Dental Cleaning

[CrystalBelleBaby]

Hello!

I'm hoping someone can ease my fears about dental cleaning. My girl is 15 and a tuxedo. She has got pancreatitis, but other than that, is fat and happy. The vet recommended last time we were in to get her teeth cleaned, which I agree she needs. Her breath smells horrendous. But I’m terrified that something is going to happen to her. Any words of wisdom?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - welcome!

Has the vet given you any recommendations regarding a diet?

Having a dental cleaning is necessary - the bacteria can cause multiple issues that involve other organs in the body including the heart.

You might want to discuss your concerns with the vet. If you don't feel comfortable with that clinic, maybe your area has a pet dental clinic, where that (veterinary dentistry) is all they do.

 

[Mighty Orange]

Make sure you get the full blood workup panel to make sure cat can handle anesthesia.

 

[CrystalBelleBaby]

Hi - welcome!

Has the vet given you any recommendations regarding a diet?

Having a dental cleaning is necessary - the bacteria can cause multiple issues that involve other organs in the body including the heart.

You might want to discuss your concerns with the vet. If you don't feel comfortable with that clinic, maybe your area has a pet dental clinic, where that (veterinary dentistry) is all they do.

Thank you for the welcome!

They’ve told us we can give her the Kidney food that my other cat was on before we lost him. I can’t remember what the abbreviation was. But that seemed to be helping her, she hasn’t thrown up since she switched.

And we’re planning on telling them our concerns. But they did mention they’d be doing the bloodwork before hand

 

[Furballsmom]

she hasn’t thrown up since she switched.

This is great news!

I can't tell for certain from the photo of her, but I thought maybe this chart could be useful, and the link below, if she is in fact overweight, can be helpful ;

https://www.purinainstitute.com/sites/default/files/2021-04/body-condition-system-cat.pdf

Obesity In Cats - A Comprehensive Guide - TheCatSite

 

[CrystalBelleBaby]

This is great news!

I can't tell for certain from the photo of her, but I thought maybe this chart could be useful, and the link below, if she is in fact overweight, can be helpful ;

https://www.purinainstitute.com/sites/default/files/2021-04/body-condition-system-cat.pdf

Obesity In Cats - A Comprehensive Guide - TheCatSite

Thank you very much, she’s only about 11.4 pounds which isn’t to bad, but it’s been a struggle to find out what to feed her. So this will help!!

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I had this done to several older cats — one about the same age as yours. Great improvement in quality of life for kitty.

 

[Furballsmom]

what to feed her

I have one more for you, whether it will be of any help I'm not certain since it sounds as though you have things in hand with the kidney food. But if you wanted to try something else, you could compare ingredients and see if there's anything that might work.

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

 

[Alldara]

Hi! My cat Nobel had a dental cleaning at 14. He did fine at his appointment. I had read some other cats having dentals at older ages and worse health conditions as him (Kitten Lady had actually had an Instagram post around that time as well as a couple YouTubers. This is some years ago now.)

My vet uses heart monitoring during the appointment and that is a comfort.

He had two teeth removed and I really believe that his dental added quality of life to his last years with us. We had him PTS a couple years later for heart issues (last Feb).

 

[Mighty Orange]

I currently get spotty teeth done every 6 months.

 

[trishia42]

Along with the routine bloodwork, you can ask them to include a snap proBNP test (checks heart function to some degree).