The fellas have a new vet

Mr. Spunky and Sam have a new vet. And I like him.

See here for previous story.

Sam has been having trouble with his teeth. It has been uncomfortable for him to chew. But he doesn't like being mandhandled so examining him is impossible.

So the vet gives him an antibiotic shot (pilling is impossible), tells me about the gingivitis and possible outcomes and background information, checked for ear mites and cleaned the ears. it cost $47. The is 1/5 of each of the previous visits.

He didn't even get upset when I told them what I fed the cats and what I knew about cat nutrition. We were talking about cats being the perfect carnivores.

I'm glad Sam got the shot today. He caught a mouse tonight. eek a mouse. The mouse is no more. I got some rusted tongs and picked him up and threw him outside under a tree. EWww. Sam didn't eat him; he was playing with a dead mouse. Playing wiht his dinner, or would-be dinner if he were hungry.

I had wondered when the mouse would show up. Something has been burrowing under the front of the house.

I just don't know how he got in.

anyway, I'm happy with today's outcome. I may even have a pet sitter (one of the techs) for a few days while I go visit mom. The last time I took the critters they got out. it has always been a concern.

Great that you found a vet you like for the babies! I hope this one let you stay while he weighed, checked and did whatever he did.

What is the plan for the gingivitis?

Thank you for caring and replying.

He let me stay. There is a scale in the room. No one tried to put anything over on me.

The plan is to see what the antibiotics do. Give it 2 weeks to 1 month to see how he improves. Sam got just the one shot. The doc's goal was to reduce the inflammation so that Sam would clean his teeth.

Then on to some steroids, which I will do once jsut to see if it helps.
After that there might be some testing if it doesn't improve some. I'm not a big fan of testing. If the condition worsens I don't think the testing will tell us much. just rather move ahead to the surgery.

I did ask (because he didn't mention) if cleaning would help. He said it would, but I got the impression he doesn't push it on people.

He did say we might just have ot medicate routinely to keep it under control.

I wish I hadn't waited now. I put this off because of the last bad experience. I've never had a vet that bad before.

Oh and this clinic had 4 resident cats, one of whom is named "Hobbles", a tripod. They have free roam of the clinic.

I think I knew then that this was the place and I was calm and at peace while there. I wish Sam had been at peace.

A Good Vet is so important and The Found Cats and I are so glad to have Dr Peter Marsales as our Vet and Healer. Hes one of the few Vets who makes house calls and the Found Cats actually come out of thier carriers to greet him, even the Princess.
Thats rare for her.

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Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom

I did ask (because he didn't mention) if cleaning would help. He said it would, but I got the impression he doesn't push it on people.

He did say we might just have ot medicate routinely to keep it under control.

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Not knowing exactly what your cat's particular mouth problem is (and that I'm not a vet anyways), I wonder if your cat has built up tartar causing the inflamation? And if so I wonder why the vet doesn't "push" dentistries? Or is it just that a dentistry is just not needed in this particular situation?

My boss dislikes doing dentistries as point of fact, however he highly encourages them in situations where it makes a difference. Many studies have proven that bacteria in the mouth enter the blood stream and can cause a host of other problems including eventual liver/kidney/heart failure. Just ask any number of our clients who have lost their dog/cat because of refusing to do any dentistries despite the severity of the dental disease.

I'm not saying you picked a bad vet or anything, it could be in fact that there is very little tartar and that's not what's causing the inflamation in the first place. I was just making a statement about dentistries in general.

I'm glad you like your new vet, :) he sounds like a vast improvement over the other vet who double vaccinated your pets before.

I will ask about the cleaning. I think the infection was the first concern. His teeth are very yellow in the back and the gums were red. I cannot tell if there was build-up of plaque. Perhaps when I go back, he will look at them again and try to remove some of the plaque.

I'll remove the back teeth before I let him get sick and die, but if a cleaning every few years solves the problem, that would work also.

He said it depends upon the cat. Spunky, who has numerous problems, has excellent teeth. Now was for his four left feet.....

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Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom

I will ask about the cleaning. I think the infection was the first concern. His teeth are very yellow in the back and the gums were red. I cannot tell if there was build-up of plaque. Perhaps when I go back, he will look at them again and try to remove some of the plaque.

I'll remove the back teeth before I let him get sick and die, but if a cleaning every few years solves the problem, that would work also.

He said it depends upon the cat. Spunky, who has numerous problems, has excellent teeth. Now was for his four left feet.....

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Yellow stuff could be either tartar (which requires a dentistry) or plaque (which can still be brushed off). A properly done dentistry requires your pet have light anesthesia and the tartar is scraped off very similar to a human.

Yes the infection probably would be the first concern. I've seen my boss many times have to prescribe an antibiotic for a week prior to a dentistry, I think sometimes it's to reduce the inflammation so he can get the gumline cleaned when doing a dentistry since that's where the bacteria get into the bloodstream.

Every pet is different when it comes to needing teeth cleaned (food can make a difference but genetics plays a huge part in all of it). Dusty was 17 when she passed, she'd only had 2 dentistries in her life; one at 13 and one at 15 years old. Jack had to have one done at 1 1/2 years and 3 years but hasn't needed one since (he's 7 1/2 now). Pooky & Bear (brothers) have only had one dentistry done this winter at 4 1/2 yrs old. Cami has yet to need one (she's 2 1/2). And the little ones (Sassy, Sabrina, Josh) are only 11 months old and have beautiful teeth yet. All my cats are fed basically the same foods, save for different lifestages (senior, adult, kitten).

Can't think of a thing to help 4 left feet though. If you ever find a solution to that, let me know, Pooky has a classic case of it! ROFL :D

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Can't think of a thing to help 4 left feet though. If you ever find a solution to that, let me know, Pooky has a classic case of it! ROFL

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Yeah, I have to help Spunky climb and he has the folding step stairs or other helpers in various parts of the house. He even knocks himself over while scratching or shaking the head. Just thinking of the silly falls he has taken will set me laughing. My house is Spunky-proofed.

I'm going to try something. The gang does have the new vet I've been using all year. She's great. I can tell you more later. I'm checking to see what you have to do to change the title of an old thread.

I thought if I replied to the old post, it might let me change the title, but nope.

:(

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Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom

I thought if I replied to the old post, it might let me change the title, but nope.

:(

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All you have when you look under Administrative for this thread is "delete?"

What browser do you use? And what operating system?

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Originally Posted by Karen

All you have when you look under Administrative for this thread is "delete?"

What browser do you use? And what operating system?

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Google Chrome. Let me check others that I have installed.

No change for Firefox on the menu. Let me see if I can change the title. Back. Nope. Nada.

Internet Exploder. No change. Nope.

I read my posts in descending order. Would that affect it? I can change recent posts, though.

Okay so far no changes with different browsers. I also changed the editor I am using to advance wysiwyg. Works nice.

Perhaps a poll?

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Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom

Google Chrome. Let me check others that I have installed.

No change for Firefox on the menu. Let me see if I can change the title. Back. Nope. Nada.

Internet Exploder. No change. Nope.

I read my posts in descending order. Would that affect it? I can change recent posts, though.

Okay so far no changes with different browsers. I also changed the editor I am using to advance wysiwyg. Works nice.

Perhaps a poll?

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Can you do what Candace suggested in one of the other posts? At the bottom of every post - including the first in any thread, it "edit Post" - if you hit that, THEN hit "go advanced" it should let you change the title! Try that, okay?

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Originally Posted by Karen

Can you do what Candace suggested in one of the other posts? At the bottom of every post - including the first in any thread, it "edit Post" - if you hit that, THEN hit "go advanced" it should let you change the title! Try that, okay?

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I either use that or the Edit button at the bottom of the thread. It works for the recent post. PLease read what I have written before.

Nope, deleting cookies didn't work. Deleting the change in post #1 one and then trying again didn't work either.

Trying it on an old post folks.

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Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom

I either use that or the Edit button at the bottom of the thread. It works for the recent post. PLease read what I have written before.

Nope, deleting cookies didn't work. Deleting the change in post #1 one and then trying again didn't work either.

Trying it on an old post folks.

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You have to hit "edit" on the ORIGINAL post you made, the very first post, not the most recent one.