SIX more teeth extracted for my poor Mimi

[princessbear]

Mimi had 6 teeth extracted yesterday at the veterinary dental specialist. Xrays showed 4 had advanced tooth resorption, with roots still intact. 2 had advanced periodontal disease (these were her lower canines) and one was a crown amputation on a tooth that had almost completely resorbed (no "live" root).

I'm concerned because she is having trouble eating. They put sutures in all the sites and she is struggling to eat. She is clearly hungry but sniffs at food, moves her mouth a bit, walks away and keeps going back to try. The instructions from the dentist said not to be concerned if she doesn't eat for 24 hours following the procedure - she has eaten SOME, but not much. I've even added enough water to make it soupy and easier to lap up. I'm thinking the eating problem is from the sutures - they feel uncomfortable, especially on the lower front canine area.

This is so different than last time (in September she had 3 teeth extracted by regular dentist) when she started devouring food immediately - but the last time she had teeth extracted, there were no sutures. This time the vet referred me to the dental specialist since she doesn't have a dental xray machine and I was concerned that there were fragments left from original extractions and also wanted to find out if any other teeth had resorption issues.

She is on a sustained release dose of buprenorphine that will last 3 days.

Also, she's been walking around with her tail down covering her bum area (which, at my request, they gave a potty patch just in case she had diarrhea like last time). The bum looks fine, but this is just weird. The tip is dragging on the ground. She also is struggling with peeing. Last night she went into the downstairs box, sat for a second and nothing, then got out and went upstairs, sat for a second and nothing, then downstairs. She has peed 3 times though - it just seems so difficult for her. She also had a normal bowel movement about 2 hours after she came home.

The vet dentist will be checking on her today, and I will voice my concerns to her, but it's always more comforting to get first hand experience from folks like you - so could you share your experiences with me?

[Valentine's Heart]

Otono, my oldest living cat, had most of his teeth removed this fall. It was hard on him at first. He was hard on him at first. I took him back to the vet the Saturday after the procedure (on Wednesday). He was give another pain shot that lastest another 3 days and then I had additional pain meds for him to take. He also was given fluids. I believe I had him on pain meds for a week. I bought science diet kitten because he won't eat canned and the kitten has smaller round pellets for him to swallow. He seems to be doing fine now. His mouth was so bad that he didn't want to eat before and he is now gaining again. The first few days, though, I could not get him to eat much. So it sounds like this is par for the course. Best luck with poor Mimi. Otono is much better now, but he is old and his age is beginning to show. I'm just thankful that he is going to make it through 2011.

[JulieC]

I am so sorry to here about your baby Mimi. (I have a cat named Mimi, too.) My cat, Caroline, is experiencing some teeth problems as well, but there have not been any decisions made to pull any yet. She is on antibiotics, and at the moment, she is eating OK.

I am concerned about your vet saying it's OK that she does not eat for 24 hours. Maybe someone else with more experience can offer some advice.

[princessbear]

Thanks guys! She's doing much better with the eating ... she ate almost a full 3oz can over the course of the day yesterday ... this morning she ate about her usual amount. She's about 13 so she is no spring chicken either - Valentine's Heart, thank you for sharing your experience. She goes back for a follow up in 4 weeks to make sure all the sutures have dissolved (unless I have any problems).

I talked to the vet tech yesterday when she called for follow-up and she indicated that they put a pretty strong block in her gums so that was going to take a while to wear off which is why she was having difficulty eating - that, coupled with the funny feeling in her mouth from extractions and sutures, along with the anesthesia and pain meds. She said it was a good sign that she had eaten SOME. Cats can go up to 24 hours before the risk of hepatic lipidosis sets in ... I still haven't seen her drink water, but she's never been much of a water drinker and she was pumped full of fluids so I'm not overly concerned about that.

She's still having the problems with peeing ... I don't know if she's just confused from the pain meds or what. She's also sitting pretty close to the litter when she pees so I get to wipe her bum fur afterward if she gets pee on it so that she doesn't clean herself and risk infection from the urine on the extraction sites.

I woke up this morning with her feeling much more hopeful...Now if we can just get some sleep - she is waking me every few hours wanting attention.

She's upstairs now laying on her blanket on top of the hamper for the first time since she came home, which is her favorite place to sleep, other than with me when I go to bed.