Chumley goes in for his dental Tuesday

...his non-anesthetic dental, I should say. When we were in last month, I forgot to bring the info I printed out from the http://www.fivtherapy. site. His (holistic) vet asked us to just send it to her. So we have a half hour consult with her to discuss what we're going to do going forward... and then we'll start to tackle his gingivitis by beginning with the dental.

I was supposed to try treating his gums with honey... but I can't do it! I have a baby tooth brush AND a finger cover kind of brush... and he loves being "petted" with both on his cheeks - but his gums are sensitive. He loves eating the babyfood that got wiped on him - kind of on his gums. I started trying to train him with the babyfood... But I'm NOT good at this, so we'll also have to discuss other options after he gets his dental... if they're able to do it!

But Chum is doing GREAT! He doesn't overgroom at all anymore, he's not itchy/scratchy, his fur is all grown back in - except on his abdomen, and even there it's almost all the way grown back. He's getting more and more comfortable here, and moves around with much more ease than he did. He is SUCH a playful boy, and purrs a lot now with the head rubs we give him. He still doesn't like hands very much... which is part of why Tuesday morning is going to be so .... interesting.

Thanks, Carolina, for fixing the link to the FIV therapy site.

And Pam, WE'VE MISSED YOU!

Carolina, I had the same questions about the non-anesthetic dental. Of course - everyone worries about putting their pet under anesthesia for anything, even routine stuff. I also worried especially about Chum - because I felt the stress would offset any benefit of not using an anesthetic. But his (holistic) vet reassured us - they've worked with these people and this procedure for many years (they specialize in this, and provide the service to vet practices around the country. From their website, it's been 20 years. They're from CA and practice at local vets around the country. At Chum's vet, they're only there two days twice a year, and the slots go quickly. We just happened to see her the day after they scheduled the visit and they still had a couple of openings).

She KNOWS Chumley's background - and he was a biter. But he's great at the vet, doesn't complain, and lets everyone handle him just fine.... She knows he was at least three (if not four) years old when rescued and he was a feral kitty. She's convinced he'll do just fine.

Here's information on the people who do it and what they do: http://houndstoothpetdental.com/

If you look through the FAQs, the state that they know how to work with biters and fearful pets. Obviously they don't claim to have a 100% success rate - but it doesn't cost more than the dental with anesthesia, and as it looks like he doesn't need any teeth pulled, we figured we'd take her advice. As far as we're concerned, she's already worked miracles for him, so no reason not to trust her on this.

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Strange, there's an additional component re: treating his gums. If there's an option that doesn't require smearing something on his gums, we'd like to discuss it with his vet. There's another dynamic we forgot to consider, and that's Sheldon. Shelly is normally our ambassador kitty, but once it sank in that Chumley wasn't temporary... he became very upset and jealous. We had enough of a problem with him being aggressive to Chumley that we contacted an animal communicator to help us work with them, because we weren't able to resolve the problem ourselves (and that's not usual for us). She was REALLY able to help with the situation. But all the individual attention Chum was getting during our attempts caused an unhappy setback.

To work with Chumley for this process, he needs to be in the bathroom (a contained space), and our work with Chum we started with baby food... even though we gave EVERYONE the "baby food" treat... it just drove Shel insane that Chum was getting... extra attention? Something Shelly wasn't? But it increased Shelly's aggression towards Chumley.

So... if it must be, we'll do it. But we'd like to find out if there is an alternative.

If I remember from our last visit, the next step is antibiotics. The problem is the best ones to treat gingivitis are liquid, and I can't get liquids in Chum, just pills. I think she said we'll try the Convenia, but it's not great for gingivitis either.

But they do all get "alone time" in the bathroom. Spook gets her teeth brushed (she's the only one so far) - but she loves it. I think it's just Shel knows we're in there with babyfood.... (I tried letting everyone have some of the raw honey, but none of them eats it on their own LOL, so getting it on Chum's gums without getting him used to the process with something he does like isn't happening).

But yes, he's bitey to begin with.

Oooo, thanks Carolina, that's great to know! We'll probably try the convenia first then.

Budget? What budget? I don't mind not eating for a few weeks....

I'm great at cooking rice in the microwave. I never ate rice with cream cheese, but I do like it with parmesan!

Thanks. I'm sure he'll do fine. Whether or not he'll get the dental is to be seen!

His dental is scheduled for 11:30am ET.

He LOOKS like a big teddy bear, but doesn't like to be cuddled (yet). He likes being petted with my head... but I don't think I'll be able to rub his cheeks with my head while they're working on his mouth.

Another thanks for the vibes!

Yes, that's part of the process, I think? I'll let you know tomorrow LOL.

All of our other kitties are comforted by my sticking my hand in the crate and rubbing their cheeks when we drive to the vet. But Chum doesn't like hands yet, so it was REALLY stupid of me to think he'd be comforted by my sticking my hand in the crate to pet his cheeks! But thank you for reminding me - no sticking my hand in the crate!