Confused, opinions welcome

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ladyxsuebee

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So I was talking to my vet about cleaning Dopey's teeth, and she said that his senior exam showed he has a heart murmer and enlarged heart. They said that putting him under the anthestic is a risk, and he might not come back once he's under, but at this point, it's a "low risk" and it would probably be the last teeth cleaning he would be able to get, because as he gets older, she anticipates his heart getting worse. I know teeth problems can cause future issues also. I had some personal issues in my life that I think spiked his BG numbers up, but now they are getting to a good lower range. I am going to have to save up for awhile for the teeth cleaning as they are projecting that to be $400-600 (with the fructosamine test included) Now not only do I have to save up for that, he will have to get another blood work panel that will be $100-150. I digress.....I'm really nervous about putting him under anthestic w/his heart issues....has anyone had experience with that??? Or opinions.....I don't think I could live with the guilt if he passed on from me obsessing about his teeth....... :?
 
first i want to say that this is just my opinion and i can only say what i would do. i would be leery of putting him under too with a heart condition. if he just needs a cleaning and doesn't have some other issue that's causing him immediate concern as far as his teeth go (cracks, infections, etc....), i'd probably try to find another way of cleaning his teeth as much as i could. yes they might not be as clean as the big dental would get them but even a little bit would help i think.

ideas would be brushing them yourself a little perhaps? finding some sort of dental treat that might help? orrrrr, what i do to get my kitties to naturally clean their own teeth some is to give them raw chicken gizzards to gnaw on and even toss them a raw chicken leg to gnaw on occasionally. obviously don't let them eat the whole leg but they tend to gnaw for a bit and that action will do some cleaning. it's kinda fun to watch them go at it too. :-)

just my thoughts.
 
Anesthesia on any kitty has risks. Diabetes, heart murmur and enlarged heart increase the risk. Since you vet says the risk is acceptable, I have no reason to disagree. I have had dentals done and other procedures that required anesthesia on cats with heart murmurs.
 
If his mouth isn't painful, get him started on the home dental care. It will slow or prevent dental problems, plus allow you to identify problems earlier.

They do have different types of anesthetics and you might inquire how he would do it, given your cat's special needs.
 
Hi there!

I don't consider myself super experienced but wanted to share my experiences. Junior was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy where his heart is enlarged through the thickening of its muscles. He had been under anesthesia a bunch of times throughout his life for teeth cleanings so I never had worried about that. He seemed low risk but this last time he was under, the vet called me to tell me that they couldn't do the teeth cleaning because Junior's heart was so faint that they pulled him out and never got to the cleaning. So I don't know what to tell you. As much as I'd love to have Junior's teeth professionally cleaned, I don't think that will ever happen now.

Re: fructosamine tests, I'm not familiar with it. But I did see a few threads like this one saying that it's really not necessary if you home test. Essentially it's the average of 2 weeks' worth of data. Even if you did at the vet's office, the results might be skewed because the cat would be stressed out from being at the vet's office. I'd do more research on that one before paying for that test. Maybe they can reduce your vet bill if they skip it.

Good luck!
Bonnie
 
Thanks all for your opinions!! He's let me rub at his teeth with wet gauze so far, so I think I'm going to go the route of trying to brush them and hope that helps for the future. The vet didn't say it was an "acceptable" risk, she said it was "low risk" but it was "completely my decision and I could talk with a cardiologist if I wanted to" (more $) However, the way she said it , she said "this would be the one and only time she would recommend it, and even though it's "low risk", the risk is there that he could be lost during the procedure". I also don't want to spend a bunch of $ if they wind up abandoning the procedure mid way either, and since he is so important to me, I don't think I am going to take the risk. He has no issues either then chum breath and mild gingivitis, so I think I'm going to try letting him gnaw on some bones, and do the brushings.

He's the only being on the planet that has loved me unconditionally for 13 years and he's the most awesome cat alive (no offense to your kitties :razz: )
 
Glad he's tolerating the gauze approach.
You may find that diligent (daily or alternate daily - it 'glues on' if you wait longer than that) home care resolves a lot of the gingivitis (red gums) and prevents further tartar buildup.

From this post
"Xobaline is formulated for cats. It's available through Amazon. The tablets are 3 mg. You crush them into food. It's a water soluble vitamin so whatever isn't being metabolized is excreted."

and

"here's the link to Zobaline (methyl B12 for diabetic cats): http://www.lifelinknet.com/siteResources/Products/Zobaline.asp.
it's less expensive on the LifeLink site ($16.75 for 60 3mg tabs) than it is on Amazon.com ($20.99 for 60 3mg tabs)."
 
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