Gross Cat Breath- post vet update

[rubygirl1968]

I would be frustrated too. I’ve had one vet that was wonderful about sending me copies of the blood work via email but it seems that that some consider them state secrets.

If its any consolation, I think blood work would have to come back pretty bad for any vet I’ve ever used to not do a dental.

There is nothing wrong with postponing it until you get a chance to talk to your vet in more detail about more diagnostics and the blood work.

I hope you get more answers soon and that the blood work isn’t as bad as they originally indicated.

[Simkie]

@RJC

So I’m confused. The vet had acted like it was a BIG DEAL and said she’d likely recommend a kidney ultrasound with the additional blood tests. But they also keep saying we can move forward with his dental… Isn’t the whole point of the pre-anesthesia blood test preventing putting a kitty under if they have a mysterious internal organ issue going on?

Holy cow, I would be frustrated too. I hope you have some solid answers about Willis today.

[RJC]

The vet finally called yesterday and his bloodwork had improved since last week (but why?). One value was a little high still but could just be normal for him or possibly he has too much protein in his diet. I’m supposed to keep an eye on him and take him in if he loses appetite or starts vomiting or starts drinking tons of water (which I would do anyway, so fine).

Willis had his dental cleaning and 3 (three!) tooth extractions. The holes in his enamel could have been a cause of his smelly breath, or he could just be a smelly cat. We’ll see how his breath smells with his shiny clean teeth. I get to pick him up in a few hours. He will likely be very sad.

My husband plotzed at the bill Willis has run up in the last week (well over $1k) and has decreed that the cat will not go to the vet ever again. This is unfortunate as the vet said he’d likely need a cleaning again in a year. Husband has declared “putting his foot down” which is a first. So we’ll see how this turns out (the cat is definitely going to the vet again).

I’m not sure why 1 year ago Willis did not need a dental cleaning, then this year he needed an ASAP cleaning and tooth extractions due to deep holes in his teeth, but the exams were done by different vets so… maybe that’s the answer.

[rubygirl1968]

Blood work does fluctuate, but I can’t explain how so fast. He may not have been drinking enough before or eating more dry. One of mine tested in the 200’s for glucose, they had me bring him back in to get insulin and rechecked it and it was normal. It s been normal ever since

[vxf111]

Kidney disease can also cause a distinctive smell to the breath. Hope your kitty does well now

[rubygirl1968]

I’m sure he will be thrilled to be back home! I’m glad he did ok.

My first post cut that part out.

[RJC]

@rubygirl1968

Blood work does fluctuate, but I can’t explain how so fast. He may not have been drinking enough before or eating more dry. One of mine tested in the 200’s for glucose, they had me bring him back in to get insulin and rechecked it and it was normal. It s been normal ever since

That’s the thing though…the vet kept saying it could be explained by dehydration, but he eats soup for every meal.

They took a urine sample while he was out, and the concentration was low, but we had also fed him a soupy bedtime snack last night since he wouldn’t be having breakfast.

Ah well. Kitty is home, eating well, ran straight to his litterbox when let out of his carrier, and I have some fun poultry flavored toothpaste to try. We have another appointment to check urine and

Has anyone ever successfully brushed their cat’s teeth? This seems impossible.

[rubygirl1968]

Yes, I brushed my cats teeth. Thomas would hold his lips up for me to get them. Lol

He was one in a million. Sigh I miss him so much.

Anyway, I found he really, really liked the cet (I think, it’s been many years ago) poultry flavored toothpaste so I started by just letting him lick the toothpaste off the tiny brush, then I’d just brush one tooth and let him have more as a treat. Eventually I could do the fronts of all his teeth.

The vet also had swabs of something to keep plaque off that you didn’t have to brush, just swab. Just go slow, find something they like and make it more like treats instead of something good for them and they get used to it.

You can use a piece of gauze over your finger if they don’t like the toothbrush.

[rubygirl1968]

I can’t edit from my phone, but think about it like training a horse. Lol

Start at the beginning, wait til the first thing is good before moving to the next, end on a good note and go back to the beginning if it goes south one day.

[Simkie]

You can send his labwork off to a boarded internist for review, and it might even be free. If it’s not free, it’s not very expensive (I’ve send rads and other imaging off for a boarded radiologist to review and it’s usually in the $50-$80 ish range.) It might be worth it to have another set of eyeballs on the labs. Has the vet suggested that lab error might be to blame? Are there any other values that seem to indicate dehydration?

My Juliet kitty did present with some high kidney labs early in life, and we discovered only one functioning kidney on the ultrasound. I don’t think she was only three, but she was young. She lived to 18 with very little “kidney” management until the end of her life when she finally tipped into full blown CRF. So all hope is not lost if he does have some sort of kidney “thing” going on so young. But it sounds like lab error or something else not inside the cat might be to blame for the high values…

[RJC]

@rubygirl1968

Yes, I brushed my cats teeth. Thomas would hold his lips up for me to get them. Lol

He was one in a million. Sigh I miss him so much.

Anyway, I found he really, really liked the cet (I think, it’s been many years ago) poultry flavored toothpaste so I started by just letting him lick the toothpaste off the tiny brush, then I’d just brush one tooth and let him have more as a treat. Eventually I could do the fronts of all his teeth.

The vet also had swabs of something to keep plaque off that you didn’t have to brush, just swab. Just go slow, find something they like and make it more like treats instead of something good for them and they get used to it.

You can use a piece of gauze over your finger if they don’t like the toothbrush.

Your cat sounds awesome! Conveniently, the vet sent me home with a sample of the CET in poultry flavor. The dog loves her vanilla mint flavor and gets excited when she sees the toothbrush. I tried to train Willis the same way, but he didn’t want anything to do with the vanilla mint. Maybe this time around will go better with poultry!

Willis has a follow up appointment in a couple months to analyze urine and blood again. If any of his values are still off then, I can send out a sample to the university vet school. Since only his creatanine was a little north of the normal range on second testing, I feel ok about moving forward conservatively.

[rubygirl1968]

They also have beef flavored if he doesn’t like poultry. They used to carry a seafood flavor but mine didn’t like it. Good luck!!

[RJC]

@rubygirl1968

They also have beef flavored if he doesn’t like poultry. They used to carry a seafood flavor but mine didn’t like it. Good luck!!

Thanks!

I’d like to report for posterity that Willis no longer drools! lol DH thinks the vet bill was worth it now.

[Simkie]

@RJC

Thanks!

I’d like to report for posterity that Willis no longer drools! lol DH thinks the vet bill was worth it now.

Yay! That’s good news. Is his breath any different?

[RJC]

@Simkie

Yay! That’s good news. Is his breath any different?

We’re still trying to figure that out. His breath was most obvious when he was licking us or himself while in our laps. He hasn’t done either of those things since his cleaning, maybe becuase he’s so intensely interested in cuddling. He must feel better. His cuddle drive before was fairly high, but now he’s ridiculously snuggly. Even with people who don’t live here.

[RJC]

Still has stank breath. But now I would call it more weird than “smells like something died in his mouth.”

[dungrulla]

Are you SURE this cat is only two? Rotten teeth and kidney failure is usually an older cat thing–I actually have one of these right now. Does he have FIV?

[RJC]

@dungrulla

Are you SURE this cat is only two? Rotten teeth and kidney failure is usually an older cat thing–I actually have one of these right now. Does he have FIV?

Nope he’s at minimum 3. The vet must have misspoke at his appointment and I didn’t realize that we’d had him for two years until later. But I asked about that and she thinks he’s at most closer to 4. He gets the FIV vaccine, so I hope not