# Elderly cats and anesthesia?



## begete (Dec 1, 2010)

Hello everyone. My cat Pandora and I live on an Island off Washington State with my husband and we are retired - us, not Pandora.

We are facing a terrible dilemma

Pandora adopted us from a shelter in June of 1998. Our beloved cat had recently died from CRF so in his honor we decided to give homes to two kitties who were on "death row" in shelters. Pandora had been seized from her previous owners under a court order charging those owners with abuse. We literally grabbed her out of the arms of a vet tech who was taking her to the room where animals were to be euthanized. Our vet assessed her at approximately 3 years old. She had little fur and weighed under 3 pounds. She had several broken teeth. It took two years before she would allow us to pet her as she was terrified of humans.

At the time we lived on the east coast and had wonderful vetrinary care. Once her physical condition was stabilized (initially our vet didn't think she would survive at all), she had extensive dental work done. She has since thrived and become an affectionate, loving pet. She turned out to be a tan and seal Himalayan.

She is now somewhere between 14 and 16 years old, and 3 years ago we moved here. We have now seen 4 vets, all of whom recommended extensive dental work requiring general anesthesia. If she were younger, I would not hesitate, but she does NOT appear to be in pain, and I wonder if our beloved pet who died just before Pandora joined us developed his renal disease after receiving general anethesia for dental work he received about 6 months before he was diagnosed with renal disease. I read somewhere that that could be a side effect of such anesthesia. There are no holistic vets anywhere in our area.

What I do not understand is the relative risks of giving a cat her age general anesthesia compared with allowing her to go without the dental work 4 vets have recommended. The reason she has seen 4 vets is that vet #1 we discovered has a reputation for recommending expensive procedures that are unnecessary, but he does have what appears to be a top notch, modern hospital. Vet #2 we like, but he is very clumsy and could not even take blood from her successfully. Further, his office does not appear to have very sophisticated, modern equipment. Vet #3 was a Canadian vet we took her to on a vacation a couple of months ago when she was constipated. And since the Canadian had no financial interest in telling us she needed dental work, we tried out vet #4 two weeks ago and actually had set up an appointment for the anesthesia yesterday, but I freaked out and cancelled it. Vet#4 seems to have a slightly more modern facility than vet #2, and had his vet techs take blood as he was honest enough to say they were better at it. Her blood work was almost normal except for slightly elevated kidney values consistent with her age, but not significant for any kidney disease.

We have not noticed any changes in her behavior in recent years. She does appear to be eating normally, though sleeping more, but heck - I sleep more, too, as I get older. If I thought she was in pain, I would have the procedure done, and I know cats seldom show they are in pain, but how does one tell?

How can I make the decision that is best for her? 

Thank you in advance for any advice.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

One of my vets recommends giving small dogs, cats, and other small animals a lighter variety of anesthesia, and this is what my parents use for their small dogs. It's supposedly safer. I think it just sedates them lightly without putting them completely under.

Maybe try talking to your vet about that as a possible option?


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

First i would only use a vet hospital that is fully accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association. They hae have to meet stringent standards to be accredited.

Look for a newer vet who has become a vet in the last 7 or so years. And has the new equipment. Find if they are board certified too. That helps since it indicated extra education. Its an extra plus if they are.

Choose a vet who is a cat savvy vet. Most vets understand dogs. But not necessarily cats as well as they do dogs. Ive found. 

They will do blood work and the cat will be monitored the whole time if they are an AAHA clinic.

I think one of my biggest peeves with vets is they dont really understand dental medicine. Im from a family of dentists so Im very aware how your teeth can affect the health of your entire body. Dentistry is the new cash cow for vets so beware. They all want to do it but most arent qualified by my standards. I always double check things with my son before proceeding with dental issues with my cats!!!!!


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

My senior cat had dental work when she was almost 18 years old. She had CRF, megacolon, high blood pressure, hyperthyroid disease, arthritis, a heart murmur, and had suffered one stroke.

The dental issue was about quality of life. Her mouth hurt and she didn't want to eat. In addition, dental disease can cause kidney disease (or, in her case worsen it) and heart problems.

If the procedure had accelerated her kidney disease, I decided, at least her shortened life would be happy and comfortable, without mouth pain. However it did not, my vet worked very quickly, got the cleaning and extractions done, and she was awake, in less than half an hour.

This kind of decision is difficult when you are faced with new vets and don't know who to trust. I agree with talking the procedure over with the vet, especially the anesthesia.

My vet uses Sevoflurane which is a fast acting gas, and one of the safest. Kitty doesn't go as deep, but comes out more quickly. 

Good luck with your precious one.


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