Did you know that February is National Pet Dental Health Month? Neither did I, until I began searching the Internets for information on dental and gum disease in cats. You see, Miss Lyra had just had some dental work. Even a cleaning is a fairly a big deal for a cat, as most feline dental work is done under general anesthesia, but this was major work.
When she joined our family 4 1/2 years ago, Lyra was a young adult cat; our vet guessed that she was about two years old. Her short life had been rough; not only was she extremely skittish, but she was already missing several teeth, and one of her top fangs was broken. While she has become much less skittish, and will now consent to being picked up with only a mild squawk of protest, Lyra has never been willing to let us near her mouth or her claws.
Last year, when we took Lyra in for her annual check-up, our vet noted that she might need a dental cleaning this next year. We were surprised to learn, when we took her in a couple of weeks ago, that in just over a year her periodontal disease and tooth decay had become quite advanced. Our vet commented that, with so much disease, she must be in pain. We had seen no indication of pain; Lyra has always eaten well, grabbed toys with her mouth, and leaned into our hands when we rubbed her face. She has not, however, been willing to let us do any sort of dental care at home, so we had missed what was obvious when the vet held her mouth open.
Yesterday, our little cat had all four of her canines and several back teeth extracted. When we went to pick her up, the vet technichian reported that a number of the teeth were so loose that removing them required almost no effort. Perhaps I should be grateful for that. The tech also told us that, in her experience, cats seem to do quite well following the extraction of many teeth. I hope so.
As I write this, Lyra is sleeping a few feet from me. She has eaten a healthy portion of soft food. She has dozed on the big leather chair (where I snapped these shots). She has tolerated (though unhappily) our administering doses of antibiotic and painkiller. She has spent some time in her favorite spot between us on our bed, where she received gentle petting and lavish praise. She has even purred a little.
Be sure to stop by the Friday Ark, and the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday. Late-breaking news: Weekend Cat Blogging is at kitchenmage.
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Friday Ark #126…
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What a trouper that little cat is! I have never been able to clean my cats’ teeth without doing or receiving violence to one or both of us!
What a gorgeous cat. I hope she feels better soon. My cat also has trouble with gingivitis but so far no extractions fingers crossed.
I’ve got several cats with few or no teeth (due to severe dental problems) and they do quite well. They eat the dry food just as well as their toothy counterparts and they can give me a rather powerful gumming when I am trying to clip their nails. The thought of trying to clean any of my cats’ teeth (I’ve got six cats) makes me laugh - I’m not sure I really know anyone who’s had any success at that.
Congratulations to making the “dental” decision that may well add years to Lyra’s life! I’ve seen dental and gum problems develop into kidney problems if they’re not attended to–so, the fewer teeth your kitty has, the less likely she’ll be to contract tooth-and-gum related kidney problems.
And she’s mega cute!
Awww! The poor thing! I’m sure she appreciates a family that puts her best interests first.
I hope she feels better soon!
Lyra is such a beautful cat and great photos too. Poor Baby, here’s hoping she feels better fast!
peace
Ay Yay Yay! MY teeth hurt just thinkin’ about it!
Best wishes to the lovely Lyra! I’m sure she will adapt quickly and easily, but tell us how she does. Is getting so much soft food to eat also being spoiled? For some cats I know it is
[…] Kimberly presents Feline Friday: The patient at home posted at Music and Cats. What a brave lil girl.. Timi is quite smitten with her…. […]
Hope Lyra is feeling better….. she will be loving the extra attention. I always wondered what would happen when they reached the age where the teeth would go. I have one cat who won’t eat canned food at all. She is going to have problems.
Get well Lyra!
Thank you, everyone, for your kind comments. My previous cat lived almost 20 years with nary a tooth extraction, so I had no idea that it was so common in cats of all ages, nor that they would do so well with few teeth.
Lyra is recovering well. After a couple of days of hiding under the sofa, she is almost back to her normal affection-sponge self. We hope that she is not developing an addiction to buprenorphine. Today I snapped a shot of her as she was waking up from a nap. When she yawns, you can see that those cute little fangs are missing:
Dental health is important in cats and dogs. I had a dog die as a result of bad teeth…..she developed endocarditis (infection of the heart)and the infection attacked her joints resulting in her losing the ability to walk.
Your baby is luck to have such caring parents!
Hearing about Lyra’s trouble makes me so sad! But at least she has good humans who protect her.
Lyra is a beautiful cat and reminds me of a cat I had years ago named Tony. He had been my favorite cat ever, but that title now belongs to a little old black cat named Pepper that I got from the local shelter. He was confiscated from a collector who had at least 40 cats. Pepper had horrible dental problems. After his dental work, he was left with only three teeth. His decayed teeth were infected and he developed endocarditis, an infection in his heart valve. Months later, his heart looks much better but we’re still trying to get rid of the lingering cough caused by the infection. He was just put on antibiotics for two more months. Ignoring dental problems can have terrible consequences, so it’s great you had this resolved so quickly. Hope Lyra is doing well.
I am so glad she is doing well. She is a beautiful feline and reminds me of one of our cats, who went missing this December. He looked just like her, except he was black.
You cannot believe how your website and all the comments have been a comfort to me. My cat just had all her teeth removed two days ago due to serious infection throughout her mouth. Although it is a drastic move, I think removal of teeth can bring a ton of relief to our furry friends in need. She seems to be more loving than ever - a true testament to the procedure!
I am so happy to have come across this site. To hear that Lyra and others are doing well after having all or most of their teeth removed is very reassuring. I am about to pick up my cat from the vet. She too has had most of her teeth removed. She is quite young still at 5 years, so to learn that most of her teeth are gone, was very upsetting to begin with. I couldn’t believe that the problem had progressed as much as it had, in such a short period of time, to lead to teeth falling out and extraction. That was until I read the above posts. I am now confident that my baby will be fine.
Our male cat, an adoption from the local shelter, is only about 2 1/2 yrs. old, and we’ve had him 6 mo. I noticed his breath seemed a bit rank and took him to our vet recently. She said his teeth look pretty good, but then she saw red sores in the earliest stages at the back of his throat and said he has plasma cell stomatitis. All teeth need removal! He’ll go to a specialist next week for evaluation. I’m so very glad to know cats can live contented lives w/o teeth!
Thank you for this site, and your cat Lyra is just beautiful!