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. :-)
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. :-)