Is it safe to delay dental surgery for my hyperthyroid senior cat?

Hello. I am sorry to hear that Tiger is feeling sick. Tartar and tooth disease can worsen heart disease, especially if there is already heart disease present, however anesthesia in a cat with HCM is going to have increased risks. The decision to go to surgery or not will have to be made with you and your vet, depending on the severity of Tiger's heart condition. You can try feeding him a dental diet to help prevent more tartar build-up and if he will let you you can try brushing his teeth. You won't get the stuff on there off without anesthesia and a dental cleaning, but you can prevent it from getting worse. Good luck with Tiger.

Surgery will be a definitive option and treatment won't be needed anymore in the long term. Unfortunately the down side of it is the cost and invasiveness of procedure. Medical treatment on other hand requires constant monitoring and continue treatment but it is a good option as well. The decision is very subjective, but usually where cat and client are right candidates, I tend to suggest surgery. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

If his bloodwork before the surgery is good, then she should do well. Ask your veterinarian about what kind of monitoring and supportive care they are given before, during, and after surgery. Ask any questions you have concerns about so that you understand, part of your vet's job is to make sure you understand and are aware of what to expect.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think you are between a rock and hard place. I would find a Vet comfortable with Harley's kidney disease and is fast with dental extractions. Specialists aren't always the fastest at removing teeth. Sometimes the general practitioner is quicker and what Harley needs is to NOT be under anesthesia for 3 hours. Your Vet may just not feel comfortable with the severity of his teeth, his age and underlying kidney disease. Who and how they monitor anesthesia is also important. For the sake of his kidneys they need to be sure his blood pressure is stable and doesn't drop too low. I think you can have his teeth done, but there is risk due to his age and kidney disease but you don't have much choice at this point. I would find someone with in your budget that feels comfortable and you need to be willing to accept the risks and go for it. I wish you the best!

We sometimes do anesthesia multiple times on animals in just a few days or weeks. That is not abnormal. I can never tell you that she will be fine to have anesthesia again after 5 days. No one can tell you that. As long as they are hydrating her (putting her on IV fluids during the procedure) though, I would not be overly worried. Anesthetics we use are the same as in human medicine (in most cases) and are very safe. If she is eating better and you want to wait a couple weeks that may be an option. You should voice your concerns to your vet and go from there. They may agree with you that since she is eating better maybe she can wait a couple weeks. They may have a reason they want the procedure done so quickly. I don't have enough information to know what they are thinking. Hope this helps. If you have more questions you can always opt for a private consultation where we can chat back and forth. That way you can ask as many questions as you'd like. Best wishes.

if she is borderline and symptomatic they can send a thyroid test that can test more than just the in house version for a more definitive complete answer. Also they do make a food tailored to hyperthyroid cats that can help maintain the thyroid level. It is not safe to do if the number it not high though and it has to be the only food she gets. It is called science diet Y/D. I would talk to your vet about sending off a complete thyroid panel prior to any changes

My advice is to get this tooth extracted asap. It will be causing Beansy a lot of pain, and will make her quite sick. Not eating is a medical emergency, as if cats go 72 hours or longer without eating, they will develop a fatty liver. A fatty liver is fatal without treatment, so you want to avoid that. I think she needs to see a vet now.