Dental Surgery in Old Cats: The Story of Moose

Preparation

Moo wasn’t allowed to have anything to eat after 12:00 am the day of the procedure, so I stayed up late to give him a little post-dinner snack to fill his tummy.

When morning came, I couldn’t give breakfast to the girls and not Moo, so everyone had a morning fast (Hubby fed the girls after we left). I loaded Moo into his carrier, buckled him into the car, and drove to the vet.

This post is part of a three-post series where I discuss the first day I learned about my cat's precarious dental health when I made the decision to have him go through surgery and the day of the surgery

Calming My Nerves

The Vet Tech immediately took us back to an exam room, where I was told I could stay for the duration of the surgery (I was pleased I wasn’t going to have to sit in the lobby since I was so anxious).

The Tech then took me into a back room where the procedure was going to take place. She explained all of the equipment to me and showed me where Moo would be confined for observation after surgery.

I have to say this was a big help in calming my nerves. I read a lot on the internet, but she essentially gave me an overview of the process.

It was time, the Vet came in, answered a million more of my questions, and gave Moo a shot to make him sleepy. It was in his hip and he let out a cry because it burned.

I felt horrible!!! It only took a few moments before he was out and I had to give him a big hug and kiss and hand him over to the professionals.

Surgery Time

I was told one of the riskiest times is when the anesthesia is initially administered. They would use a light anesthetic to ensure they could bring him out quickly if he showed a reaction.

So I sat and waited with anticipation when a Tech finally came in to tell me everything went well with the initial anesthesia and that the doctor was ready to proceed.

I tried to distract myself as the minutes seemed to take hours. I received an update about mid-way through that all was going well, but my nerves were still fried.

Later, when the Doctor came in she had a smile on her face and assured me that all went well and that my Moo was waking up and I could see him in about 20 minutes.

I think I had been holding my breath on and off this whole time! I finally felt a sense of relief.

She told me all of Moo’s teeth had to be extracted, except the 6 little baby ones in front on the top and bottom. When I finally got to see my Moo he rubbed on the bars desperate to get some rubies.

I was so worried about his sore mouth I knew I couldn’t stay long because he needed to rest.

Finally Home

Once home later that evening, Moo, the girls, and I stayed closed in my office to limit his activity. He was so groggy and confused. He couldn’t get settled and just kept walking around the room.

He was given pain meds and antibiotic injections at the vet so I didn’t have anything to administer when we were home.

I worked from home the rest of the week to keep an eye on my little man. Over the next day or two Moo started to sober up and was back to his old self monopolizing my lap.

He did it, we did it! It was long overdue, but my Moo finally had the healthy mouth he always deserved.

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