Patricia's first appointment

I finally took Patricia to the vet Wilbur's dermatologist recommended. My assumption was she needs the FVRCP vaccine so I should wait until July to take her in. Good news: he agreed she does not need that shot for the rest of her life when I told him she never goes outside.

He asked me if Patricia has recently had a blood panel. I told him, "Several years ago." His response: Senior cats should get them every year even if they appear healthy. So she got that done. Results are normally available in one day, but because of the holiday (Independence Day if you are not American), I have to wait until Thursday.

After seeing her gums are bleeding, the vet suggested cleaning her teeth. I told him her last vet would have done that, but said she is too old.. He said if the cat is in good health, age does not matter. So in January, she will have dental work done.

I asked him about fur loss around the eyes. He said that happens to other senior cats and just means she is an old kitty. He also saw the little mole-like  bump on the right side of her head and called it a cyst. I told him she has had it several years and never changed in any way, so he is not worried about it.

He also asked me what she is eating. I told him she won't eat canned food anymore, but the dry food is Blue Buffalo. He said BB is very good but I should try to get her eating canned food again.

Do your vets agree with my new one about blood panels and dental work?

Err...  Why January and not July or August for her dental?

Yes, agree on the blood panel. If you catch renal failure very early, before there are any symptoms whatsoever, it makes a big difference to how many quality years you can add to your cat's life.  Plus, (based on my own experiences) they will see things like a slight increase in WBC which can indicate an early infection or inflammation. 

If the blood test comes back normal, there is no reason to wait for your cat to have a dental, in fact the earlier, the better. My Sam, who has been in renal failure for three years and is about 14 now, just went through 2 hours of dental surgery (gas anesthetic only) and it greatly improved her qualify of life.
 

OrientalSlave said:

Why January and not July or August for her dental?

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The vet said do it in six months. I don't have a job yet, so putting it off until I get one would help me pay for it.

I agree that an older cat doesn't need any shots. Good vet! And, yes, she should have a senior panel done, especially before anesthetic. And the new anesthetics are way safer than the old ones, so even if her kidneys are a bit worn she should still be OK. Bad teeth can definitely cause all kinds of problems so taking care of that should be a priority.

The hospital even says on its website they use gas anthesthesia. I don't know why that is better, but it must be for the hospital to let everyone know it.

Something else my vet told me was because fleas live in Florida all year, I should either look for them every week or apply a topical bug killer. Sounds like I need to buy a flea comb and Frontline.

Gas anesthesia is safer because once they turn the gas off, it's off, and the cat wakes up very quickly. There are no residual effects. Injectable anesthetics need to be filtered through the organs and it can be a real strain on an aging body. It took Sonja 3 days to recover from her dental .

Yeah, fleas can be a real problem in tropical areas. I hate to use pesticides on older cats, but of course fleas are dangerous, too. But don't treat unnecessarily--get a flea comb and check her every day. If you never find any fleas or fleas dirt, great, maybe you're super lucky. But at first sign of fleas or flea dirt (little black specks that turn red if you put them in water), definitely treat her. I prefer Advantage and Revolution over Frontline, but that's a personal preference.