Is it normal for cat's whiskers to be cut during dental surgery?

jersharocks

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Both of my kitties went in yesterday for a dental cleaning and they each had teeth that needed to be pulled. Contessa went first and when they came home, she was 100% back to normal. She was eating, playing, and was not wobbly at all. Juliet went second (she woke up from surgery about 2 hours after Contessa did) so I expected her to be more affected by the anesthesia since it was more recent for her but she seemed very off.

She must have fallen in the litterbox at some point after she got home because we saw her walking through the house with litter and poop caked all over her backside and we had to give her a partial bath (just her bottom and tail in a tub of warm water) to get it all off. I felt horrible doing that on an already stressful day but it was really bad so we couldn't just let it be.

Shortly after her bath, I noticed that several of her whiskers had been cut! They're like maybe 1 inch long. Our vet had been closed for hours by the time I noticed so I couldn't call but I did some research and I can't find any reason that they would cut her whiskers like that.

Is that ever normal or did someone at the vet make a mistake? I am so upset. Juliet still seems kind of wobbly/clumsy this morning and I feel like the whiskers being cut have something to do with that since the anesthetic should be out of her system by now.

FWIW Contessa had 2 teeth completely removed, Juliet had 3 crown amputations. I'm not sure if that would change things.

Both cats are on buprenorphine for pain but I don't think that would cause her to be uncoordinated. Any thoughts?
 
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jersharocks

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I got a picture showing how short the whiskers are. Makes me so sad and mad!
PXL_20210120_145941647.jpg
 

Furballsmom

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Hi! The whiskers will grow back, or simply fall out and be replaced with new ones.
You're sure her whiskers aren't normally brittle? Those don't look cut to me, if they had been i think more of them would have been cut and they'd be evenly short.

Even so, you might give your vet a call and tell them she's still wobbly. Hang in there!
 
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jersharocks

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Hi! The whiskers will grow back, or simply fall out and be replaced with new ones.
You're sure her whiskers aren't normally brittle? Those don't look cut to me, if they had been i think more of them would have been cut and they'd be evenly short.

Even so, you might give your vet a call and tell them she's still wobbly. Hang in there!
I've only had the girls since November but I haven't ever noticed her whiskers being brittle.

The tips of the whiskers that are short look blunt so it seems like they had been cut but maybe she caught them on something? We have one of those soft sided carriers so maybe they got caught in the carrier's zipper? I know it didn't happen here though because we put Juliet in with the carrier on its back (shortest side down with the door facing up) so she doesn't try to rush the door as we zip it up. But maybe the vet tech who put her back in didn't do that and her whiskers got caught and broke off.

If that's the case, they should have told us. I don't like it when people hide things from me. I would have been forgiving of a mistake but I don't forgive dishonesty as readily.
 
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jersharocks

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Her fur and whiskers are the same color so it's hard to tell but this photo is from last week. The side that the whiskers are short on does look a little thinner than the other side but I still feel like the whiskers were longer in this photo. But maybe I'm wrong?

PXL_20210113_183156556 (1).jpg


This photo is from about a month ago, her whiskers were full then for sure:

PXL_20201224_185407407.jpg
 

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They might not have known it happened, for example if the person putting her in the carrier looked away just then to answer a question.
 

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Oh my goodness, what a sweetheart!! 😍

If you look at the photo from a week ago, there's one long whisker at the top on her left but then I'm seeing what look like three, no, two, unusually short ones. Nope, looking again with it zoomed in, I'm wrong, i think. All the whiskers are there in full length.

I don't know what to think, i just hope she gets her balance back today!
 
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jersharocks

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My husband just talked to the vet tech and she said it happened during the exam. They pulled back her whiskers to look in her mouth and a few broke off. So you were right Furballsmom Furballsmom , the whiskers were brittle. She said they made a note in her file to be careful with her whiskers in the future. She said that Juliet was under anesthesia a lot longer than Contessa since the crown amputations took awhile to complete so she may just take a little longer to bounce back completely but if she isn't more coordinated by lunch to call them back.
 

Mandi992017

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Both of my kitties went in yesterday for a dental cleaning and they each had teeth that needed to be pulled. Contessa went first and when they came home, she was 100% back to normal. She was eating, playing, and was not wobbly at all. Juliet went second (she woke up from surgery about 2 hours after Contessa did) so I expected her to be more affected by the anesthesia since it was more recent for her but she seemed very off.

She must have fallen in the litterbox at some point after she got home because we saw her walking through the house with litter and poop caked all over her backside and we had to give her a partial bath (just her bottom and tail in a tub of warm water) to get it all off. I felt horrible doing that on an already stressful day but it was really bad so we couldn't just let it be.

Shortly after her bath, I noticed that several of her whiskers had been cut! They're like maybe 1 inch long. Our vet had been closed for hours by the time I noticed so I couldn't call but I did some research and I can't find any reason that they would cut her whiskers like that.

Is that ever normal or did someone at the vet make a mistake? I am so upset. Juliet still seems kind of wobbly/clumsy this morning and I feel like the whiskers being cut have something to do with that since the anesthetic should be out of her system by now.

FWIW Contessa had 2 teeth completely removed, Juliet had 3 crown amputations. I'm not sure if that would change things.

Both cats are on buprenorphine for pain but I don't think that would cause her to be uncoordinated. Any thoughts?
I know this is a old post but my cat had her teeth removed a few days ago she had 6 teeth pulled she was very out of it once I got her home she kept knocking in to things and was very wobbly. I figured it was the anesthesia but then yesterday I noticed her whiskers have been cut on her left side and it’s all of them that was cut. I’m going to reach out to her vet, and ask why this happened.
 

neely

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I know this is a old post but my cat had her teeth removed a few days ago she had 6 teeth pulled she was very out of it once I got her home she kept knocking in to things and was very wobbly. I figured it was the anesthesia but then yesterday I noticed her whiskers have been cut on her left side and it’s all of them that was cut. I’m going to reach out to her vet, and ask why this happened.
Welcome to TCS! :wave3: Yes, this thread is an older one but wise of you to find it searching the site. I've had my fair share of cats with dental disease and extractions and none of the cats ever came home with their whiskers cut. I'm not saying it can't happen but if it were me I'd definitely call your vet since all the whiskers on one side were cut. Just out of curiosity, did you see a board certified veterinary dental specialist?
 
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