My poor cat - no teeth left

[knittedwoollenmouse]

My cat needed a dental with at least one extraction. Turned out he had extensive problems and infection and he now only has four teeth left.

He was on the table for over two hours and has stitches all over. He’s 13 and has stage two kidney failure. I got the previous vets to check his teeth last year when he had his vaccination, but they didn’t flag anything up apart from some tartar. He had a dental clean up a couple of years ago with them. I wasn’t happy with that practice in general so left.

The new vets are a cat specialist place. He’s on a drip and has to stay in overnight. He’s on opiates for the pain. I’m tortured with the thought he’s been in pain all this time. I feel horrible. We pick him up tomorrow morning. He’s had an antibiotic injection and they’re taking such good care of him.

He’s an rspca rescue cat and was badly neglected. We got him when he was about 11.

Oh poor kitty! He’s beautiful. Don’t feel guilty. Cats are experts in hiding any pain so you can’t tell until it gets critical. You’ve already done an amazing job by rescuing him.

Don't feel guilty - mine was similar and had a load of teeth out. They manage pretty well without them
I can recommend the applaws duo mousse as good though, although it's not a complete food. My cat likes to inhale it rather than attempt any chewing, and it's v v soft

He has to have renal food cos of his kidneys. I’ll have to cut the chunks up small. He’s not allowed any dried renal food until he’s fully healed.

How on earth do they cope with pain? I had an abscess a couple of years ago and sat up all night in agony and that was with pain relief.

I have no idea. I stroked my cat once and he made a miaow face at me. Did it again
I whipped him down the vet who did faces when I said "he did a funny look when I touched his side"
Vet picked him up and a giant abscess burst all over her, the table, the floor...
He must have been in so much pain

Oh, that’s awful. Poor cats with sore teeth

I’m glad he’s had them out tbh. His kidney function might improve according to the vet cos his system won’t be fighting infection.

Could you discuss ipakitine with your vet so he can have other (non-renal) food? Its a phosphorous binder which really has helped my cat who has kidney failure. He will feel brand new after a couple of days, its amazing how well they cope without teeth! He's a very handsome boy btw

Definitely, he will feel much better without any infection or soreness. Mine doesn't have many left but still manages to demand pork scratchings even if he sucks them

THIs happened to my dog, only 6 left! They were fine after a clean, 6 months later 17 extractions. Your cat will feel better with them gone and soon adjust but i know how you feel, I felt so bad that I couldn’t explain to him why he couldn’t eat properly or fetch his ball.
Our vet thought he had a gum disease that mostly affects cats which was the only explanation of why they deteriorated so quickly.

The vet discussed a phosphate binder yesterday. He’s being checked again on Friday then I’ll get another blood test once he’s healed. She said things might settle down then.

I get him Royal Canin Renal for cats. I think the dental problems may have been from his previous life because he was badly neglected, starved and fed on rubbish.

It’s awful that they can’t tell us what’s wrong. I guess he’ll feel better without them though.

Sorry to hear that but hopefully he’ll feel much better when he’s recovered without sore teeth and gums. Lots of nice easy to eat food when he comes home. Do you mind me asking how much it cost? I expect one of ours will need most of her teeth out in the not too distance future and am expecting a hefty bill.

It was £617 that included X-rays and antibiotic injection. I used to pay around £300 for a clean and perhaps one extraction at the previous place.

He’s back home and coping well. He’s had his opiate liquid into his poor mouth and he’s been out into the garden. He’s tried to eat, but can’t seem to figure out how just yet. Dh has lit the stove and he has his basket in front of it.

One of my other cats is freaked out by events and is creeping around looking as though he’s been changed into another being.