anesthesia and the older cat

My Sophie is almost 17 & has the worst breath in 3 counties! She goes to the vet in about 6 weeks for blood-work (she's hyperthyroid). I'd like to get her teeth cleaned, but her age makes me hesitant. Does anyone have any advice/experience with an older cat being sedated?

extra care is needed... catheter fluids ... talk to the vet make sure your both cofortable ... If the vet has limited dealings with elderly kitties ask for a referral to one who does

Originally Posted by sharky

extra care is needed... catheter fluids ... talk to the vet make sure your both cofortable ... If the vet has limited dealings with elderly kitties ask for a referral to one who does

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I agree
Please keep us updated.

I'm going to be facing same thing with my cat smokey-est 16 yo but could be as old as 20 according to ex neighbor. I had him neutered in 2001 with no blood work or anything(he was a visiting stray and I just couldnt leave him wehn we moved so managed to grab hold of him and brought him to low cost place) He came through FINE...In am when I went to pick him up(they do a am drop off then come back in 24 hours and pickup) they had to come get cage from the exam room-he was screaming so loud to fight them off...hes pretty healthy-touch of arthritis...going to do full blood work and if all looks good set up a dental appt. also the clinic uses a shot to put cat out-my regulkar vet uses gas. RJ

Spot (who was also hyperthyroid) had several different surgeries/procedures, including a teeth cleaning, and he came through just fine. It is always a risk to put any animal under anesthesia, more so with older creatures, so make sure your vet is familiar with the best types of anesthesia and pre-anesthesia to use. It will probably be more expensive than doing the same procedure for a younger cat, because they usually give fluids and monitor the heart and kidneys more.

Teeth cleaning can help the overall health of the cat--in humans, bacteria from the mouth can damage the heart. Dental cleanings can also rid your cat of painful mouth problems that could lead to inappetance.

It's a risk that only you can decide whether to take. It's scarey waiting to hear that they came through okay, but it's often the best thing to keep them healthy.

My vet offers a "special" for senior dental cleanings. It used to be $289. and it included a full body function blood test that shows everything

I believe they used gas anesthesia instead of the injection type. They come out of that much easier.

I do trust my vet to do what's right for Sophie, even if it means no dental care at this point. Years ago I had Ms.Willie's teeth cleaned every year (she also had incredibly stinky breath); the anesthetic was hard on her--she was groggy for days, even tho' they lowered the amount they gave her each time --and she STILL had stinky breath!
Thanks for the input.

My one and only experience was when my 12 yr old went in for teeth cleaning. He had a no so good reaction from coming out of the anesthesia and I vowed not to do it again unless absolutely necessary.

My cat had to be put out a few times when she was in her late teens. Because she hated having anything done to her, he had to put her out just to take her blood.
He always used the gas anesthesia because he said they come out of it much faster and he never had a problem with it.

We have an 19 year old cat who comes in for routine teeth cleanings at the clinic. They put a catheter with IV fluids on him, and put him under, clean his teeth and bring him back up as soon as possible. We do a pre injection, and then use gas[so the gasing isn't so scarey].

If the blood work doesn't come back okay, your vet won't do it. Everyone can tell you any horror story in the world, however the circumstances for each animal is different, and you're only hearing one side of the story. Anything can happen to an animal of any age going under anesthesia, so you do need to be prepared, but not overly worried, if the vet thinks your cat will do fine, your cat will probably do fine.