Originally Posted by
datlas
Paging Dr @
Heathpack and/or other cat-knowledgeable folks.
I took Jackie to the vet yesterday. Good news is the vet says she seems to be overall in excellent health except for one minor issue. She got her shots and the bill was a reasonable $120.
BUT....the vet said Jackie has some tartar issues on her teeth and some gingivitis in her gums, and said that unchecked this could cause immune problems down the road, so they do suggest she get this treated.
The estimate for the dental work, including preop blood work, anesthesia, etc. comes to approx $800 which may not seem like a lot, but my wife totally balked "we are not spending $800 to get her teeth cleaned!"
So my questions are as follows:
1. Is there a food or oral crunch I can give her that will help her dental health, or is that a gimmick?
2. Is there any real danger to the cat's overall health (eg immune system) if we postpone or ignore the dental work, or is purely a dental issue?
I don't think they were deceiving me and they didn't really pressure me, but they did recommend we get the work done sometime in the future.
Comments? Do I need to go to catforums.org??
Sorry Ive been trying to stay off screens, had a crash last week and a concussion. Also: no alcohol which really blows.
Isn’t Jackie a young cat?
I’m not the best person to ask about GP stuff like dentals. But here’s my two cents. Yes cats need dental care. They get periodontal disease which can lead to chronic immune stimulation which has wide-ranging ramifications in the body over time. And they can get tooth root infections, which can cause pain, tooth loss and other complications like oro-nasal fistulas.
If you’re going to do a dental in a cat, you should do it right. Do the blood work and anesthesia monitoring and so on.
So yes, frequent dentals are “best practice” as far as the cats health goes. It’s not a question of ethics any more than your recommendation of a colonoscopy is ethically suspect. You recommend it because it’s best for your patient. The only reason you’re balking in the cats case is money. That’s a value judgement on your end as to what the cat is monetarily worth to you. Which is fine. But the implication that’s there’s something fishy about the recommendation is about as crazy as someone implying you have ulterior motives for recommending the colonoscopy.
My 25 hour hospital bill for my bike crash last week was $42000. This is just the hospital bill, not doctors, not ER, and does not include the radiographic studies. Lol, I love it when people complain about their veterinary bills.
You can try feeding your cat crunchy cat food if you’re not doing that already. In some cats, this can slow down the development of tartar build up.