Full Teeth Extraction (fme) Soon And I'm So Worried About Recovery..

[UnderneathTheStars]

My Mousse is going for her FME soon for stomatitis. She's been through so much. She's 10 and has gone through calicivirus, spay-site incision infection (from before I got her), emaciation, IBD with chronic diarrhea, and chronic rhinitis. All of these are under control now except her teeth. She's now a healthy 8lbs (from 5lbs when I adopted her), no more diarrhea, and she still has a chronic stuffy nose but the vet said this may be due to the fact that the virus will always be in her system AND she's an extreme-faced persian. I'm so beyond worried about this procedure.

First, she's almost 10 and although she's fat and healthy now, she was emaciated when I adopted her and very sick. What if the surgery is too much for her to handle and the stress causes the calicivirus to flare back up? What if she's too old for such a long surgery?

Then, I worry about the pain. She has to be fasting the night before the surgery and what if she doesn't eat the night after or the next day? Will she get fatty liver and die? What if she starts bleeding from the mouth in the middle of the night? What if I can't give her the pain meds because her mouth is so sore?

Does anyone know how long it takes to heal from a full teeth extraction and how long until the cat can eat normally again? She is on very soft raw food and no hard food. She will be sleeping in our room during recovery so we can keep an eye on her and make sure she's comfortable but I'm really scared of what recovery is going to look like for her.

How do I keep myself calm about all this?

 

[Furballsmom]

what if she doesn't eat the night after or the next day?

What if she starts bleeding from the mouth in the middle of the night? What if I can't give her the pain meds because her mouth is so sore?

Be sure and ask them what to do if this does happen, and be absolutely sure and get a 24-hour phone number so you can call if something goes wrong.

Try chamomile tea, with honey and also, from les26 ...
"I have found that Holy Basil helps you deal with the stress, L-Tryptophan is a natural relaxer and mood improver, exercise, even taking walks helps, drinking a lot of water, eating fruits and vegetables and not junk food and sugar helps, sleep and rest, breathing exercises"

There's an app / website with some free meditation exercises, Stop Breath and Think that you may find helpful.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ Cats can live a long healthy life with no teeth. The mouth and eyes are the fastest healing tissue.
A pain pill can easily be gently pushed to the back of kitty's mouth with your finger followed by a few eyedroppers of water.
Don't forget this will only last a few days. Magnesium nitrate ( 200mg ) is good for stress .

Furballsmom has good suggestions.​

Relax ... ​

 

[les26]

Several years ago Simba started drooling, we didn't know what was wrong with him and since we cannot pick him up and check him we actually had to have a woman from the Cat Shack come in and trap him with a net so we could get him into the carrier and to the vet! They told us that his teeth were terrible and said "many are missing and many need to come out". He was a stray (like all of ours) who just showed up here years ago so we don't know his history, but they pulled all but 1 tooth, and in my ignorance of it at the time said "how does he eat?" and actually thought if they make false teeth for them lol But they assured me he would be fine, a woman I work with told me many of hers are toothless, and he was fine right out of the gates, eats wet, dry food and treats, they actually are okay without teeth, but I can understand your concern but your baby will be fine!!

 

[UnderneathTheStars]

Be sure and ask them what to do if this does happen, and be absolutely sure and get a 24-hour phone number so you can call if something goes wrong.

Try chamomile tea, with honey and also, from les26 ...
"I have found that Holy Basil helps you deal with the stress, L-Tryptophan is a natural relaxer and mood improver, exercise, even taking walks helps, drinking a lot of water, eating fruits and vegetables and not junk food and sugar helps, sleep and rest, breathing exercises"

There's an app / website with some free meditation exercises, Stop Breath and Think that you may find helpful.

Thank you so much! The specialist doing the surgery is 4 hours away but we have a vet hospital here that you can call and they'll see you as an emergency after hours if necessary. She will be staying the night with the specialist after the surgery though. I'll definitely try the tea for myself.

 

[Furballsmom]

She will be staying the night with the specialist after the surgery though.

That's good, I think

 

[daftcat75]

Mousse will be so much happier when this is done. You're doing a good thing. I don't have specific experience with full mouth extractions. Unfortunately, my Krista has resorptive lesions which, unlike FME, I just have to wait for the teeth to go bad enough to be removed. Because my vet keeps reminding me that trying to extract healthy teeth from healthy gums could break her jaw. I'm kind of jealous as I just want all of Krista's dental issues to be resolved now and if an FME would do that, I'd book the appointment in a heartbeat.

A few notes from our extensive experience with dental extractions: four or five rounds already. Three or four this year alone.

1. Pass on the long-lasting antibiotic, Convenia, if you don't already know how she will tolerate it. Many cats will tolerate it just fine. But since it is a long-lasting drug, if she doesn't, she could be in for a long ride (weeks?) waiting for that to wear off.

2. Do request the long-acting buprenorphine (Bupe-SR) injection. While there's a chance Mousse won't tolerate this, it lasts much shorter (up to 72 hours.) It can give you and her a break from having to give pain meds right away.

3. While you're waiting for the bupe-SR to run its course, ask about getting transdermal buprenorphine. This is a cream you can rub in her ear so you don't have to go by mouth.

4. If you do you have to administer pain meds by mouth, ask for buprenorphine liquid. It needs to be absorbed by the mucosal membranes in the gums or cheek rather than swallowed. This makes it both easier and harder to give than traditional medicines. Rather than pry her mouth open, just peel back a lip and aim down at pocket between cheeek and gums rather than back into her throat. Bupe liquid barely has a taste and it won't make her foam at the mouth. She may not appreciate it, but you can totally ambush her with this one when she's napping.

5. The antibioitics are another story. Those all taste horrible. Veraflox wasn't terrible but it may not be the right one for this purpose. Clindamycin is probably what you'll get and that one's awful. (I do taste my cat's liquid medicines to know what I'm forcing on her.)

6. Follow the pain med schedule religiously. It's much easier to stay ahead of the pain than to catch up if you let the meds lapse. I would give the meds for five days minimum and seven days maximum. But consult the vet on this one. Bupe can affect appetite so don't worry too much if she's not eating full portions while she's on it. Still, I'd rather give pain medicine for too long than not long enough.

7. Although rare, if complications do arise, please don't be afraid to get her a feeding tube if that makes a difference between eating and not eating. I promise you will be more bothered by the feeding tube than she will and it could save her life. It's a simple procedure--much easier than an FME. The tube doesn't preclude her from eating on her own. When she's eating well enough on her own again, you can have the tube removed. It heals up remarkably quickly. The tube also makes administering medicines so much easier. Though not the bupe. That still has to go into the mucosal membranes in the mouth (or transdermal in the ear if you get the transdermal cream.)

You got this! Keep us updated.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

He was a stray (like all of ours) who just showed up here years ago

~ Sweet .. .

 

[Willowy]

Do ask about the injectible Bupe, if you're comfortable giving injections. It's just so much easier. When Rocco had his FME he wouldn't let me near his mouth, so he missed a few doses and got some others mixed with food (which supposedly doesn't work very well).

 

[jcat]

Mowgli had an FME due to FORLs, and it's something I experience at the shelter at least 4-5 times a year, often with senior cats. Generally, antibiotics and painkillers are administered for about 10 days - in liquid form - and there's a fair amount of drooling involved. That usually resolves within a week or two, sometimes less. Messy eating is a side-effect that also resolves once the cat gets used to having no teeth. Bleeding isn't a common occurrence and should be reported.

I generally administer liquid meds -very carefully - in the side of the mouth, but some cats will take them mixed in with their food.

We feed soft pate until healing is complete (the stitches have dissolved), but some cats insist on eating dry food immediately, so we only offer small kibble in the early days (few cats chew it, anyway).

Weight gain is common; many cats with poor teeth don't eat enough due to discomfort and chow down once the source of the pain is removed.

Mowgli chewed shoes, tablecloths, collars, toys, etc., before his teeth were extracted. He still has his fangs and uses them to tear up cardboard boxes (his hobby), but he no longer chews other objects. It seems it's more a question of no longer having discomfort than of having almost no teeth now.