Dentals and sedation

My Dusty is about 7-8 yrs. old. She was diagnosed about 18 mos ago with CRF. She has recently been to the vet for bad ear infections, and has been on prednisone and tresaderm for the past week. Giving her the meds has been very stressful for both of us. The vet also said she needs her teeth cleaned, which they would do under sedation.

Since she has not been well, she has lost weight and is down to about 6 lbs. She needs to go in for a recheck to see if the meds are clearing up her infection. I'm sure the vet will recommend a follow-up blood panel for her CRF as well as the dental, which he will do under sedation. They cannot draw her blood without putting her out either.

One another thread I saw where several said they would never do a dental on their cat because of bad experiences in the past. So, please tell me. Should I allow the dental and blood work and have her put under for this, or should I just forget it?

My overall feeling is that her quality of life is more important to me than the quantity of years. I don't want to do anything that will cause her to distrust me or fear me. She is such a sweet and loving kitty, and her affection towards me means more to me than anything. But I also don't want her to be in pain or to suffer in any way. What should I do?

I would definitely wait and get over the trauma of this infection before doing anything else. The stress of being sick is enough to further stress the body and since the kidneys are the body's filtering system, you want to get those toxins out of the body before adding more. I've never had a bad dental experience with my cat, and I encourage you to have the dental, but I would definitely wait and let your cat's body recover and get healthy.

It's a personal opinion, I think.

I have done several dentals & have another needing to be done this summer (on Squishy, who is approx 18 years old).

Tab was 9 when he dental was done a year ago. Fafeena was 15-16 years old when her dental was done this past fall. I haven't had any issues with them at all. And both of them had to have dentals, their teeth were that bad.

Thing is, bad teeth affect the whole body. Not just mouth pain. All that bacteria from the bad teeth and gums goes into the blood stream and affects everything, especially kidneys and heart.

Of course she can't have the procedure while she is still on the prednisone, I don't think. And I'm not a vet, and don't know your kitty.

But when my Ootay , was 17 1/2, with CRF, Megacolon, hyperthyroid, High blood pressure, heart murmur, arthritis, and one stroke (so far) she was having a lot of mouth pain.

A dental was needed to continue her quality of life. It was either that or let her go, because her mouth HURT. I went for the dental, she did great, and she enjoyed 9 more happy months with me.

Those extra months were important to me especially for Tolly. He was deeply bonded and dependent on Ootay. I was glad he was able to have her a while longer.

My vet uses a fast acting gas anesthesia. Sevorflurane. Some vets prefer the Isoflurane as it is a deeper anesthesia.

This is all things to discuss with your vet of course.

Keep us posted. I won't go to crazy lengths to selfishly keep a cat with me, but a dental can make a HUGE difference in a cat's entire outlook. Those ear infections are probably at least partly related to dental disease.

With her age, I would have the dental, although I would speak to your vet regarding timing, cos of her meds, although steroids aren't that good for kidney's, so I am a bit surprised at the vet using them. I have never had an issue with a dental, despite all of mine being older than her, and one last year wasn't in any state to have a dental (17, hyper-t, raised liver values, majorly underweight), but he couldnt eat, so I gave him the chance, and he pulled through with no probs. I have just had a mouth infection leaving me unable to eat solid foods for nearly a week, it is no fun at all, so I would always recommend getting teeth sorted.

I would do the dental.

Talk to them about putting her on fluids/IV catheter maybe 24hrs before the procedure. That way she is well hydrated. Then they could clean her teeth the next morning, and leave the catheter in so she would be getting 2 days of diuresis.

Also if they can't draw blood without sedating her, you may as well just put her under for her teeth and draw the blood then. Even reversible sedation, which isn't full anesthesia can affect the kidneys. If it already has to be done, you may as well just get the teeth out of the way.

Originally Posted by Plebayo

I would do the dental.

Talk to them about putting her on fluids/IV catheter maybe 24hrs before the procedure. That way she is well hydrated. Then they could clean her teeth the next morning, and leave the catheter in so she would be getting 2 days of diuresis.

Also if they can't draw blood without sedating her, you may as well just put her under for her teeth and draw the blood then. Even reversible sedation, which isn't full anesthesia can affect the kidneys. If it already has to be done, you may as well just get the teeth out of the way.

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good point about the IV fluids. I agree.