One of our cats had teeth issues.
We ended up pulling several of them.
The thing was, after the procedure, we had a different cat. She was a bouncy, happy, energetic kitty cat.
And it just devastates us to think that she was probably in pain the whole time. (Bit annoyed with the vet that they didn't catch the teeth issues during her initial exams...). But, clearly, something changed, and she was a happier kitty for it (even though she had few teeth left).
Our current cats have had great oral hygiene. We haven't had to have them cleaned at all (which is also good, have you seen the price of a cat dental cleaning recently? O.O )
Why, yes...yes, I have, as a matter of fact...just a few days ago!
My vet told me Apollo would probably have issues with his teeth when we took him for his first tiny kitten appointment, as they were already kind of dirty. We tried the biggest dental food available for cats but he just swallowed it whole. She wanted me to brush his teeth, which is almost as laughable as giving him his meds. I mean, I've been doing this all my life and there's always a way to get it done, but this one...He's just a problem child. I've never had a cat like him. I heard all the stories about orange cats and just kind of rolled my eyes, but every one of them turns out to be true!
I also think, out of all the wonderful cats I've had whom I've loved with all my heart, he is my once-in-a-lifetime boy
Anyway, they did a full cleaning, they had to scrape off all the icky tartar, full x-rays, dug out a broken upper tooth way in the back, and pulled 2 other teeth that were going to be problematic. It was over 2 grand.
My vet said oral hygiene, such as it is with cats, is luck of the draw, and is a function of an individual cat's body chemistry. My 11-year-old girl Mae has beautiful pristine teeth. My mom's old Siamese cat, which I had for the last few years of his life, had almost all his teeth pulled and never skipped a beat. As soon as his gums healed he was back to crunching on his favorite dry food as if his mouth was full of teeth!
My girl kitty requires monthly steroid shots for an autoimmune disorder of her gums and toofies. She used to be a very fearful and sullen kitty. After getting a bunch oft eeth pulled and staying on top of her shots, she is a much happier girl.
This is how my mom's cat was, and also what the vet told me, too. She was right. He was a happy boy right til the end. I think he was 19.
Gratuitous photo of Mae showing off her beautiful teeth, since this is the cat photo thread...
