Dental Procedure, Terrified

[jessejameson]

My cat has an appointment tomorrow morning for a dental procedure. He has a cracked tooth which may need extracting and his breath is very bad which leads me to worry he may be in need of this cleaning and extraction and exam.

I am terrified. I cannot imagine putting my little man in a carrier and handing him over tomorrow knowing what he will have to go through and also the chance he will never come home. I am a worrier and I am making myself sick with this.

Has anyone else struggled with this decision?

 

[allisa]

I'll let others answer more in details because I'm worried about this same thing. But make sure they don't use a certain antibiotic, I can't remember the name right now, I'll try and look it up, but it's a long acting one, like it stays in their bodies for a long time and MANY people's cats were changed in a very bad way by it. They became lethargic all the time and they said their personalities changed and they no longer seemed happy. It stays in a cats body WAY too long and in my opinion it suppresses their own natural immune system AND messes up their guts which also affects our moods ( I mean it is the same for people too). Some vets like to use it as a kind of insurance for themselves and they find it easier to give once or a few times then a short acting antibiotic that needs to be given more frequently but stays in their bodies for a much shorter time. I'm so sorry I don't know the name of it. I learned about it on here. If I have time later I'll try and look for it. Search dental cleaning and antibiotic on here. After I read about it I was damn sure I never wanted it given to my cat and the vet at the time was going to give it to him. They will probably say, oh it's fine. But there are posts on here about it that is heartbreaking. In fact I think there was a specific long thread about it.

I will need to have my cats teeth cleaned also. Try to look at the big picture and think if you trust the vet, talk to the vet as much as you need to about the risks and how they will minimize them, like I think they need to keep checking the cats vitals obviously during but also after frequently. Ask the vet how they make it as safe as possible. If you ever feel really unsure about a vet then you can always just wait and rethink things if you need to. If you don't feel happy with their answers. Ask on here about what you could ask the vet. I wish I knew more. If everything goes smoothly try to keep your cats teeth cleaned yourself. Watch videos, read about it here. When you come home with your kitty if you have the procedure done keep him warm, put the heat up a little higher if you need to, put on soft music, keep things quiet and keep a close eye on him to make sure he's recovering from the anesthesia. Keep him in a quiet area with some nice clean towels or something like that to rest but if you feel worried after for ANY reason then phone the vet. I'll say a prayer for him and for you.

 

[jessejameson]

I wonder if you're thinking of convenia?

I don't really trust the vet, I don't really have a vet I do trust. I have had problems in the past so I just feel like a lot of times they are just guessing and hoping.

 

[cat princesses]

I would hope the vet isn't guessing and hoping. My personal opinion is that disagree about convenia - I have had multiple cats and for those that are difficult to pill the convenia is a great option and has worked well. I have had it used in multiple cats and never have had any issues with it. It stays in the body for 14 days. Just like humans, not everything is going to agree with everyone's body, same is true for our pets but overall, I don't have anything negative to say about convenia and wouldn't hesitate to use it when necessary. My cats are easy to pill so when given the option, I usually just take the pill choice because I find that easy to manage. Dental cleanings are very important for our pets. Your vet should have done blood work prior to the dental just to make sure there is nothing going on that would cause any issues when your cat is under anesthesia.

 

[jessejameson]

Thank you C cat princesses I have actually had a cat given convenia in the past also without issue. I was just guessing that was the antibiotic A allisa was referring to because I seem to remember some negative press about it.

Charlie had bloodwork on 12/27 .. is that too long ago? I was going to have them run a cbc before the dental procedure but not sure if that's necessary.

I am really working myself into a state where I want to cancel this appointment.

 

[lalagimp]

I just took Amalie in for a cleaning and extractions yesterday. This is her third time. I get worrisome that I can't explain to her what's going on and that she has a condition (Forl) and that she's going to feel better later. I don't like putting anyone under general anesthetic who doesn't know what is going on, but I'm pretty comfortable doing it as long as their weight is appropriate and the blood work said all organs and white count are within range. They're going to be better when it's all over and they are healed.
Amalie did get a convenia injection vs liquid oral like clavomox. She's had it every time. Things can go wrong with any medication and I heard it can stay in the system up to 2 months, but she's just had a lot of trauma to her mouth (removed remaining three fangs) and got this successfully in the past before I even understood what I was reading on the invoice...I'm okay not forcing meds into her and let her rest. She also has asthma and I asked the vet since she's difficult - How long should I wait before giving her steroids if she starts having a flare up? She said initial healing is 1 week, and the stitches should be dissolved by 3-4 weeks.

You're going to be fine and so should your kitty. Broken teeth can be very painful and you're doing your best. Read up on convenia and make an independent decision for yourself. If you don't want to get it, then don't. I had a long discussion with my partner Sunday before Ama had her dental surgery about it again and we came to our own conclusion about the risks and her situation.

 

[jessejameson]

Thank you lalagimp I'm not sure about weight being appropriate, he is a bit overweight at 16 pounds. I have been working on that and have changed his food from fancy feast to healthier options.

The doctor at the time of the bloodwork didn't think he had any odd counts but I requested the report and see his lymphocyte count was high. Everything else seemed within normal range except his cholesterol and triglycerides were a little high. Again, doc didn't mention it as abnormal, I just saw it on his report.

How is Amelie doing today? Did you have to isolate her when she got back from the procedure last night? I have stairs in my house that I'm not sure if I'll need to block off. Also, is she on wet food only for 2 weeks?

 

[cat princesses]

I believe the vets are required to run blood work if it's outside of a certain range since when it was last done - not sure what your vet does. I think if the animal is older, they probably prefer to have new blood work just incase something new has come up. I think it's very important and the kind thing to do for your pet to have their teeth cleaned yearly - it's a good thing so that if they do have a problem tooth that it can be taken care of, and if not, cleaning prevents the gum tissue from being red and inflamed. Kitty will be fine and happy to have some clean choppers.

 

[lalagimp]

She's on whatever food she will be able to eat right now honestly. She's got a split dish with Yue where they have kibble and canned, and the vet was okay with it. She's on Simbadol for pain this time instead of Buprenex, and this is out first time since we've moved and switched clinics, so yesterday she was trying to eat all day and today she's spaced out and extremely chill. We didn't have any reaction to the anesthesia... Oh boy did Tom when he had his cleaning last year. He was revved up and paranoid all day until he slept that night.
If you have a baby gate, that night be useful. I kept her away from my boys for a few hours after she got home until she could get some of the doctor smell off her and stay with me in the bedroom with the shades drawn because her eyes are dilated from the pain management.
My vets never mentioned Tom's cholesterol either, but I saw it on his chart. They said his liver enzymes where a little high, and wanted me to do an additional thyroid add-on when they saw those levels, but ultimately cleared him for general anesthesia for his cleaning over those numbers. In the last year I've had Tom, Yue, and Amalie done. I have one more, but he's six years old with a mouth full of beautiful teeth, so Go! Him.

 

[lalagimp]

I believe the vets are required to run blood work if it's outside of a certain range since when it was last done - not sure what your vet does. I think if the animal is older, they probably prefer to have new blood work just incase something new has come up.

It's going to vary I assume, depending on your facility. My paperwork said they want blood results within the last two months to go forward, so if you've already had it done on a different exam, you can use that. We did a senior wellness and full blood panel weeks ago.

 

[jessejameson]

The dental procedure was done this morning and it went mostly well. He is currently recovering so that's great, and he only needed 2 teeth extracted, all others looked "very healthy". The first extraction went very smoothly but the second did not. The doctor could only take part of the tooth as the rest had started becoming part of the bone/jaw.

I know there is a condition called Forls but the vet wasn't sure it was that or just that the tooth was fractured and the body was reabsorbing(?) it. Has anyone else had a cat whose tooth could not be fully extracted for this reason?

 

[lalagimp]

Dr Heath said she really had to go into the bone to get one of the three out Monday, but was able to get them all.
I wish she would have written proper surgical notes so I could go over it in my records, and not just per the phone call. I just got a generic Report Card and a Pain Evaluation sheet.
Amalie's meds have worn off, but her demeanor is good today. She just keeps resting.

 

[jessejameson]

I wish mine had been able to, it makes me uncomfortable. She said she tried but the bone was getting thin - I'm not sure what that means. I think she said she didn't want to damage it/break the jaw. It is hard because she talks fast and I try to take down notes as best I can.