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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not want to spend c£300 on....

25 replies

Milliways · 26/10/2011 21:54

having my cats teeth cleaned Shock

I mean!

I am a pet lover, we have an elderly incontinent dog that has had many happy years here. The cat is healthy, 10 years old, vaccinated, wormed & de-flea'd at correct intervals and I would pay for any treatment if he was ill. But to take some scale off his teeth?????? He eats well (pigeons, rats, mice etc along with the usual biscuits & felix stuff), hunts daily and is the most laid back cat.

Am I being cruel to not want to subject him to a general anaesthetic for this. I would consider it for say £50 though.

OP posts:
Signet2012 · 26/10/2011 21:57

I wouldnt subject him to any anaesthetic if it was not completely necessary. It brings with its owns risks and to me the risks of the anaesthetic outweigh the risks of him not having his teeth cleaned. Unless there is some problem with his teeth and its causing him pain

AbsolutelyBloodySpiffing · 26/10/2011 21:57

Who says you have to?

Popbiscuit · 26/10/2011 21:58

I agree. I always feel like it's money-grabbing and/or outrageously overpriced. Would never take shortcuts with our dog's health but is this really necessary? Perhaps some vets could weigh in?

squeakyfreakytoy · 26/10/2011 21:58

if he is healthy, then no, I wouldnt.

mummyosaurus · 26/10/2011 21:59

My cat had to have this and a few teeth out. He was 13 and, like your cat, well maintained and looked after.

When I got a cute kitten 13 years ago I didn't really think about the responsibilities of having an older cat. He is insured but it doesn't cover dental.

I wonder if another vet would charge less?

Ultimately I think YABU, it's part of pet ownership to be able to cover the vet bills, painful as it is.

GirlWithALlamaTattoo · 26/10/2011 22:00

I agree with Signet. If he needs a bit of tooth-cleaning, the special food might be worth a go - my big cat had one called T/D at one stage.

LynetteScavo · 26/10/2011 22:02

There is no way I could afford it, so I would have to give my cat away, I suppose.....

purplewerepidj · 26/10/2011 22:05

My cat has a slight heart murmer, diagnosed when she went in for speying. The vet and I agreed that the stress of putting her under an anaesthetic to treat the problem was far far worse than any risk from her heart, especially as she's a house cat by choice!

So no, YANBU and I think my vet would agree with that!

LaurieFairyCake · 26/10/2011 22:07

I pay £80 a month to have my 3 rescue cats insured, they are all 14 and it has never covered dental.

I have always toothbrushed my cats teeth and they're used to it.

When one had a loose incisor at the front I pulled it myself - cats have a very high pain threshold and I did it very quickly with pliers. She was fine immediately and her immune system kicked in and she was eating within ten minutes when she hadn't eaten that day - presumably cos the wobbly tooth was hurting.

Original poster
Milliways · 26/10/2011 22:08

He is not in pain, and his teeth are not too bad. We just went for the annual boosters and the vet said I might want to consider this as he has plaque building up. They are thinking of a "fixed price" dental for around £220 but until then the bill depends on what they actually do.

I am going to look at the special foods and see if they help prevent more build up.

OP posts:
Original poster
Milliways · 26/10/2011 22:09

Laurie - you are brave as there is no way I could pull a cats tooth myself! Wish mine was used to a brush...

OP posts:
Signet2012 · 26/10/2011 22:21

I tried to brush my dogs teeth with a toothbrush when he was smaller. He ate it. Like bugs bunny eating a carrot. Hmm

He gets dentastix now.

SacreLao · 27/10/2011 00:11

Cats can suffer health problems due to bad teeth, has the vet said they just need a scale or are they bad to the point that they will lead to infections etc?

I can't see why they would anesthatise him for a scale, that usually involves extractions?

laurie - Cats DO NOT have a high threshold at all, they just hide their pain unlike most animals. If you had to use pliars to remove the tooth it wasn't that loose and if I knew someone who did what you did I would report them for animal cruelty to everyone that I could!

wherearemysocks · 27/10/2011 01:19

eeeewwww at Laurie, I don't think I could do that. Interesting about brushing their teeth yourself though - do you do it everyday, and use normal toothpaste?

SacreLao · 27/10/2011 01:25

You can get cat toothpaste.

Dosn't do much, the toothpaste that is, it's the brushing action that cleans them. Mine would rip me to shreds if I even attempted to stick something in there mouth other than food.

cookcleanerchaufferetc · 27/10/2011 07:57

My cat is old, never had teeth cleaned, and the few times we have seen a vet she says what nice teeth he has!

Cars have survived centuries by not saving their teeth owned and whilst I appreciate their lifestyles have changed somewhat, I think vets do this type of thing essentially for the money. £300 is a rip off, even a scam.

Unless the cat has a problem, leave them be.

LaurieFairyCake · 27/10/2011 08:11

It was very loose Sacre - I used pliers to get a good grip as I wanted it quick.

Don't bother telling me I'm cruel, you don't know me and my cats are practically scarves and all live to 20.

Cats dont 'hide' pain - what would be the point of that? You're anthropomorphising. Her tooth was loose, was clearly getting infected so I pulled it. If a short while later she is eating food when she hadn't been earlier then quite clearly she's fine.

If I thought it was serious enough to take her to the vet then quite clearly I would since I would have been covered - an infection in the mouth is, just not dental work.

But it was my call, too old for anaesthetic, gets too stressed in vets. Do it myself - happy cat, job done.

AFuckingKnackeredWoman · 27/10/2011 08:13

[hshock] My cats get offered a quick clean with their yearly health check and boosters i pay £20 per cat and it take a few minutes.

I would do it at home but mine are semi feral and would chew my face off without a doubt.

AFuckingKnackeredWoman · 27/10/2011 08:17

Ooh i just realised my vets is a training college thing so perhaps that's why its so cheap?

Either way £300 is ridiculous

pingulingo · 27/10/2011 08:54

I would shop around. I had two of my cats done at £50 each for descaling, which was a couple of years ago but they both had generals. I also more recently had two cats needing a lot Of teeth out as v elderly - and that bill was £180. I'm in Manchester so maybe slightly cheaper as up north, but i still found a lot of local variation in price so may be same in your area.

BibiBatsberg · 27/10/2011 09:45

£300?

My cat has tartar build up as well and my vet insists he will have to go under general anaesthetic for it.

I'm so torn between putting the cat through what seems like a heavy handed procedure now or facing the guilt later if his teeth decay and have to be pulled :(

Time to try the tooth cleaning food I think (thank you to the poster mentioning that, didn't know it existed for cats)

Original poster
Milliways · 27/10/2011 10:47

I did some googling last night and have ordered some of this stuff which seems to get great reviews on several sites and for £8 seems worth a try.

OP posts:
valiumredhead · 27/10/2011 10:52

My mum's cat had this done recently and mum said it was disgusting what came out of the poor cat's mouth - huge bits of plaque the size of teeth pinged across the room!

He was too old to have a GA and have them done properly so he got an infection and had to be put down - he was soooo poorly with it Sad

Apparently it's a common thing in cats. Talk to your vet about what would happen if you don't have it done and the health implications etc.

BibiBatsberg · 27/10/2011 11:24

That plaque off stuff gets such good reviews I might have to start sprinkling it on my food as well Grin

Sounds good though, wonder if it tastes of anything? My cat has an amazing sense for detecting the slightest hint of anything marked 'good for him' in the human slaves mind he might refuse to eat it.

:)

SacreLao · 27/10/2011 17:49

Laurie Cats DO hide pain, in the wild they would do so to prevent other animals seeing them as a target / attacking etc.

Article from a vet confirming this:
virtuavet.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/how-to-tell-if-your-cat-is-in-pain/

Another article confirming this:
www.natural-wonder-pets.com/pain-in-cats.html

Pet dentistry site again confirming this:
www.mypetsdentist.com/site/view/104361_Painrelatedconcerns.pml

Cats show signs of pain but they hide it very well so if a cat appears in mild pain you can bet it is in pretty severe pain!

Anyway as I said to the OP if the dental work is just a scale then it is more than likely not essential but do check what work they plan to do as some dental work is essential and can be life threatening if left untreated.

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