dental questions

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Wow, I have missed a lot in this string! Devon, we are taking Kitty in for a dental too. I talked with the vet last week and still felt nervous, so today I talked with a vet anesthesiologist and our regular vet.

The dentist can do the bloodwork that morning, but I agreed to bring Kitty in a week ahead (next week), for this reason: Once I have withheld food, I want to be able to bring him in and get it all done early. I was concerned that if the doctor had to examine him, and then answer my questions, it would all cause too much delay for a hungry kitty who hasn't been given his regular insulin.

So I will get bloodwork next week, and the vet will look at his mouth, and hopefully answer my questions, and then we'll be all ready the following work for an easy dental.

Similar answers on these things:

AB in advance: Only if warranted by bloodwork and exam.
Pain relief: Regular vet said to ask for one dose during the anesthesia, unless there are extractions, in which case i should come home with it.
Monitor heart, oxygen, EKG, carbon dioxide. Catheter with fluids

Ketamine: I discussed with the regular vet that ketamine was recalled. She said all the good vets are aware of this and are not using the recalled manufacturer. i can ask to check.

Maybe we can support each other through this stressful event! I told my vet i wished someone would prescribe valium for ME!
 
Coupla thoughts --

PLEASE be concerned about this! You are NOT worrying for nothing!There are dental specialists for a reason -- it takes specialized equipment, training and experience. And it can make a huge difference in the life of your kitty.

My recommendation would be to take your kitty to the specialist an hour away and hang around there until the surgery is done. If they know you're driving a distance they will likely put a higher priority on your kitty's surgery.

*** Please Note: My vet is one of the very few in this area that specializes in dentistry:

Carolinas Animal and Dental Clinic in Charlotte, NC http://www.carolinasanimalhospital.com/at least contact them for a reference?

I just had Percy's teeth done -- more expensive than others, but it went very smoothly, unfortunately 2 teeth extracted, but he is a new kitten now -- for 9 years old!

I've been feeding raw chicken necks to all my kitties for a couple of months and when I asked my vet her thoughts she replied that recent studies confirm that feeding raw chicken necks does as good a job as brushing teeth regularly. So I"m sticking with that. I know people who have had their cats on the necks and have never had to have dentals done... so there is definitely an alternative to dental cleaning by a vet!
 
kathy, what you said about bringing in kitty a week before cleaning is a good idea. Two of the local vets suggested I bring in mocha before the actual cleaning, to do an oral exam. My local vet is free consultation, but I was also given the impression at my vets that they don't REALLY do a lot of dentals, which made us feel uncomfortable. The other vet I contacted is about a 20-25 minute drive away, and his consultation is 40.00 and pre bloodwork is another 40.00. We honestly cannot afford to take mocha to a vet for 80.00 and then not go through with the cleaning at that vet. It just is not financially in the budget. The second vet is less then half the price of the specialist, but he also wouldn't tell us what extractions cost and if she actually does need them, we might end up way over our budget. That is something we could discuss at the 40.00 consultation, but again, unfortunately it comes down to money for us.

Harryzmom, we are leaning towards the specialist for mochas cleaning. Even though she cost's quite a bit more then the local vets, she seems to be up on her game about what is needed, to make it nice and easy for mocha. However, she is over an hour away, and mocha really stresses in the car. REALLY stresses so that makes us nervous.

I wish this was so much more simple then what we are making it out to be. I am sure I am complicating things as I always do, but I just want to do what is best for mocha, we just don't have any experience with this so we don't know what that would be. I know I'm driving you guys crazy with this.
 
I think it is time to pick a plan and then stick with it and stop looking at more options and issues.... Just my two cents :-D
 
I agree Jen. Just don't know which one to pick! As of right now, I really have two choices (because the third, my reg. vet, made us nervous about the dentals they do)

1. A specialist (an hour away, mocha stresses in the car) starting at $2-300 (not including any extractions, but did give us extraction price range) seems to be very up to date on all questions I asked about, and told me she has done this for 29 years, MSU vet school sends people to her (says a lot!)

2. A reg. vet (20 min away) starting at $117 (not including extractions, won't know price until we go in for $40.00 consultation, plus pre bloodwork is not included, but can be done for another $40.00) so right there we are close to $200.00. Answered most of my questions, but not as thoroughly as specialist, claims they do 2-4 dentals every single day, can set up a "plan" for us during consulation

are you guys seeing anything else in this 100 page thread I started :oops: that I should also factor in when deciding between the two vets?
 
I think both look fine. There are some unknowns with number 2 but they state that they will do up a treatment plan with you prior to the dental so you should be able to address all of your concerns at that time. The fact that they do that number of dentals should give you some comfort level.

The fact(s) is:

1. you do not have a personal relationship with either, so there is a bit of an unknown that you won't be able to overcome until you develop one
2. things can and do go wrong sometimes regardless of whether someone does 2 or 20 dentals a day...

You have to decide for yourselves and I don't think more facts are going to help you with this. Pick one, set your mind to it and get it done when you can afford it. I'd book the appt(s) now if I were you so you have that part off of your mind.

You cannot control everything, remember? :cool:
 
re: stressing in car -- not sure if you have tried the pheremone spray before, but 4 out of 5 of my cats respond very well to that -- it's not cheap, but you can get it on the internet cheaper -- you would spray her toys, blanket, inside of carrier, etc. that she comes in contact with before traveling -- coupla days to get started;

Also, my Harry is a very High Maintenance kitty, but calms down really well when I give him his brush -- he LOVES to be brushed, so i leave it in his crate with him while traveling and give it to the vet techs -- he gets totally distracted and starts rubbing on it and they can pretty much do whatever they want with him for 20-30 minutes. there might be something that would have the same effect for you. Also make sure you take away in toys that might have catnip in them well before traveling...

also, NEGOTIATE with the vet!!! Like everyone else, they are facing a money crunch. Ask them if they can knock some off the top and if you can work out a payment schedule, pay half up front, etc... They are a Business, and will work something out.
 
up front quotes -- it's fair to ask for an exact breakdown of all possible fee ranges, -- if they don't have that available, I wonder about how they come up wih their final figures, and if this is a serious part of their business where they have not broken it down for themselves. Just as when you bring your car in to be fixed, there should be a range available over the phone. If not, they may just trying to get you in the door, then since you have invested the initial consultation fee, you'll feel compelled to finish it out.

FYI, to give you an idea of the price you are getting with the specialist you are dealing with, my total bill for Percy with full blood work (including senior panel for wellness check), 2 extractions, x-rays etc. was $823.14 -- blood work done the week before.
 
Devon, I'll offer my impression, since you and I are both digging into this subject right now. For myself, I would choose the specialist if at all financially possible. From what you've said, she seems like an expert who can prevent after-the-fact problems -- which would also cost money.

As far as riding in the car is concerned: None of want to put our kitties through ANYTHING, but sometimes, for their health, we have to. So maybe this should not be the deciding factor.

By the way, how do you carry Mocha in the car? I used to hold him in my arms, and he stressed out, gasping -- it was horrible. Then I put him in a carrier large enough for him to stand up and turn around in, tucked into the he back seat so that it was stable, and opened the windows a crack -- and he sat down through the whole trip. Not happy, but not panting either.

I've made my pre-appt for next week. Let me know when YOU are going. We can stress together!
 
looking back over your thread, there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason to be doing a dental cleaning NOW. May I recommend trying to self-clean the teeth for a month or two with the chicken necks, then get another eval?

... you're feeding Fancy Feast? (gulp) -- is there any way you could switch to a better food? I've got 5 cats, and the only one that's had teeth problems was the only one eating FF -- anecdotal, but ... (he's now on Natures Variety frozen raw Rabbit]
 
Harry is diabetic, the rest are civvies. Percy is gluten allergic, so i had them all on gluten free FF for awhile -- including Harry. I switched to Wellness canned for awhile, and was amazed at the difference. Percy wouldn't eat the Wellness, so he stayed on FF gluten free/ low carb. Then i started on the NV frozen raw chicken, and OMG! new kitties! and cleaner teeth! Percy still wouldn't eat anything but FF, which gave him constipation, he was still throwing up almost daily (down from 3-4 times a day with other foods). Now that he's on the NV Rabbit, he's doing GREAT! unbelieveable difference

many varieties of FF are low carb for sugar kitties, but that doesn't make it nutritionally or dentally beneficial -- better than dry, and cheap, but many other brands are much better choices for sugar and civvy kitties alike -- there's a reason it's cheaper
 
Interesting. I'll look into it. Kitty is doing so well on FF, though -- lovely BG -- I hate to change anything. Maybe I'll try it once and see how he does.
 
Im nearly 95% certain we will be going with the specialist. Like kathy said, no one likes to put our cats through the stress of going to the vet, but sometimes we have to do what is best for them. I have a cat carrier that mocha fits in, but it is not big enough for her to stand up and walk around in. Peter is thinking of somehow making a home made carrier, just for the car, that she will be able to move around a little more freely in, as well as maybe a cat box. Since the specialist is over an hour away, we will just stay at the vets or in that town until she can come home. Peter plans to take the day off as I will be to much of a nervous wreck to go at this on my own. Kathy, I wish you the best of luck with kitties dental. I will be thinking of you guys!!!

Harryzmom, we have tried mocha on the wellness canned food, but she shunned it. She seems to really like the FF so I think we will stick with that. There is no immediate need for a dental, just hopes it might help regulate her numbers. She is far from regulated at this point.

I am wondering how the day of the dental would go for mocha. Say she gets her PM insulin the night before, and then the vet says she should not eat after X time, then no insulin the morning of, and no food still, then the hour drive, plus whatever needs to be done BEFORE the actual dental, then recovery, that might be a really long time for mocha to go without food or insulin. I like kathy's idea of going the week before to get all of that stuff taken care of. I should ask the specialist if that is possible.
 
Devon, I was also concerned about how to manage the dosing the night before and day of.

Jill has said her vet recommended one-half to no dose the morning of the procedure, depending on numbers. Remember there is what Jojo has called the "nom nom" feature of anesthesia: it tends to eat up glucose, somehow, so the kitties seem not to miss that morning dose.

I hate to leave him without food overnight, but when he had anesthesia last fall for the biopsy, he did not starve. :smile:
 
Kathy and Kitty said:
Interesting. I'll look into it. Kitty is doing so well on FF, though -- lovely BG -- I hate to change anything. Maybe I'll try it once and see how he does.
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definitely relate with good numbers -- i will say, though, that once i switched harry over (and started adding taurine) his levels are steadily dropping -- last august was 3.6 bid, today he's at 0.9, still dropping, so it still might be worth slowly transitioning -- or substituting a meal... it would probably take more than 'once' to see any difference ;)

remember cats are carnivores, so the closer we can get to their 'natural' prey food the more likely their system will heal itself

all my kitties LOVE FF! but i don't let my kids eat nothing but ice cream, either
 
PeterDevonMocha said:
Harryzmom, we have tried mocha on the wellness canned food, but she shunned it. She seems to really like the FF so I think we will stick with that. There is no immediate need for a dental, just hopes it might help regulate her numbers. She is far from regulated at this point.
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If she has a dental issue (abcess, etc.) that would definitely affect her numbers. You are feeding her the FF on the "list" right? Not all FF is low carb -- just to check...

Cats are carnivores, closer to prey food is best, unless there are underlying issues. Also may i suggest adding Taurine (really cheap stuff) to help regulate

What insulin are you on? the basal insulins (lantus/levemir) have the highest rates of remission...
 
yes, we are feeding her LC turkey and giblets FF. I don't have any idea how mochas teeth and gums are. Last year at DX time, her then vet said teeth and gums looked good, but that was all she said, and it was said after a mere glimpse in her mouth. Mocha has never had a dental done.

Mocha is currently on lantus.
 
Jen & Squeak said:
Harryzmom, why are you suggesting taurine to regulate?
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taurine is necessary for general health and healing for kitties; recent studies regarding taurine amts concluded previous requirements were 1/4 what they should be; taurine is an absolute necessity for cats, so if a sick kitty isn't getting enough in their food their will likely have a hard time healing / getting over the hump of surviving and moving toward recovery

from tillydiabetes.net:

http://www.tillydiabetes.net/en_6importantfactors.htm

"Prolonged deficiency over a period of several months or even years is required before clinical symptoms appear in most healthy cats. Supplementing a diabetic cat's diet with taurine would seem to be beneficial, for reasons described in the articles referenced below.

Here the most important points:

• Taurine has been found to affect blood sugar and insulin levels favorably in humans and other animal models.
• Supporting kidney function with taurine: kidney cells do not require insulin to take up glucose. The high plasma glucose levels caused by diabetes result in high intracellular levels of glucose. Via a chain of events this leads to a decrease in the taurine quantity in kidney cells. Organic osmolytes - such as taurine - play an important role in the regulation of cell volume.
• The clinical state of diabetes is often accompanied by elevated blood levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and free fatty acids. Taurine is important for the formation of bile acids. The formation of bile acids represents the most important route for the elimination of cholesterol. Too little bile acid can entail increased cholesterol values. In studies of diabetic rats, taurine also lowered plasma triglyceride values. As many diabetic cats have elevated cholesterol and triglyceride values, taurine may help to lower them. Additionally, according to the lipotoxicity hypothesis, chronic exposure to high concentrations of lipids contribute to deteriorating beta-cell function in diabetic patients.
• Taurine has been shown to reverse neurological damage in diabetic rats.

A typical quantity of taurine that many people give their diabetic cats is 500 mg per day. No scientific studies were found to support this dosage in cats and the guidelines used by the pet food industry vary widely."

about 6 months ago i asked my vet about this, he did some research and found a brand new article recommending 2000 mg per day...

since it is CHEAP and tasteless and can be mixed in with any food, no reason not to ...
 
Well....I have seen little to no mention of taurine in posts on this board, and after reading Dr Lisa's page which I'm very familiar with but haven't read for awhile, I see 50mg supplementation for those feeding a specific dog food to their cats, but no mention of what is appropriate for cats on a commercial cat food.
 
hmmm, looking at your spreadsheet, may i suggest you *****may***** be over-dosing?

I was overdosing for about 6 months :o and my numbers were very similar -- apparently overdosing is common amongst those of us who home-test

your numbers look better back at 2.75 or 3.0; perhaps drop back there and leave her there for 5-7 days, see what happens

imho

i don't have the article links in front of me now but if you're interested i can get them to you -- give her system time to get all the compensatory systems back to normal, then see what happens...

also, you can probably cut back testing for ketones to once a week (i don't test anymore at all)
 
Jen & Squeak said:
Well....I have seen little to no mention of taurine in posts on this board, and after reading Dr Lisa's page which I'm very familiar with but haven't read for awhile, I see 50mg supplementation for those feeding a specific dog food to their cats, but no mention of what is appropriate for cats on a commercial cat food.
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the links to the articles are on the tillydiabetes.net page -- but i agree, regretfully, that not enough attention is paid on this board to taurine; i've seen marked improvement from giving taurine in my kitty's numbers...
 
summary: taurine is ESSENTIAL to cats, and is found in raw muscle meat. it is easily synthesized and if you look at cat food cans it will be listed as an added ingredient. it has to be added because cooking the meat degrades the taurine. adding additional amts makes up for previous unmet needs and assures the kitty is getting enough to repair. not possible to overdose ( also, taurine is in most energy drinks, and can be added to water or juice for your own enjoyment ;).
 
ok. I cannot comment on the taurine issue, as this I think is the first time I have ever even heard of it. I have e mailed the specialist back with a few more questions, regarding the day of the dental and insulin questions. This is what she wrote to me.

Funny you should ask about the diabetes, we did a teeth cleaning and root canal on a diabetic dog today!
Diabetics should be given one half their normal dose of insulin the morning of the procedure and NOT fed. They receive Dextrose in their fluids and then have a blood sugar drawn a number of times to be sure they are okay, then get fed here asap once they are awake.
IV fluids only for kidney problems? My belief is everyone goes on fluids, as keeping the vasculature open, blood pressure up and urine flow going helps to protect the kidneys! I can't say I ever heard anyone say to only use them for kidney; some vets may only use them when there are kidney issues, but that doesn't mean they should only be used at that time.
Cat dentistries can take 1 - 2 hours depending on the teeth involved. Xrays require anesthesia, so taking the xrays and delaying the procedure doesn't help you that much.
hope this helps, I know it can be nerve wracking to travel with a cat; mine is not very good on trips

I asked about the IV fluids again because after reading another series of questions on this site that Jill had written up for someone else, I was confused. I asked her if it was better to take mocha in a week earlier to do the X rays and the oral exam, that way on the day of the dental, there was less to do. But it seems it would be best to do it all on the same day? I am nervous about mocha being without food for so long! Does all of this sound good? I mean, is dextrose a common thing to have in their fluids? Im so sorry I keep bombarding you guys with these questions!!
 
That vet sounds very good to me. Not infrequently dextrose is added to IV fluids. Insulin dosing and eating seems to vary between vets. One of my vets says 1/2 meal and 1/2 normal dose of insulin morning of dental. She allows feeding she has never experienced a cat vomiting due to anesthesia (based on emergency surgeries where fasting not foreseen) and her experience with diabetic cats and that densities are done starting at about noon. I really like his position on IV fluids - always uses them.
 
vet's recommendations sound very reasonable -- lantus is much more flexible re: feeding schedule (i used to free feed until i switched to raw), and as long as they're monitoring everything should be fine -- going without food for this short duration shouldn't be a problem at all...

blood work is usually less expensive if you have it done beforehand (no rush charges); the only other reason to make two trips is to make sure the cleaning is necessary -- otherwise x-rays can be done at time of cleaning -- no real benefit to getting them done ahead of time, down side sometimes they have to sedate kitty to get the xrays
 
harryzmom said:
Jen & Squeak said:
Well....I have seen little to no mention of taurine in posts on this board, and after reading Dr Lisa's page which I'm very familiar with but haven't read for awhile, I see 50mg supplementation for those feeding a specific dog food to their cats, but no mention of what is appropriate for cats on a commercial cat food.
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the links to the articles are on the tillydiabetes.net page -- but i agree, regretfully, that not enough attention is paid on this board to taurine; i've seen marked improvement from giving taurine in my kitty's numbers...
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Actually it has been mentioned quite a bit over the years. I became interested when Tigger was having all his liver problems a couple of years ago. I also wonder if it is why he seems to be a pretty well regulated diabetic after over six years. He gets it added to his raw food twice a day even though his raw is already supplemented ( I used to add it to his canned food too). I have always wondered about whether or not freezing the food might diminish its efficacy somewhat so I just add extra when I feed him (like you said, we know that warming/heating food does). Here are some links I have posted before:

http://www.thehealthierlife.co.uk/natur ... 00284.html
http://www.bluecross.org.in/petcare-taurine.html
http://www.hdw-inc.com/healthtaurine.htm
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxificat ... aurine.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entre ... s=11747139

Thank you harryzmom for bringing it up again.

P.S. I always wanted to try the chicken necks for cleaning teeth but it seemed it would be so messy. I have heard of people putting their cats in the bath tub...not sure if Tigger would go for that. ;)

Sorry for hijacking the thread.
 
pamela and tigger said:
P.S. I always wanted to try the chicken necks for cleaning teeth but it seemed it would be so messy. I have heard of people putting their cats in the bath tub...not sure if Tigger would go for that. ;)

Sorry for hijacking the thread.
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Good to hear the word is at least out there about Taurine!

So far I haven't had to resort to the bathtub, though that sounds like a good idea. Though there's a bit of growling going on, pretty much it's just crunching ;). not too messy, i cut in a few pieces before hand so they're not dragging it around
 
wow this discussion has really progressed into new territory (at least for me).

I was and maybe mistakenly so, under the impression that the proper amount of taurine is added to commercial food and it is not necessary to add extra. I feed a buffet of choices - friskies SD, EVO 95 and NV raw. I'm also waiting to learn how to make raw.

Not everyone is eating the evo and NV, and well the friskies (I guess that like eating junk for dinner) everyone wants and eats.

When I get some time, I'll read the links about taurine, so I can be more educated.

I did schedule Maui's appointment - Friday is the pre-visit and I need to make the question list, and Feb 15 is the dental. I feel ok about taking her to the regular vet, as I do have a relationship, will get the questions/concerns addressed. But I'm still nailbite_smile

I don't see anything particularly bad or wrong in her mouth. But I do see lots of tartar buildup and think she just needs a cleaning.

Now Sydney, is the other issue - I've decided to take her to the specialty place for a consult. That's as far as my action plan is with her. If after the consult the dentist feels she should come in, then I'll need the questions answered and decide. I'm concerned that it may be too much for her, yet I'm concerned that she does need attention. :oops:
 
Hillary & Maui said:
I did schedule Maui's appointment - Friday is the pre-visit and I need to make the question list, and Feb 15 is the dental. I feel ok about taking her to the regular vet, as I do have a relationship, will get the questions/concerns addressed. But I'm still nailbite_smile

I don't see anything particularly bad or wrong in her mouth. But I do see lots of tartar buildup and think she just needs a cleaning.

Now Sydney, is the other issue - I've decided to take her to the specialty place for a consult. That's as far as my action plan is with her. If after the consult the dentist feels she should come in, then I'll need the questions answered and decide. I'm concerned that it may be too much for her, yet I'm concerned that she does need attention. :oops:
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anecdotally, the vet that recommended Percy get a dental cleaning (we were in for another issue) saw him about 3 weeks later to draw blood for his dental, did a triple take on her notes and his teeth because they were so much cleaner -- because he had clear tooth loss i went ahead with the dental, but i wouldn't have put him under anesthesia just for a cleaning; the three weeks in between i had really made the effort with the chicken necks, now that he was off the bad food, and apparently he had knocked off the tartar / plaque himself :mrgreen: just something to consider, or even plan on for after the cleaning

there is also a tablet that you can put in the water that keeps the tartar from forming once the teeth are clean; apparently it works but i've not tried it myself...

if you're going to learn how to make raw, let me know if you're interested in purchasing a gently used high-end meat grinder :-D
 
Gosh, am I the only one who isn't getting sent notices when there are new replies? I do have the "notify me" checked. I've been out of the loop!

Devon, on that issue of the pre-visit, the suggestion was not to have the x-rays done during the pre-visit, just the basic visual exam and the bloodwork.

I'm really intrigued by the Taurine discussion, and the FF discussion. I don't think Kitty ever had dental issues until we started FF last year.

I don't think raw chicken necks will work in this house, though!

Hillary, my appointment for Kitty's dental is just a few days after yours. I'll send you vines, then send them to me when you're done, okay?? :mrgreen:
 
My girls aren't drinking water, probably since I add enough to their food.

As for the necks, only one eats raw and that's hit or miss lately. Nobody seems interested in raw chicken pieces, let alone the necks. While they are discovering their inner carnivore, they're not fully there.

The person who makes raw does so with someone else and they will teach me and maybe it'll just be easier to join their party, rather than do on my own. But time will tell.

I looked at Maui's teeth and thought she ought to just have a general cleaning. It's been a few years and in wanting to keep her health at optimum levels, teeth cleaning is a good way to go. And yes, I hate the idea of anesthesia, but what choice do I have currently? (And no neck bones! :lol: )
 
well I will be sending both of you guys positive dental cleaning vines! We still haven't made mochas appointment yet. I never really noticed mocha having bad breath before we put her on FF either, but like I told peter, we probably were not paying much attention to it. But I do know that when we had cheddar, his breath was BAD! And it was bad right from the start, so I'm thinking if we noticed his without any problems, wouldn't we have noticed mochas?
 
PeterDevonMocha said:
. My local vet is free consultation,


We honestly cannot afford to take mocha to a vet for 80.00 and then not go through with the cleaning at that vet. It just is not financially in the budget..
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Why not take advantage of the free consultation to see if she even needs a dental in the first place?

Also, make sure you budget for more than the estimate. When my vet got Sweetie under anesthesia for her dental, he got a much better look in her mouth than he could during the regular exam. She had stomatitis and it was worse than he had thought. Our routine dental turned into a nearly full mouth extraction and really drove the cost up.

Luckily, I have a savings account for these sort of surprises.
 
I have a feeling the local vet would not do more then just a mere glance inside her mouth. They already told me they don't do a lot of dentals, and when I asked a few questions about it a few months back, they were pretty baffled by them. I dont know.

We will have a little extra for mochas dental, but not much. As most of us do, we live paycheck to paycheck and there really isn't a back up savings.
 
PeterDevonMocha said:
ok. I cannot comment on the taurine issue, as this I think is the first time I have ever even heard of it. I have e mailed the specialist back with a few more questions, regarding the day of the dental and insulin questions. This is what she wrote to me.

Funny you should ask about the diabetes, we did a teeth cleaning and root canal on a diabetic dog today!
Diabetics should be given one half their normal dose of insulin the morning of the procedure and NOT fed. They receive Dextrose in their fluids and then have a blood sugar drawn a number of times to be sure they are okay, then get fed here asap once they are awake.
IV fluids only for kidney problems? My belief is everyone goes on fluids, as keeping the vasculature open, blood pressure up and urine flow going helps to protect the kidneys! I can't say I ever heard anyone say to only use them for kidney; some vets may only use them when there are kidney issues, but that doesn't mean they should only be used at that time.
Cat dentistries can take 1 - 2 hours depending on the teeth involved. Xrays require anesthesia, so taking the xrays and delaying the procedure doesn't help you that much.
hope this helps, I know it can be nerve wracking to travel with a cat; mine is not very good on trips

I asked about the IV fluids again because after reading another series of questions on this site that Jill had written up for someone else, I was confused. I asked her if it was better to take mocha in a week earlier to do the X rays and the oral exam, that way on the day of the dental, there was less to do. But it seems it would be best to do it all on the same day? I am nervous about mocha being without food for so long! Does all of this sound good? I mean, is dextrose a common thing to have in their fluids? Im so sorry I keep bombarding you guys with these questions!!
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this vet sounds fantastic to me. the places that i've taken my cats to, vet techs do the cleaning and a vet supervises; the vet does any extractions but the rest is done by techs.
the vet i take my kids too now is great, she does the fluids and monitors BP during the dental, most here only do a pulse oximetry, and my vet said that a potential problem will show up in the blood pressure first, before the O2 drops, so this is a safer way to monitor the cat while it's under anesthesia. the sooner you know about a potential problem, of course, the faster you can do something to fix it.

Feb is dental health month- ask if they have any specials. a lot of vets take 10% off the cost for a dental during Feb!!
i want to take my boy shelly in this month.

all of my cats have had at least one dental- Raven's had two, Nell has had four? or five? she has resorptive lesions, which are painful, so she has to go in every year pretty much and Sheldon has had 3 dentals.

Snoopy, my diabetic boy had a dental when he was unregulated and quick sick, actually, and did so much better afterward
The other diabetic cat i had never had a dental because our vet at the time just didn't 'believe in them'. and Mickie didn't have a dental because her vet never thought she needed one, but by the time she was 16 or so, she did need one, but her kidneys were in bad shape and the vet didn't want to risk it.

however, if i had THEN the vet i have NOW, i am fairly sure she would have felt confident enough to go ahead and do the dental on MIckie.

my vet does pretty much what is outlined here (this is NOT my vet's website, but it says pretty much everything she told me about how they do dental there- except my vet has some sort of cat bed that they use that has circulating warmed water going thru it to keep the cat warm afterward)
http://www.southarundelvet.com/site/view/99746_Surgery.pml

it's got a nice checklist you can use, if you still have any questions left

good luck with Mocha's dental! i am sure she'll be fine and that specialist sounds really good.
i have a cat who gets so upset when i have to take her in the car, she pees, poops, and throws up!
what helps is keeping the cat carrier covered so she can not see outside

cat's vision is very specialized, their eyes are meant to track motion, esp horizontal motion (the kind a lot of prey would make) so things going by outside the car at such a rapid speed, it really really upsets many cats because they can't make out what it is that they are seeing.
it's easier on many cats to be in the carrier covered with a towel or blanket that blocks their view of the outside.

talking calmly to them sometimes helps too.

hope this helps some.
i don't like having my cats' "put under' but when you have a good vet that you trust, it makes a big difference.

all the best
althea
 
nadlemgarcia,
this actually is NOT a dental forum, it is a feline diabetes forum. this site is populated by those who do like, do own or have owned cats, and especially diabetic cats.

i see the dentist link in your signature. are you studying dentistry or something? i ask because i see you are replying on all the really old dental posts here so i'm just curious.

ETA: This is Venita. I removed the advertising post that Cindy is referring to.
 
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