Hi everybody! I have a question about whether on not to get Moons teeth cleaned. I always value the great advice here so much. He is 10 years old and has never had any health problems (Thank God) other than his obesity (18.5 pounds of pure cuddlebunny). When we took him to the vet in February, he said he should have his teeth cleaned as he was showing some signs of periodontal disease (red lines around his gums). My initial thought was "No" because 10 years ago, my beautiful orangeman Rocky had his done when he was 10 and he had severe vertigo (couldn't walk without falling over) for several days afterwards. The vet back then said he had an ear infection and gave him drops and he did get better but I always wondered if it was the anesthesia and his advanced age. He ended up dying about a year later from what we believe to be Lymphoma (we came home and found him bleeding from both ends and barely conscious on the basement floor...we rushed him to the vet and he died there before we could even put him down). Again, I wondered if the anesthesia and maybe an undiagnosed lymphoma caused his vertigo. So...ever since then, I've been wary of teeth cleaning in older animals. We brought Moon in again last week and again, the vet said he needs his teeth cleaned. He said "I told you this in February" and of course, it's not just going to get better on its own...of course, it will get worse and Moon might end up losing teeth as he continues to age.
SO....despite my fears that the anesthesia will end up hurting him, we are considering this. I don't want him to get sick or lose his teeth but I hate the possibility of hurting him as a result of trying to help him (as is the risk with all surgeries, of course) They will do bloodwork first to check his kidney function, etc... I would just hate for an otherwise healthy cat to end up with problems because we tried to do something proactive.
What do you all think?
Thanks so much!!!
Deb and Moonie
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