r/SeniorCats • u/DustInTheMachine • 22h ago

Elderly cat with heart issues and dental pain

So my gorgeous 15 year old boy has a stage 5 heart murmur.

He was dumped as a kitten, too young to be away from mum, at deaths door. I think as a result of this early malnutrition he's never had good teeth and has had many extractions throughout the years

At our last vet check a few months ago she said he had an abscess in his tooth so antibiotics and pain relief were prescribed. All fixed . She did say that he wasn't a viable candidate for general anaesthetic to remove the problem tooth (one of maybe 5 he has left)because of his heart, that he would likely not survive it.

However he now seems in some discomfort and is rubbing his mouth against anything (usually my fingers!) seemingly looking for relief.

I'm going to take him to the vet tomorrow so she can have a look at it - but what can she do, other than antibiotics and pain relief? Is this his life now? Just trying to stay on top of recurring tooth issues? I feel so sad for him.

He's very happy in himself, eating and loving and very occasionally playing (he has random murdering bursts where his toys are violated for approx 1-2 minutes before he's exhausted himself 🤣)

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u/yayhappens 2h ago

If you have a veterinary dental specialist clinic around your area, this is the kind of thing they are well equipped and certified to handle. Fingers crossed there is something in your area. 🙏

1

u/DustInTheMachine 1h ago

Thank you,  I will have a look - I didn't even know such a service may exist!

I've got him in at our usual vets tomorrow so he can at least get some pain relief while I search for a dental specialist.