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We're home. For those who get bored quickly, here's the short version. Merlin had all of his teeth extracted and he's recovering nicely. The girls have been sniffing at him but no hissing or swatting.
Now for the novel-length version.
When the dentist first took a look in Merlin's mouth he kept saying, "Oh my. Oh. Oh my." Then he showed me a series of pictures and X-rays of various forms of periodontal disease, not all of which applied to Merlin. When he got to the pictures of hyperplastic plasmacytic gingivitis he said, "This is what your kitty has, only his is worse."
The type of gingivitis Merlin has is probably an autoimmune response--he's allergic to the plaque on his teeth. Since it's genetic it's never going to go away and even brushing his teeth daily and having them cleaned frequently will not help. This is basically what I had been reading in my internet research the last few days. I was just hoping it wasn't really what he had.
The dentist was very thorough, went through the procedure with me step by step and named every single drug that he would be using. He mentioned metacam as a possibility and when I questioned that he said it can be given only once because continued use can cause liver and kidney failure. He did end up giving Merlin the metacam, so if he ever need pain meds in the future I have to be sure to tell the vet that he's had his once-in-a-lifetime dose.
Scheduling was a bit of a problem because they normally keep the kitties for 3-4 days ofter surgery, partly to make sure they're eating again. My problem was that I wouldn't be able to pick him up until next Monday because I have family coming in Wednesday night and my niece and I are running in a long-distance relay Friday and Saturday. The dentist didn't want to wait until next week because he felt Merlin would be in too much pain. He was amazed that Merlin was still eating anything.
Because I have experience with tube feedings (in human babies, not cats) he finally agreed to let me bring Merlin home today just a couple of hours after the surgery. He said that it's about 50/50 whether the kitties will start eating immediately after the surgery, so they always put in a feeding tube.
I got to pick Merlin up at 3:30 and they showed me his X-rays and lab work. The lab work was all good except the hematocrit was a little low. The doctor said it might have been because they had given him a little IV fluid before they drew the blood, or might be because his gums have been bleeding, or a combination. Anyway, I need to get it rechecked in a few weeks, but my own vet can do that.
The X-rays looked horrible. He had actually already lost most of the incisors in the front, which I hadn't noticed because I was concentrated on the back teeth. One of the molars just fell out when they started working on it. Almost all of the back teeth had resorptive areas, especially the lower teeth. That surprised me because I had thought from the look of the gums that the upper teeth were the worst. Several of the teeth had been eaten away so the root was completely exposed. My poor baby must have been in horrible pain and he wasn't letting me know.
The fangs were actually in good shape, but the dentist said that wouldn't last with the autoimmune problems. He said they might be okay for quite a while, or I could be back within six months to have them removed, so he went ahead and took those out too. He'd told me ahead of time that that was what he would do, so it wasn't a surprise.
So now I have my baby home with a feeding tube going directly into the esophagus. He has a soft wrap around his neck to keep him from pulling the tube out. Now all I have to do is stop Shareena from trying to groom it out.
I may not even have to use it if Merlin eats enough on his own, then my vet can take it out in two or three days. I put out some wet food and Merlin dove into like he'd been starved for days. I told him it was only abut 20 hours, but he didn't believe me. He didn't eat as much as usual at one sitting, but he keeps going back every little while for more.
I have a large dog crate that I'll put him in for the night. It's big enough for a bed, food and water, and a litter pan. That way it will keep the other cats away from him and I'll be able to monitor how much he eats.
I have clavamox (antibiotic) to give him for the next two weeks, and buprenex (pain med) for about a week. The one time I had to give him medication before he was really good about it. I hope it's the same this time.
Now all I have to do is find out if being toothless will disqualify him for showing.
Now for the novel-length version.
When the dentist first took a look in Merlin's mouth he kept saying, "Oh my. Oh. Oh my." Then he showed me a series of pictures and X-rays of various forms of periodontal disease, not all of which applied to Merlin. When he got to the pictures of hyperplastic plasmacytic gingivitis he said, "This is what your kitty has, only his is worse."
The type of gingivitis Merlin has is probably an autoimmune response--he's allergic to the plaque on his teeth. Since it's genetic it's never going to go away and even brushing his teeth daily and having them cleaned frequently will not help. This is basically what I had been reading in my internet research the last few days. I was just hoping it wasn't really what he had.
The dentist was very thorough, went through the procedure with me step by step and named every single drug that he would be using. He mentioned metacam as a possibility and when I questioned that he said it can be given only once because continued use can cause liver and kidney failure. He did end up giving Merlin the metacam, so if he ever need pain meds in the future I have to be sure to tell the vet that he's had his once-in-a-lifetime dose.
Scheduling was a bit of a problem because they normally keep the kitties for 3-4 days ofter surgery, partly to make sure they're eating again. My problem was that I wouldn't be able to pick him up until next Monday because I have family coming in Wednesday night and my niece and I are running in a long-distance relay Friday and Saturday. The dentist didn't want to wait until next week because he felt Merlin would be in too much pain. He was amazed that Merlin was still eating anything.
Because I have experience with tube feedings (in human babies, not cats) he finally agreed to let me bring Merlin home today just a couple of hours after the surgery. He said that it's about 50/50 whether the kitties will start eating immediately after the surgery, so they always put in a feeding tube.
I got to pick Merlin up at 3:30 and they showed me his X-rays and lab work. The lab work was all good except the hematocrit was a little low. The doctor said it might have been because they had given him a little IV fluid before they drew the blood, or might be because his gums have been bleeding, or a combination. Anyway, I need to get it rechecked in a few weeks, but my own vet can do that.
The X-rays looked horrible. He had actually already lost most of the incisors in the front, which I hadn't noticed because I was concentrated on the back teeth. One of the molars just fell out when they started working on it. Almost all of the back teeth had resorptive areas, especially the lower teeth. That surprised me because I had thought from the look of the gums that the upper teeth were the worst. Several of the teeth had been eaten away so the root was completely exposed. My poor baby must have been in horrible pain and he wasn't letting me know.
The fangs were actually in good shape, but the dentist said that wouldn't last with the autoimmune problems. He said they might be okay for quite a while, or I could be back within six months to have them removed, so he went ahead and took those out too. He'd told me ahead of time that that was what he would do, so it wasn't a surprise.
So now I have my baby home with a feeding tube going directly into the esophagus. He has a soft wrap around his neck to keep him from pulling the tube out. Now all I have to do is stop Shareena from trying to groom it out.
I have a large dog crate that I'll put him in for the night. It's big enough for a bed, food and water, and a litter pan. That way it will keep the other cats away from him and I'll be able to monitor how much he eats.
I have clavamox (antibiotic) to give him for the next two weeks, and buprenex (pain med) for about a week. The one time I had to give him medication before he was really good about it. I hope it's the same this time.
Now all I have to do is find out if being toothless will disqualify him for showing.
