, 70 percent of cats have signs of periodontal disease?
The day came for Sami’s results, which were delivered right to Giuliano’s email inbox. His results showed that he was not at risk for any of the genetic health conditions for which Basepaws tests—but Sami’s oral health test results were another matter altogether.
