help:I am afraid of the dentist

My cat Hooda needs dental work. She needs a few teeth removed. (they are worn down to the roots) She had her anal glands removed a year ago and it was bad. She was so sickly afterwards. From the antibiotics(Amox/clavulenate) . I thought i was going to lose her. I am afraid to take her back again! If any of you gals/guys take your cats in for dental work please tell me your storys. I should have nothing to fear ,right?

If Hoodas teeth are that bad, a dental is a good idea. If the roots and nerves become exposed, it can cause all sorts of problems. It's better for her in the long run if it's getting that bad.
If she had a problem last time, I would talk to the vet about using a defferent anestesia or a different antibiotic. THe good vets are willing to work with you to find things that won't cause problems as all cats are different.

About 2 1/2 years ago my then 13 year old cat, Midnight, needed to have her teeth cleaned, and several teeth also had to be pulled. The first thing that happened was that she was given a physical and pre-anesthesia blood was done to check the function of vital organs such as the kidneys and liver. During the actual dental procedure, the vet used a gas anesthesia which he said was safer to use for Midnight, due to her age, than an injectible anesthesia. I called to check on Midnight a half an hour after the procedure was completed and I was told she was already sitting up in her cage. When I picked Midnight up later that same afternoon, she was fully alert and there was no indication whatsoever that she had ever been under anesthesia. I can't remember the name of the antibiotic that was given, but Midnight was also able to take the entire 10 day course without experiencing any problems.

I agree with Sandie, if you have some concerns, the best thing to do is discuss them with your vet.

thank you sandie and lorie . I need encouragement. Thank you.

A gass anestesia rather than a injectable(intravenous) anestesia? are there any vet techs out there with a thought on this subject?

Where I work, we do treat the older kitties differently when they need dentistries or other surgeries. We use a different pre-anesthetic than usual, and then mask them with the isoflorine gas which we use to keep them unconscious throughout the procedure. This means less drugs in kittie's system, and a much faster recovery as the iso gas wears off within moments of being shut off.
Hope this helps!

mellanie, it does help. Thank you. I learned a bit about veterinary procedures. I can discuss this with my vet;isoflorine gas. pros and cons. thanks again . I am still afraid of the dentist tho. i am taking the most precious thing in my life and just handing her over to ......That elusive back room in the vets office that we never get to see.

If you are worried about what they do in surgery, again talk to the vet. I can tell you that I am sure there are some real jerks out there, but for every jerk there is a great vet. When we have animals in for surgery, we all treat them as if they were our own. Usually if you have an older or sick cat, they want to do bloodowork prior to surgery. They like to check the liver,kidneys, and blood cell counts.It gives them a good idea if thier systems can handle the drugs and surgery. As for the Isoflurane, Many vets will use it as the only anestesia in older or questionable cats because if something goes wrong, they can bring them right back out with oxygen.

I just wanted to add that vets use more than one kind of anesthetic on cats. Perhaps you could find out what type was used on your cat the last time and request another type be used.

it not so much the anestesia i am worried about. its afterward. how is she going to eat. she only touches the hard kibbles, no canned. what about pain? What about infection? How can a wrestle pills down her throat when her mouth is so hurting.? How long before she is comfortable again?

my little kahu was neutered a little while ago and my vet used gas and kahu acted like nothing had happened, i was so relieved that they dont use ketamine.

binkyhoo, you can get something from your veterinary clinic called a pill shooter, which will make it easier to pill the cat. Please ask your vet to show you how to do this correctly.

I can understand your concerns. I am always worried about them being in pain, and upseting them by giving them medications. There's usually ways for you to help them through things like this. I don't really like to use drug names on the net, so I am just going to tell you to ask the vet about possible pain medication after the dental. They have come very far with pain management in cats. You can also try several things with the medication. Some can be mixed into a liquid that tastes like chicken. You can also crush pills and put it in a little wet food or baby food. Sometimes, vets will put some steroids into a liquid antibiotic to help if there's some local pain in the mouth. Again, it's really helpful if you can talk with this vet about your concerns. If this vet doesn't seem too responsive, you can pop into other vets and see how they feel. It won't be easy on you or your baby, but you can make it a little less traumatic