Old cat dental worries

[LauraD]

Hi, I'm not sure if this is posted in the correct forum? My cat is 18 years old and recently she started to have some problems eating. She was eating very little and sometimes she would scream when eating and when yawning. I took her to the vet and after a brief look in her mouth I was told she had gum inflammation and she was given an antibiotic called Convenia. I read all about it afterwards and if I'd known how risky that drug was I'd never have let my cat get it. That was last week and she is eating a little better now, but still not the way she used to. She isn't crying out in pain as often but it still happens. She had blood tests the day after the antibiotic injection, kidneys were fine and there were some slightly raised liver enzymes. The vet wants to put my cat under anesthesia (ketamine and then a gas) tomorrow and clean her teeth. I feel like my cat isn't strong enough for this yet, with still not eating properly and also she's been very sleepy and she hasn't pooped for nearly a week. (vet gave her a laxative today) Is Ketamine something to worry about? This vet doesn't seem like she has time for my worries/questions and I left feeling very unsure about letting the dental go ahead. The vet kept saying the anesthesia was risky but that she needed her teeth cleaned, but could her problem be managed with antibiotics? I'm very worried and unsure of what to do.

[Janey]

Hi and welcome. I’ve adopted quite a few cats over 17 years and they’ve had dentals. My vet does full bloods beforehand and they are on a drip throughout the procedure. A couple of my elderly cats haven’t been able to have all their teeth removed (as planned) as it would have meant them longer under the anaesthetic and most have had some health issues, e.g. hyperthyroidism or kidney, and some of the teeth are risky to remove, so my vet has given them a short dental, i.e. removed the worst of the teeth and then given them Antirobe on and off to prevent infection. The problem with bad teeth is it can poison the system and make them poorly. If it’s just a teeth clean or a couple removed it shouldn’t take too long I wouldn’t think. If you are worried, then could ask the vet to leave it a week or so, until your cat picks up a bit and then go ahead. Others forum users will probably share their experiences too. Best of luck and fusses to your little girl xx

[LauraD]

Thanks Janey, I did ask about leaving it a few days to get a bit more food in her first and get her a bit stronger but the vet said it doesn't work like that..I know she isn't eating well at the moment and that's not good either, but surely a few days wouldn't make a difference and I'd be keeping a close eye on her. I feel like I'm being rushed into having the dental done imediately and it just doesn't feel right. Glad to hear your older cats came through their dentals x

[Ruth B]

Unfortunately the older a cat is the higher the risk of complications under anaesthetic, I have no idea what my vet uses but even with a 13 year old cat we were warned there was a risk. However if she is still having problems eating then she isn't going to get stronger. She is obviously in pain when she eats and if the teeth have rotted then antibiotics are not going to improve things, cleaning the good ones and removing the bad is the only option to get rid of the pain.

I have also heard it said and seen it myself, that a cat with no teeth is better off than a cat with a bad tooth. The aforementioned 13 year old had to have all his back teeth removed in two separate operations only a month or so apart. They had removed the bad ones and cleaned to good ones up, but he had a reaction where his gums reacted to his own clean teeth as if they were badly scaled (its rare but it isn't unknown), so he had to have the rest removed. He had full bloods before hand and they did discover then that he had some early signs of kidney problems but still thought it worth doing the operation. After his teeth were sorted his kidneys actually recovered, the infection from the bad teeth had but such a strain on his system that it was affecting other organs. He also insisted on eating the dried food for the rest of his life even though he didn't have any teeth to chew with.

I would advise that you accept the risk and have the dental work done. The risk isn't that high and at the moment your cat is in pain, much as I would be heartbroken if anything ever happened to mine, at least I would know that what I had done was done to make sure the cat wasn't suffering.

[Lilith]

Hi there - coincidence, my 15 year old girl has just undergone a dental today. A few weeks back she had to see the vet with an unrelated problem; I could see when they opened her mouth that her teeth were mucky, and wasn't surprised when they warned me that she should come in for a dental.

It's all gone very well. She's a very timid girl and it was a massive stress for her, but she's done well. A greedy girl, she ate a meal at the surgery and came home to some baked fish, which she nibbled at and drank off the juice. On her previous visit she had a blood test done which showed her clear for any kidney problems - this would have been a good idea before the dental if it hadn't been done so recently and I was advised that in view of her age she should be on a drip for the dental, and also an Xray of her jaws was a good idea - another £50 but gave the surgery a guide to any wonky roots etc. I don't respond to the 'hard sell' even if veterinary but stuff like this makes sense I feel. She came home with Metacam (anti-inflammatory/painkiller) and Synulox antibiotics, which she starts on tomorrow.

She's exhausted at the moment; she's been lying flat out, panting. She just needs peace and quiet now, but truly, even if a cat's elderly, I would recommend going ahead with a dental if they need it. Tomorrow I reckon she'll be her usual greedy yowly self, bawling at me - and with a big white clean smile

Good luck with your girl ; please let us know how she gets on

[booktigger]

I've had lots of dentals done on old, poorly cats. If they areht eating well, it often is the only option. Not sure about using Ketamine though. Is it a practice with more than one vet?