Dentistry on older cat.

Dr. Marie replied:

First of all, congratulations on having a 19 year old cat. This is definitely older than average!

I have seen a number of cases like this where an older cat has severe dental issues. It's often a tough call on what to do.

The first thing I recommend is always to have some blood tests done. (At this age your vet would not do an anesthetic without having bloodwork done first.) If there are no major problems on the blood tests, then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend dental surgery.

Where we run into concerns are when we have an older animal that also has, for example, a significant kidney or liver problem. However, in most cases, if the animal is acting healthy and eating well, we can still be very safe with our anesthetic. In cases like this the vet would change the anesthetic protocol to use drugs that are not processed by the affected organs.

The main factor, however, when we make this decision is usually a financial one. Having dental work with extractions done is usually a little pricey. You could be looking at anywhere from $400 to $1400 to do this. If we play the odds, a 19 year old cat may not live a whole lot longer. That may be a lot of money to spend if we only have a short time left. With that being said, however, I have seen cats live well into their twenties. If Bobo has pain in his mouth then I would not want him to live any longer with pain!

So, if this were my cat I would definitely recommend having blood tests done, and if all was ok, then going ahead with the dentistry.

If you do so, I hope things go well!

Dr. Marie.

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Dr. Marie replied:

Bobo is blessed to have such a great "mom"! Let me know if you have more concerns!

Dr. Marie