Old Cat Needs Dental Care - What Should I Look For?

I have a 16 year old male cat who has started having some mouth
problems. He always seems to be drooling slightly out of one side of
his mouth and sometimes has a darker colored fluid come out which I'm
concerned may be blood (although this is rare and just a very small
amount and could just be from his food).

Obviously I need to bring him to a vet, but I know from experience this
means he will have to be knocked out for a mouth exam and possibly some
type of dental work.

He is in good health otherwise, and I know any competent vet will run
blood tests first to make sure he's able to be safely put under, but I
also know that because of his age this is very risky regardless of how
good his health is.

Since I have moved and will need to find a new vet for this, what
exactly should I be looking for in my search?

Should I be concerned with finding a vet who uses some specific type of
anesthesia and/or dental procedures? And what should I watch for in the
blood test results? Anything else to ask about?

Thanks!

- DPR

DP Roberts <dproberts1969 RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<MPG.1bd29a71dbc119e29896a1 RemoveThis @news.comcast.giganews.com>...
> I have a 16 year old male cat who has started having some mouth
> problems. He always seems to be drooling slightly out of one side of
> his mouth and sometimes has a darker colored fluid come out which I'm
> concerned may be blood (although this is rare and just a very small
> amount and could just be from his food).
>
> Obviously I need to bring him to a vet, but I know from experience this
> means he will have to be knocked out for a mouth exam and possibly some
> type of dental work.
>
> He is in good health otherwise, and I know any competent vet will run
> blood tests first to make sure he's able to be safely put under, but I
> also know that because of his age this is very risky regardless of how
> good his health is.
>
> Since I have moved and will need to find a new vet for this, what
> exactly should I be looking for in my search?
>
> Should I be concerned with finding a vet who uses some specific type of
> anesthesia and/or dental procedures? And what should I watch for in the
> blood test results? Anything else to ask about?
>
> Thanks!
>
> - DPR

We just had the teeth of our 14 year old Burmese cleaned, who is
suffering from chronic renal failure. There is a connection between
bad teeth and many diseases, and the process seems to have helped his
health, thankfully. Here is our experience:

First, I would find a vet who specializes in dental work, as ours
does. Your cat shouldn't have to be knocked out for the initial exam,
unless he won't let the vet get near him.

Our vet requires a full physical before any cat gets their teeth
cleaned. On the day of the cleaning, the cat was put on an IV for
four hours to flush out his system. Then blood was taken and
analyzed. If our cat's blood had still been too toxic for the
anesthesia, the vet would not have performed the procedure. It is the
anesthetic, of course, that presents the most danger for a cat getting
its teeth cleaned.

Our vet offered two types of anesthesia. One type would have meant
that kitty stay at the vet overnight. The other, a bit more expensive
but less invasive to kitty's system, was the kind we went for. We
were allowed to take him home a few hours after he woke up.

All went well, thankfully, in our case. It was most definately worth
the worry and expense. I hope, if you and your vet decide a teeth
cleaning is in order, that you have the great results we've gotten!

dragon