Questions- dentals, bloodwork, & distemper shots

Is it true that cats should have bloodwork done before a dental to ensure they'll be okay under anesthesia?
And if so - do you think I could have their baseline senior bloodwork done at the same time to minimize cost and trips to the vet?
What exactly does baseline senior bloodwork involve, anyway?
Do the cats only need antibiotics if they're getting teeth removed, or should they have them regardless?

Also, one of my adult kitties goes outside but is restricted to our yard by an Invisible Fence. Do you think he should have a distemper vaccine? I did a search here and found some unpleasant things about the vaccine.

It's a good idea to get bloodwork done to make sure the kidneys are functioning well enough to handle the anaesthesia, yes, I do believe you can tell them to do a senior panel with the same blood.

A senior panel gets a baseline on key organ functions and establishes what your cat's normal numbers are in case of later illness, it will also help to detect any current issues your cat may have.

ALL cats should have a distemper vaccine, feline distemper is a very heartbreaking illness that is fairly easily passed.
An invisible fence may keep your cat in, but they don't keep other cats/animals out.

Why not just ask for the baseline bloodwork before the dental? Then they don't need to do the pre-anesthetic bloodwork. If your cat was a young cat, then I wouldn't do the pre-anesthetic bloodwork but since she's a senior, then I would do the baseline bloodwork just to get an idea of where she's at. Most of the time, the pre-anesthetic bloodwork is just for more money. It has rarely prevented or delayed some surgeries from being done in my huge 4.5 month experience (I'm being facetious in saying 'huge experience').

I'm not sure about your other questions however. I know at the animal hospital where I work, they give antibiotics regardless to avoid any problems. Whether it's necessary if no teeth are taken out, I couldn't say...sorry.

I would definitely recommend getting BW before the dental if you've got a senior. The baseline BW will also check what the pre anesthetic BW would, so you shouldn't have to do both or pay for both.

The reason antibiotics are given after teeth are pulled is it is very easy for a cat's mouth to get infected. The open areas from where the teeth were pulled just invite infection. If no teeth are pulled and it wasn't a very severe dental (meaning if there are no open wounds from bad gums or something), I personally don't think antibiotics are necessary. Talk to your vet about it though and see their opinion.

Definitely do bloods, they can show up things that you wouldnt know about otherwise, but there is no need to do 2 kinds of bloods, as the pre-anaesthetic will show liver and kidney values - you can always ask for them to take a bit extra to send off for a thyroid check, but they can tell if that needs to be done by the liver values. I wouldnt do them in advance, as normally you have to fast for bloods, so doing them at the same time as the dental means they only have to be fasted once.

As for the distemper vaccine---has your cat EVER had a distemper shot? If he had one after 6 months of age, he's probably immune. There's no reason to repeat shots every year. If he's never had a distemper vaccine, I would definitely recommend it.

Yes, I would get the bloodwork done before a dental.

As far as the distemper vaccine, check with your vet for their recommendation.