Buddy's vet visit

My orange/white guy, Buddy, had his annual check up at the vet this evening. The visit was basically good, however, we discovered he somehow lost his right canine tooth! I have no idea when or how this happened. He also has a considerable amount of plaque, so, I have to take him back in two weeks and they will sedate him and clean his teeth. I have never had this done with any of my pets before. Has anyone here ever had their cat's teeth cleaned?

Also, since Bud is a leash cat now and goes outside for walks, my vet recommends I use flea/tick meds on him. I have used the flea/tick meds on Casey (dog) but never on the cats since none of them ever went outside before. Does anyone here use flea/tick meds on their cats?

Here are a couple pics I took of my sweet boy while we waited for the vet to come in.

http://www.geocities.com/happycat_bu...ET-3-25-09.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/happycat_bu...T-3-25-09B.jpg

What a sweet looking kitty! I think it's great you've been able to leash train; I couldn't do that with Pinot-she just freaked out!
Teeth cleaning: I never had it done with cats either, but have been hearing a lot about it since I got Pinot (about a year ago). It seems there is a bacteria issue that's more prevalent and teeth cleaning will help. I'm going to ask my vet this visit if Pinot should; it's not uncommon now, though.
Flea & tick prevention: absolutely! It's not a big deal for the animal, but fleas certainly would be! Pinot is very limited outside, but she does get the treatment. I would recommend it.

Good luck with Buddy - as I said, a very sweet looking kitty! :love:

Thanks for my one response Pinot's mom. I was worried about the flea/tick meds because of having to put it on his neck and you know how cats lick and lick themselves. :)

If you put the medicine at the base of the neck just above the shoulder blades, they can't lick it off. Check with your vet if you need tick medicine in addition to the fleas. I think Advantage Multi covers fleas and several kinds of worms and earmites but not ticks. I think you have to get Frontline to do fleas and ticks. But the Frontline doesn't do the other things.

I've never had a kitty that has had to have a cleaning. There are several here that have though.

I love the leash, I've been trying to get Bart on a leash but he won't even let put the harness on.

Norton is going to the dentist tomorrow for removal of a mean looking molar. We have being going to Dr. Fiorito since 1991, she is excellent. May I suggest using a harness on Buddy when you have him on a leash. It is much safer than connecting the leash to the collar. I used a harness on my cats that did therapy work at hospitals and nusring homes. Our Orangeman, Ralph, loved walking in the snow on his leash and harness....

Oh yes, all of my Fur Posse have had their teeth cleaned, even my Pidge when she was 18. Of course, we worry when our furkids need to be sedated but how else can it be done? Plus while they're asleep, the vet can check for other problems in your cat's mouth and can extract teeth, if necessary. My vet will only do extractions if absolutely necessary, so I wouldn't worry about that either. Be sure to let us know when Buddy's appointment is and we'll be sure to send up some prayers for your little cutie pie. :)

Thanks for the info and well wishes. His appointment is April 6th. Oh my yes, he wears a harness, not a regular collar. I am very over protective of my sweet boy. If you look at the second photo you can see the leash is attached further back. He has sort of a medium length coat which covers the harness in that pic. He did not like the harness at first but when he found out he got to go outside if he wore it, he happily cooperates now. He is the only one of the 4 that I have that was ever interested in getting outside. He snuck out a couple times before he was leash trained and I was a basket case until I got him back inside. Now he doesn't try to get out on his own. I love my sweet boy! :love:

I put a harness on Havoc the other day and he just fell over sideways and refused to move. I found something at Walmart that was shaped more like a vest and he's tolerating it a lot better. I don't plan on walking him outside but it would be nice to let him mill around in the waiting room or exam room while waiting on the vet.