Teeth issues

[carole]

My five year old kitty Phoenix has feline tooth resorption,he was a kitty I rescued off the streets ,poor boy has had three dentals and six teeth removed ,in the two years I’ve had him ,one of these just yesterday .

My question does anyone else have experience with this ,vet is suggesting maybe next time all teeth bar his canines be removed ,I’m hesitant to go ahead with this as he’s relatively young still and you can end up removing teeth that might never be affected ,he is on a special diet due to skin allergies and tummy problems too and I’m concerned he may not eat his biscuits after a full extraction,as this happened with my Evee and I can’t afford the wet food ...

Vet thinks it might be too hard him having anesthetics all the time .

Also this is very expensive each time around a $1000 ,on one average income it’s a lot for us to find .

So would be interested to find if anyone else’s kitty has this and your experience.thanks .

[cats4ever]

Unfortunately, feline tooth resorption is pretty common.
It can be very painful, and if this is the case, all teeth should be removed.
However, not all cats experience discomfort. My vet said that if they are not painful there's no need for a full-mouth extraction. The kitty will end up without teeth, though, since most of them will be resorbed.
Cats without teeth can eat dry food just fine.
All the best to Phoenix and to you!

[mon]

It's a hard call, if Phoenix is in pain it might be hard to tell as most cats have a surreally high pain tolerance. That's a good thing. If you can't really afford canned cat food, the last thing you need is a giant vet bill. I would think on it a while, see how kitty behaves and go from there. Give it a minute. Just my humble opinion. 😻 Wishing you all the best 💝

[mon]

Yikes!! I just googled feline tooth resorption. Pictures almost made me vomit. Won't be doing that again anytime soon 🙀😬

[carole]

The food is a special prescription diet so it’s not cheap ,his biscuits are the same but a lot cheaper ,I’m aware cats can eat them without teeth ,I’ve been through the total teeth extraction before with two cats,but one refused to eat biscuits afterwards .

Vet said not all teeth will necessarily be affected ,I’ve had two vets opinion ,my own and another ,one said not to remove all teeth ,other says next time .

I’ve spent about $3000 so far on the teeth .

I had the dilemma this time ,but decided on just removing the two teeth ,but next time I might have to do the hard call ,hoping not .

I’m very intuitive to my cats pain ,I spend 24/7 with him and I knew he wasn’t comfortable so took him to the vet and sure enough it was as I suspected.

My boy is on nupentin and Metacam just now after surgery and was having very low doses of Metacam till surgery .

Mon I’m sure the pics make it look worse than it is ,my cats didn’t look bad really .

[mon]

Well then, that sounds like a plan. I am pretty sure that I have PTSD from those photos however. Have you seen them 🙀😱😳😬??? they are extremely unpleasant 🤦🏾‍♀️

[carole]

Well I’ve researched the condition a lot .but I’ll pass on those pics ,if they are that bad .

[cats4ever]

It's a hard call, if Phoenix is in pain it might be hard to tell as most cats have a surreally high pain tolerance. That's a good thing. If you can't really afford canned cat food, the last thing you need is a giant vet bill. I would think on it a while, see how kitty behaves and go from there. Give it a minute. Just my humble opinion.  Wishing you all the best 

You're right. Cats hide their pain well, but in this case, the vet will probe their teeth awake. And if the cat starts quivering her jaw when touched, it is a sign of pain.

[carole]

I’m pretty on to it as I’m with him 24/7 I can always tell if he is in pain ,just even by his body language etc ,I knew he wasn’t right ,why I took him to the vet ,I’ve always known with all my cats .

[Catty1]

Oscar had his remaining 3 molars removed (one was "amputated" as there were no roots left) and a few incisors removed in January. He still loves his wet food and will even scarf down treats and a bit of kibble.

Cole has had a run with FORL but not as bad as Oscar. There seem to be 3 teeth that need removing but he'll have to be off chemo for some time before the surgery.

It can be REALLY painful for cats. The vet and the tech and I tried to look at Oscar's teeth for the dental estimate but he would jerk his head away if one of us tried to raise his side lip, on both sides of his face. He never got aggressive or did anything other than jerk his head.

Are there any funding sources available to help with pet surgery where you are? I know all about the cost!

Hugs to Phoenix. You are the best mom he has ever had.

[carole]

No we don’t have any funding ,he may need to have them all out next time ,the vets do have a cap at $1300 so won’t ever cost over that apart from meds and hospilisation ,we kept him overnight as it’s advised to keep on the iv fluids to help flush out the effects of the anesthetic ,well worth the $30.

Yes he has stitches which dissolve ,he’s doing well so far .

Yes I’m aware of the pain associated with it ,why I didn’t hesitate to get him seen to !but because the vet was on holiday and we had public holidays here he was on pain relief for a month before the surgery .

I hope your oscar and cole will be ok ,so hard when our fur babies are unwell .

[Catty1]

Carole, I just thought of something.

Even if Phoenix does have all his teeth removed you don't have to turn to wet food.

For a reason entirely unrelated to teeth I have to puree Cole's meals. I have a hand held Oster blender with sharp blades. I mix dry food with some warm water and puree it. Cole laps it up.

You may want to try this on Phoenix now to see if he likes it.

[carole]

,
What a brilliant idea ,I will indeed try that thank you.

Can you please tell me how much water ,and biscuits to use ,(portion wise I mean ) I had a stick blender but it didn’t purée them ,I did give him the liquid with the flavour of the biscuits in it ,he drank a little .

[mon]

Hope everything goes well! Vets are so expensive. ❤️

[carole]

Thank you ,me too fingers crossed 爛