Question:
I took my cat to the vet last week for his check-up.
He is a very cute black and white--Romeo. And he is a lover! The vet
wants him back to clean his teeth. Do you think that it's worth putting him
under sedation to do this?? What are others thoughts? Do you get your
cat's teeth cleaned?
Answer:
You don't say how old the cat is or how it's health is. I would not
do it if the cat is elderly or in poor health.
Otherwise if the cat is in good health or still young there should be
no problem cleaning the teeth.
Just had one of my cats teeth cleaned last week. It freaked me out when I
picked her up because she was out of it from the drugs. I admit I picked
her up earlier than the vet wanted me to but I figured she was better off
at home than in a cage.
I held her all night and within a day or two she was fine and seems
happier with the new clean teeth. She was dumped and adopted us two years
ago, so we estimate her age at about 4 or 5 years.
A couple of other options:
- clean your cats teetch yourself periodically (I do this)
- food for helping with dental issues
I forgot to say that he is a 3 year old cat in perfect health. He
has some tartar build-up and gingivitis.
I guess what really got me is that it is going to cost around $400 and I
didn't know if the vet was trying to pull one over on me or if it is really
necessary. If it's really necessary then of course I will do it in a
heartbeat!! I just wanted some other opinions.
The price seems pretty high to me, too. I had my cat Bonnie's teeth cleaned
back in February, and the fee was $300 Canadian (which is like, 3 dollars
U.S. LOL) It is definitely important to have this done, because bacteria
from infected teeth can get into your cat's bloodstream, and can affect his
heart and kidneys, giving you a whopper of a bill and much pain and
suffering to your kitty (and not to mention can be fatal). Anesthesia is
definitely necessary, and I don't believe any vet would do it without.
However, for a 3 year-old cat, he should be just fine. The vet would likely
do some tests to determine the safety of and what type of anesthetic to use
beforehand. Unchecked gingivitis can lead to infected teeth, pain and
tooth loss.
Call around to other vets and price-check. Maybe it's the going rate in
your area.
Absolutely! Your vet told you, heh? Too bad I brushed mine's teeth
with sobi :) for almost all his life, I'm sure he wouldn't have died
before 30. Now, he's only 15 and I doubt he's got more than 5 years to
go.
Oh well! Normally, in nature, cats die at about 8. In the city context
where he would have ended hadm"t he been brought to the local pet
shop, if he'd passed the 3 mouth mark, his life expectancy would have
been 2 years. So, even 15 years is already not that bad.
But, once again the complete recommandation should be "See your vet
and vote for Bush." Who cares for the budget? Keep the germs and Al
Qaeda out!
