Cat- Teeth cleaning/extraction?

[puffkin]

Well, my 5 year old cat has been losing a lot of weight (but seems happy). Had her at the vet today and they ran a bunch of bloodwork, but they are pretty sure she has an infection in her teeth. They started her on antibiotics and she is scheduled to go in for a teeth cleaning and possible teeth extractions next Tuesday (they won't know if any need to come out til they get in there).

Has anyone been through something similar? What was the cat like post surgery? Any continuing problems after the surgery? Never really experienced this before so I am a little worried since she is my baby!

 

[mtdevine615]

Been through it a couple of times with different cats. They both came out of it fine. I think the hardest part was that they do give them gas to knock them out and it takes a long time to get over that. You probably also want to change they type of food you feed your cat. Ask your vet they should be able to help. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Don't worry too much, your kitty will be much better in the long run.

 

[Kimberle]

Both my cats have had their teeth cleaned & teeth extracted. They were fine! You just have to watch their diet for a while after.

 

[Imzadi]

If it needs to be done, do it now while the cat is young, healthy and strong enough to go through the process & recover successfully.

I asked my own vet last year if my cat needs it. Right now, she has healthy teeth & gums.

But, many years ago, my ex-college roomate was urged to have it done on her 19 year old cat. She, herself was too young at the time, to oppose the vet, even though she really didn't want to do it. The very next day after it was done and my ex-roommate brought the cat home, the cat died. The stress, trauma and especially being put under the anesthesia (at that age) killed the cat. It should never have been done on a cat that age.

My ex-roomate blamed herself, because she knew she didn't want to have it done. The cat wasn't originally brought in for that problem. The cat had something else, very minor. The cat never exhibited any signs or pain or problems regarding her teeth. She might have had another year or 2 with my ex-roommate.

I blame the Vet. He had no problem keeping the $500 he made off of the operation.

I am extremely careful now who I take my cat to.

 

[disbridemimi]

Hi there! I JUST went through this it was VERY expensive. Almost 500 bucks! My cat was having some stinky breath (he could clear a room) and then he started drooling a LOT like leaving little puddles on the couch. Puddles of stink! We took him in they pulled his rotten teeth (he is only 4, they said he has bad genes) and cleaned all of his teeth.

He was uncomfortable for a few days, but then bounced back. He had lovely clean teeth and you couldn't smell him coming. Cats hide their pain, he hadn't appeared to be in pain, but after his teeth were fixed, he didnt stop eating for like two weeks, he was pigging out. He must have been in pain before.

That was about 2 months ago, his icky breath has returned and i am terrified we are going to have to keep paying for this over and over. His breath isnt anywhere near where it was last time and he is not drooling at all. He seems quite content stomping across the keyboard at the moment. he is also eating normal.


I will not let him live with painful teeth, but I also cant afford to pay 500 every 6 months or so. I am going to call the vet this week to see if there is something we can do to keep his teeth healthy.


What kind of cat food do you feed your cat? I am wondering if this could be a contributer.Cats shouldnt have bad teeth so young!

 

[flying_babyb]

I know my vet said to keep your cats teeth healthy you should brush them. I brush my cats teeth twice a week. I bought dog toothpaste ($8 at Kmart) since they didnt sell toothpaste for cats. They take to it alot better now then they did before. They used to bite me every time, now they nibble.

 

[bballmom56]

Our vet is so reasonable. We had this done on our 12 yo cat as he had been losing weight and not eating well. We had bloodwork done to see if that was the problem, but that all came back fine. She said his teeth needed cleaning so that could be bothering him. After it was done she said he had a couple of loose ones that she removed also. It was $50 for the pre-op blood work and $79 for the procedure. I think it was painful for him afterwards because he was mopey for about a week. He ate well for a while after that, but he's back to being very picky and still losing weight .

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I had cleaning and extraction of two teeth on one of my cats last month. The bill came to about $650. I had to give him (liquid) pain medication twice a day for about five days and (liquid) antibiotics twice a day for about ten days. But he seems much happier.

And normally both cats have unlimited access to dry food; each time I gave him medication I also gave him a small can of fancy feast so (a) he would have something soft and (b) he would not be so unhappy with me. Actually, after about the first four days he quit fighting me when I gave him the medicine and near the end of the time was actually anticipating my medicating him.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

If it needs to be done, do it now while the cat is young, healthy and strong enough to go through the process & recover successfully.

I asked my own vet last year if my cat needs it. Right now, she has healthy teeth & gums.

But, many years ago, my ex-college roomate was urged to have it done on her 19 year old cat. She, herself was too young at the time, to oppose the vet, even though she really didn't want to do it. The very next day after it was done and my ex-roommate brought the cat home, the cat died. The stress, trauma and especially being put under the anesthesia (at that age) killed the cat. It should never have been done on a cat that age.

My ex-roomate blamed herself, because she knew she didn't want to have it done. The cat wasn't originally brought in for that problem. The cat had something else, very minor. The cat never exhibited any signs or pain or problems regarding her teeth. She might have had another year or 2 with my ex-roommate.

I blame the Vet. He had no problem keeping the $500 he made off of the operation.

I am extremely careful now who I take my cat to.

Thank you for your post!! My vet has been trying to get me to have my 21 year old cat's teeth cleaned and some extractions done. I have been declining for the past few years because my cat is just too old.

When we had surgery done on our 14 1/2 year old dog (despite our better judgment, and at the urging of several vets), he got a horrible bone infection, suffered, and we had to have him put down.

Don't want to hijack the thread, just appreciate your confirmation of my judgment! We would like to choose the way our cat dies, in our arms, with comfortable sedation, rather than in pain after a surgery he shouldn't have had at his age.

 

[puffkin]

Thanks everyone.....the recovery doesn't seem too bad!

She has only ever eaten dry food. She has a very sensitive stomach and we finally found a food that agrees with her.....Halo Spots Stew Sensitive stomach. She seems to like it, but it is hard for her to eat enough of it to maintain her weight. The vet told me to start her on wet food, but I am kind of freaked by the cost of that. I don't want to feed her something with tons of fillers because that seems to set her stomach off. I am hoping after the surgery that I can mix her dry and wet to keep the costs down a bit but still be good for her and her teeth.

The estimate we got for the procedure is between $300-$400 depending on how many teeth they take out. Right now they are guessing 3, but it is hard to see until they get in there. I already spent about $250 on the vet visit, medications, and bloodwork yesterday. My best friend is a vet though and she has assured me that is a very reasonable rate so I won't complain too much. I spent $750 on my dog last year to diagnose thyroid problem and to treat a HORRENDOUS ear infection, so I joked to DH that she just wants her share

 

[eeyore65]

I just had this done. Cost me $800 to have three teeth removed including a top canine. It was pricey - but my vet included the before pictures, the x-rays and the after pictures. They said when he was under anesthesia and they tapped one of the bad teeth, his jaw chattered so they know he was in pain. My poor baby!
He has recovered nicely but gets a funny snarl sometimes when his bottom canine catches on his lip. He seems to be adapting to that missing tooth and it hasn't stopped him from biting my 10 yo DS when necessary! (and it is necessary.) He was funny when we brought him home as he was clearly tripping on the narcotics. He was looking at the shadows on the walls like they were alive. It was so funny.
Like others he also ate like a horse the week after surgery. He is a little messier eating but he seems happier. BTW - he is an 8 yo Tonkinese.

 

[puffkin]

OP here....

Lilly had her dental work done yesterday and it was pretty bad in there...her teeth weren't really that dirty but she needed to have 11 teeth removed Poor thing, they said some teeth had exposed roots and everything. She only has one bottom canine left and the little teeth in the front. Pretty much everything else was removed.

She was really groggy last night, but seems much better this morning. She is on antibiotics and pain meds. Hopefully the 3 day supply they gave me will be enough. I did tons of research and decided to switch both my cats over to a primarily wet diet (with just a small amount of dry kibble to snack on). She gobbled down her wet food this morning which is a good sign. She wasn't even really eating that before the surgery. Hopefully her recovery is uneventful because I feel so bad for her.

The total cost was about $600, but that included the office visit last week to diagnose the teeth problem and about $100 in other diagnostic bloodwork to rule out any other problems with her. Just the surgery and follow up meds were about $350 which wasn't too bad I guess.

 

[SC Minnie]

My 16 yo cat had 2 teeth extracted last summer. They were absessed. He was eating funny- chewing on one side of his mouth and moving his head weird. He went through the surgery fine. Had to feed him soft food for a while but is doing great now. The vet said just last week he is in great health for his age.

The clerk at the vet's office quoted my mom (cat lives with her) over $300 to have this done but the vet said he would only charge her $90 which he did.