Hi all.
I've been out of touch, having to put most of time into focusing on work, my kitties, and trying to take care of myself.
As many of you know, Sebastian is my "special" kitty with chronic GI issues and now potentially small cell lymphoma.
He's hanging in there and doing relatively okay considering.....well.....everything.
We have a new problem. He has more FORLs that are causing him pain. At least two affected teeth are visible to the naked eye, and are pretty bad. Six teeth were taken out two years ago because of FORLs. The vet recommends dental surgery. She says she doesn't expect anything bad to happen, but, knowing Sebastian, it IS a risk. His issues all started right after his last dental in 2013, so he is potentially one that is sensitive to the emotional and systematic stress of surgery.
He blood work from last month showed normal kidney and liver values. Glucose is also normal. His RBC is on the low end, but not a cause for worry according to the vet. His lymphocytes were low and monocytes were high, which can be a result of stress and/or steroid administration. He was both VERY stressed at the last visit and also on prednisolone. It's possible that these numbers are a result of his illness, as well.
I've considered pain management. He gets Buprenex (buprenorphine) as needed, which isn't very often, but it makes him sleepy/lethargic and takes away his appetite. As a result, administering buprenorphine daily would not be ideal. I do not have any experience with Tramadol and the side effects it has. The vet said there is no safe cat version of lidocaine that I could give.
Someone told me that it is the sedative they administer before anesthesia that is hard on the body, and it could be skipped. I don't know much about this. It was suggested to search specifically for a dental surgeon from the AVDC and they might be able to only put him partially under (not completely out). I don't know anything about this either. I have a call into our vet to discuss further.
To put him through dental surgery scares the heck out of me. But I also don't want him to live with the pain. I don't know how much longer he'll be around. I just don't know what to do.
Anyone have any thoughts?
As many of you know, Sebastian is my "special" kitty with chronic GI issues and now potentially small cell lymphoma.
We have a new problem. He has more FORLs that are causing him pain. At least two affected teeth are visible to the naked eye, and are pretty bad. Six teeth were taken out two years ago because of FORLs. The vet recommends dental surgery. She says she doesn't expect anything bad to happen, but, knowing Sebastian, it IS a risk. His issues all started right after his last dental in 2013, so he is potentially one that is sensitive to the emotional and systematic stress of surgery.
He blood work from last month showed normal kidney and liver values. Glucose is also normal. His RBC is on the low end, but not a cause for worry according to the vet. His lymphocytes were low and monocytes were high, which can be a result of stress and/or steroid administration. He was both VERY stressed at the last visit and also on prednisolone. It's possible that these numbers are a result of his illness, as well.
I've considered pain management. He gets Buprenex (buprenorphine) as needed, which isn't very often, but it makes him sleepy/lethargic and takes away his appetite. As a result, administering buprenorphine daily would not be ideal. I do not have any experience with Tramadol and the side effects it has. The vet said there is no safe cat version of lidocaine that I could give.
Someone told me that it is the sedative they administer before anesthesia that is hard on the body, and it could be skipped. I don't know much about this. It was suggested to search specifically for a dental surgeon from the AVDC and they might be able to only put him partially under (not completely out). I don't know anything about this either. I have a call into our vet to discuss further.
To put him through dental surgery scares the heck out of me. But I also don't want him to live with the pain. I don't know how much longer he'll be around. I just don't know what to do.
Anyone have any thoughts?