Shel, Tux & Billy had dentals today. Shel has FORL.

Two of his crowns had to be removed as the roots had been completely resorbed. He must have been in so much pain for - how long???? I feel like SUCH a bad momma for not getting everyone dentals every year! This is what happens when you just look at the condition of the outside of the teeth the vet can see.

The boys aren't home yet. Tuxie wasn't done until around 4:30. They want us to pick them up at 7:00pm. Billy just needed the cleaning. Tuxie, I don't know yet.

Sorry about the bad news. I have no experience with dentals, so please forgive my ignorance, but how can they tell that the roots resorbed? X-ray?

I'm going to talk to my vet about a dental for Gadget since I want a lump removed from his back. In January he said that none of mine were in need of a dental, but Gadget is a little older and has some tartar.

Yep, they've been telling me for the last two years that they "could use" a dental - but given our need to prioritize expenses (between Lazlo's cancer and Flowerbelle's potential heart issues at the time) - they said there was just "some accumulation of tartar."

Yes, they can tell by x-ray, like when we go to the dentist.

I'm fuming right at the moment. We requested that in addition to the dentals, Tuxie have his hematocrit tested (because of his history with anemia).

His hematocrit was 22%. Granted, they ran it in house. We suspect they goofed it up. But CLEARLY they did the dental BEFORE the HCT. If his hct was 22% and they knew it, there is no way they would have - or should have - done the dental.

I asked the doc about this. She said they couldn't draw his blood (that I believe, this happens to be the doctor that we hate, and the vet tech he likes wasn't on duty today, which is not normal for her. She's part of the reason we even scheduled the appointment for today. ). They had to sedate him to get the blood, and at that point they "could see that his dental was going to be quick and easy." Um, really? They needed at least the x-rays to do that. Running an HCT in house takes about 10 minutes?

Whatever.

She wasn't familiar with his history fighting anemia. Granted, most of it was done by a different vet at a different practice (one of the reasons we physically moved, in fact!). But some of the treatment was done there - we were taking him daily for shots of nupigen and every other day for shots of epigen for MONTHS, and that's right there, in his records.

Sorry. Just needed to vent.

We're taking Flowerbelle to see this vet (45 min away vs. 7). I guess we'll be bringing Tuxedo too.

The good news is Tuxie just needed his teeth cleaned, like Billy.

No one had any gingivitis. So I'm not going to give Sheldon the antibiotics they sent home with me (I told them NO ANTIBIOTIC SHOTS, period). If he had an abscess or infection, fine. But he doesn't. They don't give people antibiotics "just because" they had teeth pulled.

Sorry you had such a frustrating day at the vet's. I feel like I have very little faith left in vets or doctors for that matter.

Don't feel like a bad momma. You've done so much for your cats. You do need to prioritize, expenses especially with so many cats. There was no way to know or predict what would happen with Sheldon's roots. It was caught in time before anything else happened, and I'm sure Sheldon will be fine soon. So go ahead and vent to us. We understand. But it will be okay. Don't beat yourself up too much with remorse.

I agree, don't beat yourself up. We're all just doing the best that we can. I haven't been to a dentist since 2009...thank goodness I'm blessed in that department! But like so many others, I have to prioritize expenses.

So did Shel give you any indication that he was having any issues?  I  agree that you shouldn't beat yourself up for something you had no idea was happening .  What's done is done and it's all fixed up now.   Gosh, I had no idea they took xrays as part of a dental! 

But what about Tuxie?  Guess you'll find out about the next steps when you take him in with Flowerbelle? 

No, we couldn't tell he was in any pain. There was no change that we could see. No drooling - nothing.

Thank you for the support.

At this point, I'm more upset about the vet having gone ahead with Tuxie's dental. He's fine, and I'm thankful for that. But I'm very upset that they would go ahead and do a dental without knowing the HCT, because clearly that's what happened.

Turns out the pre-anesthetic blood work they do does NOT include any CBC components. So it's not like the vet saw a good RBC number, so discounted the HCT for some reason.

And as an 11-year old, technically he's a geriatric kitty. They don't perform any CBC tests as part of the pre-anesthetic blood work for geriatric kitties? They ONLY check the liver & kidney stuff - and glucose (for diabetes)? They don't make sure the cat isn't anemic? SERIOUSLY? And for a cat with a history of anemia? REALLY?

We're taking Tuxie and Flowerbelle to see Stan on Monday. But I'm livid, quite frankly. And the owner of the practice that did the dental is going to spend some time with us next time we see him, because NONE of this is OK.

Thankfully we didn't have to learn any lessons the hard way. But they need to avoid a patient that does.

Oh my gosh!  It's bad enough having your kitties go through that without having a doctor you hate.  What does it mean to have the roots resorbed?  When Swanie had his dental she told me he had two teeth resorbed, but that it was common, and I didn't even think to ask what it means.  I'm so sorry little Shel had to have teeth removed.  And what the heck - I would be madder than a wet hen about Tuxie.  It's a real shame you have a vet that you hate. I hope he's going to be okay.

It's not a vet we use - but it is a vet at the practice where there is a vet we really like. I just didn't know she DID dentals, let alone would be doing these! nfire: The vet we like doesn't do any procedures of any kind.

But what the heck - we're going to have them note on all of our cat's files that this vet is not to perform ANYTHING on ANY of our cats, unless we come in, unscheduled, with an absolute EMERGENCY and it's life or death.

...but the bottom line is that

A) Now I know I need to ask in advance for ANYTHING being done who my options are to do it; and

B) I suspect that for any future procedures. we'll just drive the 45 minutes to see the great surgeon vet we love, Stan. Yes, he does the dentals himself.

As to FORL, here is information: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/01/17/teeth-resorption.aspx

It's actually quite painful for the cats.

And yes, thankfully Tuxie is fine! I don't like living in the world of "what if," but... I want to speak to the owner, because this shouldn't happen for older kitties, or kitties with a history of anything that causes anemia. I don't want the practice to have to learn the hard way with someone else's pet!

LDG said:

It's not a vet we use - but it is a vet at the practice where there is a vet we really like. I just didn't know she DID dentals, let alone would be doing these!

The vet we like doesn't do any procedures of any kind.

But what the heck - we're going to have them note on all of our cat's files that this vet is not to perform ANYTHING on ANY of our cats, unless we come in, unscheduled, with an absolute EMERGENCY and it's life or death.

...but the bottom line is that

A) Now I know I need to ask in advance for ANYTHING being done who my options are to do it; and

B) I suspect that for any future procedures. we'll just drive the 45 minutes to see the great surgeon vet we love, Stan. Yes, he does the dentals himself.

As to FORL, here is information: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/01/17/teeth-resorption.aspx

It's actually quite painful for the cats.

Click to expand...

Oh no! I am going to have to ask my vet about Swanie and if we should be doing anything else for him.  I feel really bad now, he's never shown any problems.

I have learned that's it's good to ask questions about everything.  I didn't aways, but my vet is great and will answer any question I have.  She doesn't do dentals either, but she brings in a doctor who specializes in dentals and other minor surgeries, and I trust my vet.  She explained the whole process to me (down to the fact that to keep the cat warm, they put them on a heated blanket and wrap them in bubble wrap!

I would probably do the same and drive the extra way to get a vet I was comfortable with. 

My vet told me that one time they had a cat have problems when they were doing a dental.  They stopped and called the owner.  The owner actually wanted to know why they didn't finish the dental first!  She said well you can have a dental or you can have a cat!  I can't believe anyone would complain that the vet was responsible enough to stop the procedure and save the cat!  I assured them that I wanted a cat, and if they had any problems and stopped it they would hear nothing from me but thank you!!!

LDG said:

And yes, thankfully Tuxie is fine! I don't like living in the world of "what if," but... I want to speak to the owner, because this shouldn't happen for older kitties, or kitties with a history of anything that causes anemia. I don't want the practice to have to learn the hard way with someone else's pet!

Click to expand...

Thank goodness about Tuxie! And yes, the owner should know what's going on in their clinic.

We saw Stan today. He was positively BEAMING at how great Tuxie looked (and felt. :lol3: ).

He was very upset to find out the dental was done despite a 22% hematocrit.

We ran it in the office (and he's had blood work sent out). It was 45%. Stan ran into the room with the card you use to read the HCT when you run it in-house, and said he's pretty sure he knows what happened. When you don't have a full vial of blood, you have to DOUBLE the number that comes up. It is a volume measurement, and you have to adjust it if you don't have a full vial. So that 22% was most likely 44%. BUT... that doesn't excuse the dental, because the Doc believed the HCT was 22%, and that's what is in his records.

Oh. And Tuxie did not need to be sedated to get this blood draw. He's never needed it before...

Well....GREAT news that he's not anemic after all, nuh?

But the news just keeps getting worse and worse on the Vet who did the dental Have you gone in yet to give them a HUGE piece of your mind? Not a laughing matter as they really need to know what they did and even though everything turned out OK, they need to pay much closer attention as things could have gone in a completely different direction.

I haven't yet, Sally.

I've been thinking it's probably best to put it in writing. That makes it more official, and they have a record of it. And then I can pick words, and not sound so upset, and frame it in the context of being concerned for other pets. They've done so much for us over the years, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't say something. Just means I want to make sure it gets said "right."