Reassure me about dental surgery :-(

[TheWorminLabyrinth]

So my kitty has to have dental surgery next week. He has severe dental disease/stomatitis. Unsure of his age - he is a rescue and I have had him 3 years - the rescue estimated his age as between 4-6 at the time. He will be having the majority of his back teeth out. I'm so worried about him! Someone reassure me please <wibble>

My boy had a similar operation when he was 14, and he was fine afterwards ☺️

Aw that's good to hear, and at 14 too! Bless his little furry paws :)

All of mine had dentals. Penelope had six teeth out and was fine.

One of mine had all his teeth out except the fangs and was absolutely fine. He was eating as soon as he got home and was clearly so much more comfortable. Gigivostomatitis is incredibly painful so your kitty will be very happy!

My little girl was five last year and she had seven teeth taken out.
I was worried sick but she was absolutely fine 😊 she had to stay in the vets all day and the two days after she was so dopey and drowsy from the drugs, but she was okay. An hour or so after I dropped her off they called me to say she was quite unsettled and do they have my permission to give her some extra calming drugs, I said yes, but spent the whole day crying worrying about her 🤣 my boyfriend nearly cried when he saw the bill, so all in all was a troublesome day but she recovered perfectly!

My current cat was a stray until we took him in 8 weeks ago. He recently had NINE teeth out (2 canine ones included) and was fine.

Previous cat was 18 when he had 3 out, and was eating straightaway when we got him home!

Your cat will need soft food for a while - no dry stuff or treats, and a mousse/pate type of food.

My two had teeth out in the last couple if years when they were about 12.
No issues and they are now much more comfortable. We do have to mush their food up a bit more for them and cut any meat up small.

I was worried about this but it was fine.
The cat will really feel the benefit of it hugely. I think it's pretty cruel to leave cats with sore teeth. Imagine having dental pain yourself every day, it's pretty bad.

Honestly it's a great thing to do for your cat and very responsible. They can do pre anaesthetic blood checks if you are worried about the anaesthetic.

Also most cats need at least one dental surgery during their life OP.

My cat had 2 teeth out last year aged 9 and I was worried sick but she was absolutely fine. It is a worry but it's minor surgery and complications are rare. And they did a really good clean too so at her vaccination/check up last week her teeth were still perfect so it's saved her from potentially needing further teeth out. Try not to worry too much, I know it's hard when you love them so much x

My cat has dentals once a year under GA. I have just acquired a little rescue dog who will need all her teeth removed. It’s a very common issue. The animals just adapt their eating etc and at least they are free from pain.

My DD is a vet and enjoys doing dentals. She has not lost a patient in a dental yet. It’s very safe on the whole. They continuously monitor the vital signs.

DCat recently had lots of back teeth (maybe 8-10 altogether?) out in two sessions for chronic gingival stomatitis. She didn’t love going in but was absolutely fine after. She actually got more relaxed about getting in her carrier/going to the vet as we went on and now seems happier. Plus the insurance paid for most of it, which we hadn’t expected because teeth… but was great! Think they treat stomatitis differently from tooth decay.

Oh you guys! Reading all these - I feel so reassured.

He is off his nut on vet prescribed painkillers at the moment. He is scoffing food like it is going out of business right now, because he isn't in pain.

He is a rescue, he was deemed a "no home". He was semi-feral. I have a bit of experience in feral/semi-feral kits ;)