Tooth resorption

[southchinasea]

Our 18 year old cat has lost a little weight and seems possibly uncomfortable around her mouth at times. She is eating well, drinking normally and as active as she ever is (not very!).

The vet had a look and mentioned tooth resorption as a possible cause. She said to keep an eye on her and bring her back if still concerned, with a view to having dental treatment under anaesthetic.

I wondered if anyone else's cat has had this? And whether anyone knows how risky it is for an elderly cat to have an anesthetic? We don't want her to be in any pain but are also worried about an anaesthetic at her age.

She is otherwise a happy little cat, good mobility and enjoys snoozing in the sun, but with poor eyesight and completely deaf now. She stays indoors too now. So mixed health overall. We want to do the right thing for her.

A lot of cats (including ours) have it and the best thing is definitely an extraction. When our cats have had it they've typically been no more than 12 or so, had all their teeth whipped out and lived into their 20s in some cases. I'm in the US and when elderly cats need anesthetics they usually do substantial testing of their internal systems to make sure that they are likely to withstand being put under. But 18 is pretty old and I would get really detailed advice from your vet before going the anaesthetic route.

Our last cat had this, but she was much younger, I think about five so possibly unusually young to have it. She went from licking her plate clean to flat refusing food overnight, which was a massive shock and worry (she was a greedy wee thing) and I immediately knew it was her teeth. We brought her to the vet the next day who recommended several extractions plus a scale and polish, then we had Metacam until that appointment a few days later. Afterwards we had more painkillers plus a mouthwash spray (it was like Corosdyl) for a week, and no dry food, then a checkup, and all fine.

Our vet said without treatment eating would have become progressively more painful - but we weren’t concerned about her age/anaesthetic so there was no debate about it. It did cost an absolute bomb as it wasn’t covered by our insurance. She was a happy girl once it was all over, and a fully paid up member of #cleanplateclub until her very final day when we had to have her pts last year with cancer (completely unrelated to teeth).

Thank you so much @Judystilldreamsofhorses and @VeryQuaintIrene for sharing your experiences - that's really helpful.

Our cat is also 18 and the vet said she has this but she also has kidney disease so we are undecided, she eats well and is quite jolly for her age but the anaesthetic is a bit worrying. The vet also said while she was under they could also scan her. The cost will be about £1500 for the teeth and the vet expects she only has a year or so, I just don't know either.

@SuperGinger Thank you, that sounds like a very similar situation. It's so hard to know what's best. Ours has a heart murmur, no kidney disease as far as we know so far, though I think they would do a blood test before proceeding with any anaesthetic, and they may well find something then. She is eating well and wasn't showing any signs of tooth discomfort until this week. She takes life at a gentle pace but is purry and seems happy. But I know she's very elderly. Both her brothers have passed away in the last 6-12 months. Such a dilemma.

There are such things as feline cardiologists, and our cat with a heart murmur had to go and see one before they would do dental work on him. $$$ of course!

My cat had this and had a lot of teeth extracted - he now probably has only half of them left. He did eat but hadn't seemed as enthusiastic or as happy as previously, but the instant the teeth were removed he couldn't wait for his dinner and he was much more playful so I think he must have been in pain. However, he was only 7. If he had been 18 I would have been a lot more apprehensive, I think it would depend on whether she was in pain or not.

Just to update - we booked our cat back in to see a very experienced vet today. He felt he really wouldn't recommend an anaesthetic or sedation for her, aged 18, frail and with a heart murmur, so we won't be having the teeth taken out. He's done some blood tests and as long as her kidneys and liver are in okay shape, she can be prescribed anti inflammatory pain relief going forward. Maybe antibiotics if she develops any infection. This feels like the right outcome. Just thought I would post it here in case it's helpful for anyone else with an elderly cat.

My little rescue boy is roughly 3 (potentially been on the streets for the majority or all his life so was expecting some extractions) and I’ve been told he has it. Just worried about how many teeth the poor thing is going to have left. He had a deep clean and polish and had 3 extractions and they identified 2 which were affected by this but due to his age and the level they were at advised to monitor. Hopefully I’ve made the right choice to do that. On the plus side his breath is now much fresher