Expensive treatment on an elderly pet

[Anonymous]

I took my 14 year old cat to the vet yesterday because he seems to have a gastrointestinal issue (pooping outside the litter box). The vet diagnosed it as constipation and prescribed some high-fiber food. He then examined him and found some teeth decay and recommended that we bring the cat in for xrays (that would require anesthesia) to determine whether some teeth need to be extracted. There has been no signal that his teeth are bothering him - he seems to be eating fine, and is behaving normally. This procedure would be extremely expensive, and he's well....14. How do others approach decisions like this?

[Anonymous]

I just did my 13 year old dogs teeth. Even though he was acting fine before the surgery he seems to have way more energy and is actually playing with toys again. It was worth it for us. You can shop around on the prices. My dog did great and by the next day it was like nothing happened to him.

[Anonymous]

We did a 1k dental extraction procedure for our 15 year old cat who died a year later (of cancer, at the point we opted for palliative care only). Of course your cat could live to be 20+, so it's really hard to say.

[Anonymous]

^^it was a tough procedure and recovery so we were sorry we put her through it. But she did need to have the majority of her teeth removed.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are not an irresponsible pet owner for declining.

[Anonymous]

I take into account a few things:

1) total cost. X-rays and potentially needed extractions is probably not exorbitant. What’s the range you’re talking about? Let’s say it’s $500 (if it’s just the x-rays) or potentially $1500 if he needs extractions too.
2) chance of successfully resolving the issue. Presumably for something this routine, it’s nearly 100%
3) prognosis if you do it. Presumably your cat is otherwise healthy, so he would live another 1-5 years.
4) prognosis if you don’t do it. This is the big unanswered question, so definitely worth asking. Let’s guess that it means increasing pain while eating, getting worse over time, potentially needing to put the cat to sleep because he can’t eat in, let’s say, 2 years. (I’m making this up! Get actual info from the vet!)

For me, that balance would be worth even the max $1500, so I would do it.

But if the cost was $10k, that’s a no from me. If the prognosis without doing it is pretty similar to the general prognosis for a 14 year old cat (for example if the teeth aren’t extracted his life expectancy tops out at more like 4 years instead of 5) I wouldn’t do it. If this was some surgery with a less than 20% chance of success, I wouldn’t do it. You’ve really got to weigh all these factors.

[Anonymous]

No, I wouldn't put a 14 year old cat under sedation unless he was showing signs of distress. It's hard on them physically and then you'd have to sedate again for the actual extractions. Not good or worth it for such a senior cat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just did my 13 year old dogs teeth. Even though he was acting fine before the surgery he seems to have way more energy and is actually playing with toys again. It was worth it for us. You can shop around on the prices. My dog did great and by the next day it was like nothing happened to him.

I would do the same for an old pet - they feel so much better without rotting tooth pain.

[Anonymous]

Some pets are good at hiding pain and I can't think of any worse pain than tooth pain. My vet did a dental recently on my 20 year old cat. We talked about the risks, but his pre-dental bloodwork came back really good for his advanced age, and they kept him under sedation just long enough to get the worst teeth out (they'd gotten really bad since his last checkup). He's recovered great and is eating with renewed gusto. I know people might say he could just keel over any day due to natural causes due to his age so why bother, but I know he's feeling pretty good now, so it was definitely worth it.

I'd talk to your vet and if your cat's bloodwork looks OK to proceed, I'd recommend doing it. I will add, I've never experienced putting them under sedation to just look at teeth and then doing a separate procedure later - my vet runs the bloodwork, puts the cat under anesthesia, takes x-rays and then does cleaning/extractions at that time.

Whatever you decide, hope your kitty is feeling better with the gastro issues!

[Anonymous]

So my cat had teeth extracted at 13ish (I adopted him when he was an adult already so we don't know how old he is). He had teeth extracted before and bounced back fine but the most recent surgery he really didn't do well on thr anesthesia and he struggled to walk for a week. Older cats can really have trouble with the anesthesia. I definitely won't put him under again, I'm worried he won't wake up.

I'd really hesitate to do an extraction on a geriatric cat again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I took my 14 year old cat to the vet yesterday because he seems to have a gastrointestinal issue (pooping outside the litter box). The vet diagnosed it as constipation and prescribed some high-fiber food. He then examined him and found some teeth decay and recommended that we bring the cat in for xrays (that would require anesthesia) to determine whether some teeth need to be extracted. There has been no signal that his teeth are bothering him - he seems to be eating fine, and is behaving normally. This procedure would be extremely expensive, and he's well....14. How do others approach decisions like this?

You might want to consider getting a second opinion. That’s what I would do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I wouldn't put a 14 year old cat under sedation unless he was showing signs of distress. It's hard on them physically and then you'd have to sedate again for the actual extractions. Not good or worth it for such a senior cat.

Cats can easily live up to 20 years of age and they are good at hiding pain. If the cat's teeth are bad they should be removed.

[Anonymous]

I just paid for dental work (2 extractions) for my old cat. He's much happier now. I suppose you'll have to use your judgment, though. My cat was clearly in pain, so it was an easy decision.

[Anonymous]

Cats are prone to tooth decay and hide even severe pain. I’d do it because I wouldn’t want to love with rotten teeth in my mouth for a month let alone a year or five.

[Anonymous]

I'd put the cat down. Sorry if I sound heartless but that's what I would do.