About My Cats Dental Health?
Posted by: Alan in Cat Health Problem, tags: About, Cat's, Dental, Health
Today i took my cat to the vet as he had been bitten by another cat and i was getting it treated. While i was there, i was horrified to be told he has bad plaque build up on his very back teeth, along with gingivitis, it did look a bit nasty. The vet typed me up and estimated bill for the dental work, overnight stay of the cat and possible extractions. Now, I have absolutely no problem with paying for this and keeping my cat in the best health, but im just worried about one little thing. As the bill was pretty high, how do i know they will take the cats teeth out for the sake of it. And also, if they do remove his teeth, is he going to be able to eat cat biscuits and chew properly with a lack of teeth. I know that these vats are doing a good job but i am obviously at their mercy, knowing only the basic health of my cat.
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October 24th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
This is funny because i’m going through the exact same thing… I found out my cat has some gingivitus and bad dental… and the bill was extremely large (anywhere from 600 – 1100) just for extractions and teeth cleaning.. along with all the pre and post op stuff. I would ask them to see the xrays or see the actual break down of the bill. As far as I know they don’t charge much to take out the tooth it is the procedure to get to that point, ad the services they offer.
I asked about the chewing and he was pretty confident they go back to normal after a few days.. and can still eat hard food properly.
October 24th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Your cat should be fine…..plan on giving him softer food though if he has trouble.
If they do not extract his teeth, start giving your cat some hard treats like Pounce for dental health. Just like a dog needs hard food/dog biscuits to chew to help keep down plaque, so does a cat.
Good luck!
October 24th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Your cats teeth probably were bad do to being on a strictly a dryfood kibble diet. Dryfood is made up of all sugar and carbs which is absolutely horrible for their teeth. Your cat should be on an all canned/wet food diet.
Your cat will be able to eats its food fine even having all of his/her teeth pulled. They typically pull all of the teeth but the canines. You really should keep your cat indoors! Especially, with all the danges out there, run in’s with other cats, picking up diseases etc.
Make sure you doctor runs a blood test on your cat to check to see if it has FIV since it was bitten by an outdoor cat. YOu will need to know this. Cats with FIV can live very long lives, but you will have to pay special attention to their care. A cat with FIV who gets a cold can turn into phenumona if not seen by the vet right away.
Lastly, another test you may ask your vet to run is Bartonella. Bartonella causes very bad gingivitis and stomatitis. Bartonella is what they call cat scratch disease. HOWEVER, it is very common with outdoor and shetler cats and causes their teeth to go bad. If the test comes out positive make sure they provide you with a prescription for Doxycycline. Make sure the doxycycline is compounded into a liquid form. The pill form if gets caught in the esphogaus can burn it. So make sure they give you a liquid compounded form and a 28 day supply.
October 25th, 2009 at 5:40 am
If his dental health was bad, your vet estimate may have been a range, as until your cat goes under anesthesia, the vet won’t know how bad things will be. Vets are not going to do harm, and won’t do more than necessary.
My vet dental bill estimate was a range, and postulated three extractions. Once the work started, only two extractions were needed. And, an additional pain medication shot was given. So often, things cannot be put in absolutes. The end result was fairly close to the estimate.
A cat, even with no teeth, can easily eat even dry kibble. They often essentially inhale their food anyway, with minimal chewing.
After the procedure, your cat may start acting like a kitten, as dental problems can really put them into low gear.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Veterinary science (including dental) is a gray area to most people, even people in the health care business. But so is dentistry for humans! Which is why you must ask, ask, ask. Ask others about their experiences with your vet; compare to other vets in your area. Word of mouth is probably your best answer. Would it be possible for a vet to charge for services not done or not needed? I’d say yes. The same can be said for human dentistry. So ASK and at least you’ll get plenty of ’second opinions’ on the issue. If you tell your vet that you’d like to hear ‘testimonials’ from other patients and he doesn’t comply or give you an acceptable answer, get another vet.