1/31 Steve AMPS 278

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Allie

Allie

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I was excited to see a number in the two hundreds this morning! Hopefully, we can stay on course with a downward trend on his AMPS AND PMPS's.

I talked to the vet clinic this morning. They do dental cleaning by putting kitties under. I really don't want to do that. I trust my vet (although I'm not following his FD protocols), but I really don't want to put Steve out unless they need to do an extraction.

Poll: Who's kitty gets 'put under' to get his teeth cleaned? Who thinks it's a super duper bad idea?
 
There are definitely opinions on this. I would ask on health. I did have my cats put under for a complete dental cleaning, but not when they were diabetic. I think one of the schools of thought is that it can't be done well if the cat isn't out, and it is painful so you don't want them to be "awake" or even close to it.

The amps is encouraging. Maybe he just needs more time?
 
I'm pretty sure that most vets will only do a dental under anaesthetic. I can't imagine cleaning tartar off the back teeth of an awake cat! LOL!
 
I used to do it [knock the tartar off] every year with H [and with other cats too]. But I will admit there are some cats that it would probably be impossible with. It tends to chip off in rock like bits. I've even done it all on my own - H was very docile. But it does help to have a helper. In good light, one immobilizes and the other scrapes with a dental scraper tool. One can get a lot off with just a good hard girl-nail. Also sometimes we would go at it over a couple days just to keep the level of things [fighting and comfort] down to a low roar. And it is likely their gums will bleed just a little - even if you do everything right.

However, this is not recommended for everyone and if one scrapes the wrong thing or way they can probably really damage their kitty. One of my vets here tried to sell me on the services of an in home person that would do that step at the person's home and without anesthetic.

Also there is more to the FULL dental than just the tartar removal. Perhaps the anesthesia would be an opportunity to get x-rays too if needed? If he was already under for x-rays then it would seem OK to go ahead with the tartar removal under anesthesia?

And it's important that a vet look at the dental thing to exam for other potential issues beyond tartar.
 
My vet will not do it without anaesthesia, and I think it is important to do periodically. On a visual exam without anaesthesia, the vet thought Squamee was ok, but when she was put out for xrays of her jaw ( for a jaw problem that interfered with eating) it turns out she had 2 teeth that needed extraction ,and one was badly rotten.
 
Re: Tartar control

I have recently come across an interesting homeopathic remedy for tartar. A dentist has confirmed that it used to be used extensively in humans. The cairn terrier rescue group I belong to uses it extensively with overall excellent results. A few people have had less than stellar results with their dogs. We use Fragaria Vesca (wild strawberry) pellets, giving 2 pellets per dog per day in their food. Humans use it sublingually.

I've been thinking about trying it on my cats.

Fragaria Vesca is only to keep teeth clean. It doesn't prevent decay or infection, so veterinary dental checks are still essential.

_Rebecca
 
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