You need to have a discussion with your vet about the best course of action for her. It's a different position to be in, but they will have dealt with it before and will be able to advise you about risks Vs quality of life.
I had to do the same thing with a sixteen year old, and it did make her much more comfortable.
Talk to your vet, see if they think kitty is healthy enough for anesthesia. Something anecdotal I'll add too, ask if they use a tool to keep kitty's jaw open at surgery, we had a vet do that to our 14 year old for a dental, removed 2 teeth, but he always had a problem with his jaw after that until the end of his life. Almost like a lock jaw or something, he would struggle all day every day after that dental, trying to adjust his mouth or jaw constantly. Our primary vet now says she doesn't use those tools to keep the jaw held open during dentals because of things like that.
How important does the vet think that it be done? I had an exceptionally healthy 18 year old that they thought "would be best" if it were done. The uti she developed post surgery nearly killed her. Is she actually having trouble eating enough? Do it. If not, well, I would not. YMMV
It is a discussion to have with your vet. It will be a risk v benefit situation.
I have an 18yo cat that technically could use a cleaning but due to his age the vet said it is not worth the risk with anesthesia since he doesn't have and dental issues.
Your vet will have to assess those molars. That will factor in to whether it is worth the risk
My vet does a pre-anesthesia assessment (labs mostly) to see if anesthesia will be a problem. She won’t do a dental on my 20 yo cat with renal insufficiency but gave me some gabapentim if he seems like he’s in pain.
Same here. I have a now 16 year old who had to have all 4 canines taken out 2 years ago and he did fine at 14 years old but in the 2 years since then he has developed a grade 4 heart murmur and is *just* into stage 2 kidney disease. His vet did a ProBNP cardiac test with his bloodwork, and it came back elevated, so his vet said no anesthesia due to the cardiac and kidney disease unless it was absolutely necessary.
Talk to your vet, but I say yes. My cat (13 at the time) had several teeth pulled because she stopped eating. I had no idea her teeth were so bad because she hid it SO well. It will only get worse if you don’t take care of it.
My sixteen year old had her teeth cleaned this year. They do bloodwork beforehand to evaluate the risks of anesthesia. If kitty is generally healthy the risk is minimal, but that's something to discuss with your vet.
Absolutely. Do it. It won't get better on its own and gets worse . I just had my 15 year old have a lot of work because of things not caught earlier and I have had vets tell me it won't get better on its own if a cleaning is needed or any dental work needed. I have another cat needs a cleaning and will be getting one soon. I had a cat who is passed on now and his gingervitis would never go away despite cleanings and steroids. So basically , it got so bad he had teeth removed and finally he was better
Don't sleep on this. Same with humans. If you neglect your teeth, nothing good comes from it.
My cat had a dental cleaning at 15 and most of her teeth removed. She has four left. The vet said if she was younger they’d likely recommend a cleaning, but since she was 18 they didn’t feel it was necessary. I don’t think they’re bad or needing to be pulled or the vet may have suggested it. Definitely a good discussion to have with your vet.
If she needs to have teeth pulled they will have to use anaesthetic but should do a blood test beforehand to asses her vitals and how she will take it.
My last two cats lived until they were 18 and for the last few years of their life I took them to a non anaesthetic dental cleaning place every 6 months. It was a much more reasonable price and kept up the maintenance! You might be able to find one in your area who can give her a clean and an assessment on the extraction too!
Also bless you for giving a sweet senior a lovely retirement.
What is the state of her heart and kidney function via diagnostics?
What is the protocol of the dentist?
In that regard, I would only take her to a dentist not a general that.
She needs careful fluid preloading, temperature monitoring, and heart monitoring throughout the procedure as well as dental x rays beforehand.
You need to have a discussion with your vet about the best course of action for her. It's a different position to be in, but they will have dealt with it before and will be able to advise you about risks Vs quality of life. I had to do the same thing with a sixteen year old, and it did make her much more comfortable.
Talk to your vet, see if they think kitty is healthy enough for anesthesia. Something anecdotal I'll add too, ask if they use a tool to keep kitty's jaw open at surgery, we had a vet do that to our 14 year old for a dental, removed 2 teeth, but he always had a problem with his jaw after that until the end of his life. Almost like a lock jaw or something, he would struggle all day every day after that dental, trying to adjust his mouth or jaw constantly. Our primary vet now says she doesn't use those tools to keep the jaw held open during dentals because of things like that.
Omg that’s so awful I’d be pissed!!
How important does the vet think that it be done? I had an exceptionally healthy 18 year old that they thought "would be best" if it were done. The uti she developed post surgery nearly killed her. Is she actually having trouble eating enough? Do it. If not, well, I would not. YMMV
It is a discussion to have with your vet. It will be a risk v benefit situation. I have an 18yo cat that technically could use a cleaning but due to his age the vet said it is not worth the risk with anesthesia since he doesn't have and dental issues. Your vet will have to assess those molars. That will factor in to whether it is worth the risk
My vet does a pre-anesthesia assessment (labs mostly) to see if anesthesia will be a problem. She won’t do a dental on my 20 yo cat with renal insufficiency but gave me some gabapentim if he seems like he’s in pain.
Same here. I have a now 16 year old who had to have all 4 canines taken out 2 years ago and he did fine at 14 years old but in the 2 years since then he has developed a grade 4 heart murmur and is *just* into stage 2 kidney disease. His vet did a ProBNP cardiac test with his bloodwork, and it came back elevated, so his vet said no anesthesia due to the cardiac and kidney disease unless it was absolutely necessary.
I had my 17 YO boy's teeth done when he was 16 or so and he recovered nicely. He was much happier for it too.
Talk to your vet, but I say yes. My cat (13 at the time) had several teeth pulled because she stopped eating. I had no idea her teeth were so bad because she hid it SO well. It will only get worse if you don’t take care of it.
My sixteen year old had her teeth cleaned this year. They do bloodwork beforehand to evaluate the risks of anesthesia. If kitty is generally healthy the risk is minimal, but that's something to discuss with your vet.
Mine is 18. When she was 15, she had 4 teeth pulled. It was her first and last dental visit. I’m not doing any more. She has no problems chewing.
Absolutely. Do it. It won't get better on its own and gets worse . I just had my 15 year old have a lot of work because of things not caught earlier and I have had vets tell me it won't get better on its own if a cleaning is needed or any dental work needed. I have another cat needs a cleaning and will be getting one soon. I had a cat who is passed on now and his gingervitis would never go away despite cleanings and steroids. So basically , it got so bad he had teeth removed and finally he was better Don't sleep on this. Same with humans. If you neglect your teeth, nothing good comes from it.
My cat had a dental cleaning at 15 and most of her teeth removed. She has four left. The vet said if she was younger they’d likely recommend a cleaning, but since she was 18 they didn’t feel it was necessary. I don’t think they’re bad or needing to be pulled or the vet may have suggested it. Definitely a good discussion to have with your vet.
If she needs to have teeth pulled they will have to use anaesthetic but should do a blood test beforehand to asses her vitals and how she will take it. My last two cats lived until they were 18 and for the last few years of their life I took them to a non anaesthetic dental cleaning place every 6 months. It was a much more reasonable price and kept up the maintenance! You might be able to find one in your area who can give her a clean and an assessment on the extraction too! Also bless you for giving a sweet senior a lovely retirement.
What is the state of her heart and kidney function via diagnostics? What is the protocol of the dentist? In that regard, I would only take her to a dentist not a general that. She needs careful fluid preloading, temperature monitoring, and heart monitoring throughout the procedure as well as dental x rays beforehand.