Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Feline Oral Hygene

At Pepper the Cat's last vet visit the doctor said that his teeth needed some maintenance.  The first openings they had were this week, so we scheduled the procedure for today.

Cat dental work is done under general anesthesia.  The instructions are the same as for humans having a procedure done, including no food or drink after midnight.  Since it would be too hard to explain to Pepper why he wasn't getting his first meal today, last night after dinner Hubby Tony dropped him off at the vet's office.  This morning I kept looking around for him, then remembering he wasn't here.  Jackson Cat couldn't decide if he was concerned that his brother was gone, or happy that he didn't have to share the patches of sun.

I got a call from the vet about 11:30.  She told me that Pepper had two teeth that needed to be extracted and asked for my permission to do the work.  After I gave the OK, the vet said they'd complete the job, give the rest of the teeth a good cleaning, and call me when the job was done.  A little after 2:00 I learned that Pepper was recuperating nicely and we could pick him up any time after 4:00.

Tony stopped and got the cat on his way home from work.  He came into the house with the cat carrier in one hand.  In the other hand he had a bag holding pain medicine, an antibiotic, and a discharge instruction sheet.  Pepper looked pitiful.  He had one leg bandaged where the IV had been, and when Tony set him down he couldn't walk in a straight line.  It took him five minutes, but he managed to climb upstairs to his water bowl (but was unable to jump up on the counter to reach it). I put the bowl on the floor.  In addition to drinking out of the bowl, he also stood in it.  He was so funny that Tony and I spread a blanket on the bedroom floor and had a picnic dinner there while we watched.

Starting tomorrow, we have to give him the two medicines each day until they're gone.  Fortunately, both are liquid, which I find easier to administer.  For the next ten days Pepper will switch over to a canned food diet.  The sutures in his mouth will dissolve on his own.  At the bottom of the instructions the vet mentioned that Pepper could start a regular home tooth cleaning program in two weeks.  

He's never had that done; can you teach an old cat new tricks?

Five years ago today: You Can Count On It

9 comments:

  1. I've never heard of cats having dental surgery! I hope you have good insurance!

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    1. I WISH we had pet insurance! At least the procedures were less expensive than corresponding human ones would be.

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  2. yikes! Sounds rough for you and Pepper.

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    1. Yes, now that the kids are gone the cats have become their surrogates.

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  3. You'll probably succeed better than I did. I cannot give my cat a pill by hand and cannot fool him into taking one in a treat. He has not eaten any cat treat since I fooled him once, shame on me. Never fooled him twice. His gingivitis was treated by an expensive, long lasting injection of antibiotic.

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    1. Today's administration went well. I had to squirt 2 1-mililiter droppers of antibiotic into his mouth, then follow it up with a syringe full of pain reliever. In my mind the antibiotic is the more important and all of it went in. The other went in Pepper's mouth, on his cheek, and on my jeans. I figure that's his loss.

      We'll see how well I do as he wises up and heals.

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  4. Poor little poppet. He is blessed though to have you looking after him. Best of luck on the pain meds ...

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    1. Thanks for your kind words. Yes, after administering two doses of medicine I realize I need all the luck I can get.

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