Teeth cleaning/removing

Hi, I've been a member here for a few years, but not active for a long time, however, I knew where to turn with this question.

Ozzy is at least 13 years old. We adopted him from rescue 10 years ago, he had been a stray, and was judged to be around 3 years old. Although I think rescue centres do err on the younger side, especially on hard to home cats like he was. So, he could be a little older.

Anyway, he has been getting greasy patches on his fur, and although he's a big cat, he does seem to be looking thinner around his hips. 

When I took him for his routine annual jabs, I mentioned these things. She dismissed the narrower hips, due to his overall size, said he was feeling a little stiff in the joints, but nothing needing treatment yet, and looking at his teeth, said they needed seeing to, and the greasiness was probably due to him licking infection onto his fur.

So we plan to book him in to have his teeth cleaned and if needed removed. But I always worry about general anaesthetic. Since his injection, and de worming, his coat seems to have lost the greasiness. And he seems in good health. 

So, what's the general thought on tooth work? does it help? Is it worth the risk? And any natural things that might help in the long run with his joint stiffness? I was wondering about getting cod liver oil for him.

Thanks in advance. :-)

If your vet told you his teeth are infected, I'd take that seriously and have them removed.  While I understand what you mean about anaesthetic, not having necessary dental work done is  dangerous, and can lead to cats stopping eating because they are in too much pain, among other things.

Has he had a bad reaction to anaesthetics in the past? If not I'd proceed with the dental work without hesitation.

I agree with the dental work.  Not having it done can be worse than having it done.  And they should check him out first and during the dental to monitor him to make sure he's holding up well while he's under anesthesia.

As far as his creaky joints go, you could use cod liver oil, but you have to be very careful with that, as given in the wrong amounts can be toxic.  Check with your Vet as to how much and how frequently.  Krill Oil is supposed to be great for arthritic cats, and I've given up to 500 mg capsules (opened and squeezed onto their food) . Not all cats like it, though, so that's a consideration.  Really, salmon oil, sardine oil, any type of fish oil should be ok, in limited amounts. 

Also, chicken feet, ground up, is supposed to be REALLY good!