Extractions & Dental Appt. in August

[lueyfufu]

TL;DR - Is 2+ months too long to wait to have decayed teeth extracted?

We took ten-year-old Kitty to the vet yesterday after noticing he'd been gradually losing interest in his kibble over the past few months and it had reached a point where we realized it wasn't just pickiness.

The bloodwork and urinalysis are still in process, but the vet did a thorough physical exam and said everything looked great except that Kitty has a few teeth that need to be extracted because of cavities. (And I guess this makes sense with the list of Kitty's symptoms.)

The earliest appointment we could get for extractions and dental cleaning is mid-August, so we booked it.

Until then, he's eating pate-style or mashed-up wet food mixed with water or tuna water. We're also still putting out a small amount of kibble since he's sometimes eating a tiny bit when he feels like it; I figure any food he's willing to eat right now is a good thing. As long as he keeps eating and drinking, I'm trying not to panic about his calorie intake. (And when I'm trying not to worry, what I really mean is I'm monitoring obsessively to make sure his food intake and litterbox output stay on par and he doesn't have any significant weight loss.)

In the meantime, should I be freaking out and calling around trying find another vet who can do the extractions and cleaning sooner? I know all the local vet clinics are overwhelmed now with taking care of all the COVID lockdown companions everybody adopted last year, and none of them are currently accepting new patients, so August might be the best we can do unless we're lucky enough to get moved up due to a cancellation.

Or will Kitty be okay to wait until August and I should just chill out? I know it's not unusual for us as humans to have to wait a couple months (or longer) to get our own teeth fixed when the dentist finds a cavity at a checkup, but I don't know if cavities are a more urgent situation for cats than they are for humans.

Anyway, I guess I just need a reality check: on a scale of CHILL to PANIC, where should I be?

(Also, I just have to say that I feel terrible about this. I'd always had the impression that dental cleanings were an unnecessary upsell some vet clinics pushed just to make more money, so Kitty's never had one. I realize poor Kitty has to be pretty miserable to have reached the point that he doesn't want to eat his normal food, especially since cats tend to hide their pain until it gets so bad that they no longer can hide it. My ignorance and irresponsibility put my poor cat in misery. Please learn from my mistake!)

 

[Xena44]

It is amazing how much they can tolerate before they just can’t tolerate it anymore. Did the vet put her on antibiotics? To tide her over until the cleaning? As long as her food intake keeps steady then she probably will be all right. If her food intake decreases, you must tell your vet and tell him he’s got to do something to take care of her sooner. That is unfortunately a long span of time to take to get in to get her teeth cleaned and extracted. Does she have a mouth odor? Is she drooling?

 

[lueyfufu]

It is amazing and heartbreaking how stoic they can be.

The vet didn't give any antibiotics to tide him over. She basically said to just keep feeding whatever he'll eat in the meantime. He weighed the same as he did at his last routine checkup in February, so I don't think she was concerned about weight loss. I'm still weighing him at home, though, and will definitely call if he starts losing any.

He isn't drooling, but he has had bad breath for a while. I (incorrectly) thought all animals just had stinky breath, but I realize in retrospect that it's not normal animal breath.

 

[lueyfufu]

I just got a call from the vet and the bloodwork/urinalysis/poo testing all came back normal, so that's a relief. And we are officially on a waiting list in case any dental appointments open up before August.

 

[fionasmom]

Definitely stay on that waiting list. It always worries me about how stoic animals are in the face of pain, as was stated. If there is any change, like a refusal to eat, you need to try to move on this.

 

[daftcat75]

If he seems like he can hold out, definitely don't cancel the appointment in hand. But do call around. Sometimes you get lucky and find someone who can get him in earlier even with a new patient examination appointment. When I was being quoted two to six month lead times just for consultations, I was able to find a dentist (a specialist!) who could get me in for a consultation in two weeks. As if that wasn't lucky enough, he was able to fit her in for a same day procedure. It was no trivial procedure either. This wasn't Krista's first dental rodeo. She had a chronic degenerative condition called FORLs where the body basically eats the teeth from the roots up. I was seeing the dentist because I wanted him to "make this the last dental procedure she'll ever need." He agreed with me and removed her remaining teeth after two years of piecemeal extractions performed by various non-specialist vets with varying levels of skill. She was eating better that same night than any night the month before. Dental care in cats makes a bigger difference than they'll ever tell you.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ Best thing I ever did for aging kitty cats. One of the VERY few things worth the exorbitant fees veterinarians charge . ' ´

 

[Xena44]

Is her breath just stinky cat breath or is it foul? If your cat is experiencing enough pain to affect her ability or desire to eat bc of it, it seems to me she could possibly need something for infection. Of course one doesn’t want to needlessly give antibiotics needlessly but the odds of her needing them vs. not are pretty good. Considering she hasn’t had her teeth cleaned in 10 years.

 

[lueyfufu]

His breath is foul, not just cat food scented. He's still happily eating wet food and comes to beg like crazy when he hears any sounds associated with me preparing food for him, so he definitely still has an appetite. He's even crunching on a few kibbles occasionally when there's no wet food out for him, but he's definitely not eating the kibble in the normal quantities.

 

[daftcat75]

His breath is foul, not just cat food scented. He's still happily eating wet food and comes to beg like crazy when he hears any sounds associated with me preparing food for him, so he definitely still has an appetite. He's even crunching on a few kibbles occasionally when there's no wet food out for him, but he's definitely not eating the kibble in the normal quantities.

Wet food is better for his teeth anyway. It’s also, in general, going to have considerably less carbs than dry food. It’s the carbs that mostly feed the mouth bacteria. I have heard of chicken gizzards, raw or cooked, working wonders for cat dental health. Search this site or Google for stories and prep tips. It is a chewy organ which he may or may not go for depending on how much his mouth might be hurting. But if he likes them, they might be a valuable ally to bridge from now to his appointment.

 

[JulietteTruong]

He isn't drooling, but he has had bad breath for a while. I (incorrectly) thought all animals just had stinky breath, but I realize in retrospect that it's not normal animal breath.

There’s the slightly fishy breath that’s common in most pets, due to their foods, and then there’s the “something is not right” type of smell. A few years ago, my sis adopted a pair of young sister kitties, and one of them had really, I mean foul smelling breath. She was a vocal cat too, and each time she meowed it left a lingering stench that would cause alarm. We knew something wasn’t right so we had it looked at and sure enough, several of her teeth were rotted and needed to be pulled. You would never think that she was dealing with all that mouth pain too by the way she was so sweet and affectionate with us!

 

[Xena44]

His breath is foul, not just cat food scented. He's still happily eating wet food and comes to beg like crazy when he hears any sounds associated with me preparing food for him, so he definitely still has an appetite. He's even crunching on a few kibbles occasionally when there's no wet food out for him, but he's definitely not eating the kibble in the normal quantities.

Will he let you look at his teeth? Is his gumline very red? Is there pus at the gumline or any teeth that are broken? Just plain tartar can smell pretty foul but if he’ll let you look at his teeth, you better be able to gauge if he possibly needs antibiotics. If you feel that he does, I wouldn’t hesitate to call your vet and voice your concerns.

 

[lueyfufu]

Just checking in...

Gus improved over the last few months as adjusted to an all-canned diet. I think it took him a while to figure out how to eat it -- for the first few weeks, he was just sort of licking at it and leaving the pieces -- but once he caught on and started eating a whole can per day, his personality and energy came back and he was behaving almost totally normally. He did lose a little more weight, but he levelled off around 9.2 pounds, which is consistent with the calorie content of his food. (Each can is 184 calories.)

Today is the big day for his dental cleaning and extraction. He arrived at the vet about an hour ago, and we should have a call later this afternoon when he's all done. If you think of it, please say a little prayer or send some good vibes for my little buddy and the staff working on him today.

 

[lueyfufu]

He's home with three fewer teeth now - one incisor, one pre-molar, and one molar. One of the latter two (not sure which) had root resorption. Poor kitty.

He's been home for about seven hours and still isn't quite himself yet, but he's not walking askew now. And he's had a tiny bit of turkey pate, which he fairly gobbled up in one sitting. (Pun intended!) Weirdly, he's spent most of afternoon and evening at the kitchen patio doors looking outside. He sems reluctant to spend any more time in the rest of the house at the moment, which I'm chalking up to post-anesthesia weirdness.

He was sent home with three days' worth of Onsior pills. I'm hoping we can just tuck each one into his food and he'll swallow it down. (The vet tech said her cats had no problem taking them that way.) We'll see in the morning!

 

[lueyfufu]

Gus woke me up early this asking for breakfast...first time since Friday's dental appointment. And later in the morning, he even tried to taunt me into chasing him down the hallway. I think he must be starting to feel better. Today was his first day without Onsior, so I wasn't sure how he'd fare.

However, he's had a couple bouts of coughing today, as well. Should I be concerned, or is that an expected after-effect from the throat tube?

 

[Tobermory]

Great to hear he’s feeling better! He should soon be back to normal. My Mocha had all but six of her teeth removed, and I was surprised how quickly she bounced back.

Regarding the coughing, I’d give your vet a call this morning to be on the safe side.

 

[Xena44]

did they vet say it was a cough that was caused by being intubated? How is he now?

 

[lueyfufu]

They said it's possible for there to be some coughing if the throat was irritated by the intubation, but it should subside after no more than a week. He did still have a bit of coughing Saturday (which would've been a week + one day after his surgery,) since he was acting normally other than that, we decided to just wait for his post-op follow-up visit tomorrow.

I'm hoping it's a good sign that he got a case of the uber-crazies last night and was begging to play fetch. I've been trying to keep him calm during his recovery, and I've really missed Party Cat.

 

[lueyfufu]

Oops, I just realized this afternoon that the follow-up appointment is NEXT Wednesday, not today, (After reminding the hubby to leave work on time so we're not late for the appointment. lol)

This is also a relief. We've also been giving Gus Mometamax drops to treat a yeast infection in his ears, and he HATES it, so he's been a little harder to catch lately. I wasn't sure I'd be able to wrangle him into his carrier to go to the vet tonight. Today was the last of the 10-day dose, so that should give him a week to get over it and let us pick him up again...

 

[lueyfufu]

Gus got a thumbs-up from the vet at his post-op checkup last Wednesday. She said his gums looked healed and everything looked good. She said he was cleared to go back to dry kibble if he wants. We're keeping him on canned pate food a bit longer and will slowly transition him back to kibble. I've been giving him occasional "treats" of kibble soaked for a few minutes in water, which was one of his favorite things before his tooth issues started. (Remember the old commercials for Gravy Train dog food? It "makes its own gravy" when you add water! lol)

I noticed yesterday that it's been taking him longer to finish his canned food. He'd eat a little, walk away, then come back to eat a little more, then walk away, repeat. I hadn't really watched him closely until this morning. It looks like he'll eat a little bit, then jump back and run away from the plate, almost like something hurt him. And then he'll sit for a while washing his face.

Is it possible that the stitches are irritating his mouth? I thought I read somewhere that it can take up to a month for the stitches to dissolve. I know when I had dissolvable stitches in my gums after surgery a few years ago, the stitches didn't really dissolve. They just sort of fell apart but stayed in there causing inflammation and eventually had to be removed by the oral surgeon.