Dental cleaning

[Kathleen and Fred]

My Sugarcat, Fred, has to go in for dental cleaning April 7 th. He had to have it done last year, as well, and the want to put him under with general anesthesia.

The problem is eating and his shots. He normally gets his shot at 7am and they want to operate around 9am. Are there any precautions we need to take to do this safely? He just had a checkup and bloodwork. He's in great shape with no problems except for diabetes.

Want to know your thoughts before contacting the vet for pre-surgery arrangements.

Thanks,
Katti

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

It will depend on his bg numbers when the day gets here.
If numbers are high, some will give a partial shot ( reduced amount).
Many of us skip because anesthesia tends to lower numbers and the vet will want Fred to fast thru the night.

I had to even skip the night before the surgery because of lower bg numbers.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

What does your vet say? Vets usually have preferences based on their experience. SOme say give 1/2 does if BG is as expected

 

[Donna & Doogle]

When I had Doogle's teeth cleaned I actually skipped his shot for the morning. Anesthesia can lower BG so better to be a bit high than to low. Just make sure they do not give Covenia afterwards and get an antibiotic drop made for dental specifically like clindamycin.

 

[Kathleen and Fred]

Can you explain more about clindamycin? Is that something I administer afterwards? Why is Covenia not recommended?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

http://catinfo.org/?link=convenia

Clindamycin is a common antibiotic frequently used after major dentals. Liquid clindamycin is commonly prescribed and it tastes nasty.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

My vet makes me fast my cats for 12 hours before surgery so that means no insulin that morning i.e.

7pm test and shoot and feed
9pm - stop feeding

7am - skip shot
9am operation

But talk to your vet and remind him of the diabetes. The receptionists quite often just remind you of standard script, forgetting the diabetes so remind them all!

 

[Kathleen and Fred]

Why I Convenia dangerous? And what are the other alternatives (other than that stuff someone said tasted nasty)?

 

[Deb & Wink]

About Convenia

It's a long lasting antibiotic, meant to treat skin infections. If your cat has a bad reaction to it or unpleasant side effects, you can't get it back out of your cats system.

Personally, I'd rather gave a pill I have to administer once or twice a day and can stop as needed if there are bad side effects.

 

[Kathleen and Fred]

Fred was given Convenia a while back and when a cat bit him. He didn't seem to have any side effects and recovered in a day or two. Does that mean he would be OK to get it again? I may not be able to be home during the day to administer pills.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I myself would not use Convenia except for an un-pillable cats. You can ask the vet for Baytril or Zeniquin antibiotics. Those can be dosed once per day.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Larry and kitties gave you a couple of other options.

If Fred did ok with the Convenia last time, it will probably be ok to give it again.

After my Wink had his dental, he was on Clavamox oral. His appetite was way down after about day 4 and he was getting horrible diarrhea. So I ended up stopping the antibiotic after day 6. It was more important that he eat. ECID (every cat is different), but I know that for my cat, I want an antibiotic that I can stop giving if he's not doing well on it.

 

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Hidey needs to go in for a dental cleaning and have another tooth removed. How long should I wait to have this done? My vet said "lets get his diabetes under control first" Since his numbers have been pretty stable is that "under control"? What precautions do I need to take since he hasn't had any insulin lately? I only worry about this because last year he had to have 3 teeth removed :sad: and now she's saying theres another bad one and I don't want it to turn into two or three.

 

[Alexis & Nikki (GA)]

There is a great post on Dentals that Sienne put together over on the Lantus board that might be helpful.

 

[BJM]

The dental may help with regulation. Oral infection frequently elevates glucose levels.
He's stable enough, barring any other conditions. I wouldn't wait for perfect control to do the dental.

 

[LindaMS]

i would do it right away. He is definately well on his way to OTJ, and getting that sore tooth out of there will help even more. Make sure you have a good talk with the vet regarding any other suspicious teeth. When in doubt, have them out, I think. Sammy had most of hers taken out in Feb, and she has bounced back tremendously, and is now going OTJ (one day behind your Hidey). Because she is totally a wet food cat now, she really doesnt need the teeth, and doesnt miss them at all.

I would have hated to get some done, only to have to go back again. The big costs are the xrays and anesthesia, not the actual vet time, so repeating those another day would have gotten very pricey very fast.