6/16 - Pookey - Upcoming Dental | Feline Diabetes Management Board

6/16 - Pookey - Upcoming Dental

Tim & Pookey

Tim & Pookey

Active member
Hi all,

Previous post:
6/4 - Pookey - PMBG 89 - Lots of pees

We were able to schedule a dental cleaning appointment on 7/3 at 8AM. Basically two weeks away!

Naturally, I’m nervous already. This is the right decision, right?

I’ll ask the vet too but is there anything in particular I need to know about the day of? His snack schedule will be all messed up that day I’m sure. Gaba for the car ride? Anything else I should ask them to do while he’s there?

Tagging @Kona @Karolina & Nestle @Jack & Mopem'sMom as I know ya’ll went through this recently.

Have a great day! - Tim
 
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Tim & Pookey said:
Hi all,

Previous post:
6/4 - Pookey - PMBG 89 - Lots of pees

We were able to schedule a dental cleaning appointment on 7/3 at 8AM. Basically two weeks away!

Naturally, I’m nervous already. This is the right decision, right?

I’ll ask the vet too but is there anything in particular I need to know about the day of? His snack schedule will be all messed up that day I’m sure. Gaba for the car ride? Anything else I should ask them to do while he’s there?

Tagging @Kona @Karolina & Nestle @Jack & Mopem'sMom as I know ya’ll went through this recently.

Have a great day! - Tim
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Hi Tim, I know you are worried about the dental for Pookey. It’s always scary.
Let us know what they are suggesting for his schedule.
Can he have it done first thing in the morning?
And what do they say about withholding food?

I know Wendy has posted about that and hoping he won’t have to fast for too long.

I assume you’ve read the sticky on dental recommendations?

And make sure you get pain meds for afterwards. Seems buprenorphine is the med of choice.
You may want to make sure ahead of time that’s their plan. (I know Karolina had lots of trouble either her vet who gave her other meds she wasn’t comfortable using for Nestle)

Ivy and I send you and Pookey lots of good luck and an easy recovery.
❤️‍🩹 💕😻🐈
 
Staci & Ivy said:
Hi Tim, I know you are worried about the dental for Pookey. It’s always scary.
Let us know what they are suggesting for his schedule.
Can he have it done first thing in the morning?
And what do they say about withholding food?

I know Wendy has posted about that and hoping he won’t have to fast for too long.

I assume you’ve read the sticky on dental recommendations?

And make sure you get pain meds for afterwards. Seems buprenorphine is the med of choice.
You may want to make sure ahead of time that’s their plan. (I know Karolina had lots of trouble either her vet who gave her other meds she wasn’t comfortable using for Nestle)

Ivy and I send you and Pookey lots of good luck and an easy recovery.
❤️‍🩹 💕😻🐈
Click to expand...
Thanks Staci!

They said fast from 10PM the night before. 8AM drop off the next day and he’ll be ready for pickup between 2PM and 4PM. That’s a long time. I think I will push to have him get done earlier since he’s diabetic.
 
Tim & Pookey said:
Thanks Staci!

They said fast from 10PM the night before. 8AM drop off the next day and he’ll be ready for pickup between 2PM and 4PM. That’s a long time. I think I will push to have him get done earlier since he’s diabetic.
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I agree. That’s way too long without food for a diabetic kitty.
When you call them don’t forget to ask what pain meds they give you and check with this group to make sure it’s the right meds. ❤️‍🩹
 
Staci & Ivy said:
I agree. That’s way too long without food for a diabetic kitty.
When you call them don’t forget to ask what pain meds they give you and check with this group to make sure it’s the right meds. ❤️‍🩹
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Ok thank you Staci this is the feedback I needed. If they can’t accommodate us I’m going to cancel it.
 
Tim & Pookey said:
Ok thank you Staci this is the feedback I needed. If they can’t accommodate us I’m going to cancel it.
Click to expand...
I would check with Wendy for her guidance. Don’t rush into any decisions before you speak with her 💕
We just want to make sure all the dominoes are lined up correctly for sweet Pookey 😻
 
I got a call from the director of medicine who will be doing his dental. She said he will be the first cat in at 8AM, and as soon as he’s alert they’ll give him a snack (around 9AM). Roughly a 12 hour fast, total.

And I can give a tablespoon of food with gabapentin a few hours before we go.

@Staci & Ivy @Wendy&Neko does this sound more acceptable to you?
 
Tim & Pookey said:
I got a call from the director of medicine who will be doing his dental. She said he will be the first cat in at 8AM, and as soon as he’s alert they’ll give him a snack (around 9AM). Roughly a 12 hour fast, total.

And I can give a tablespoon of food with gabapentin a few hours before we go.

@Staci & Ivy @Wendy&Neko does this sound more acceptable to you?
Click to expand...
That still sounds like a long fast, do you agree, @Wendy&Neko
 
Neko went to a dental specialist, they are more used to older and more complicated animals. She got 1/3 of her meal before 6AM. I also didn't use gaba but rather rescue remedy for pets and sprayed her carrier with Feliway. Turns out the room they kept pre dental cats in had Feliway plug ins. One of the things I asked the dental vet to do was to take Neko's blood pressure, Typically they'll do it before a dental anyway. I had two previous disaster attempts at getting her BP at other vets. The relaxed waiting room with Feliway meant Neko's BP reading was non stressed. Knowing Pookey's baseline BP is good, especially if kidney disease may be in the future.

The second post in this link has an excellent table, showing how long food should be withheld for healthy animals. It's not 12 hours: Info on Dental Procedures (including pictures). However, you should have agreement with your vet on when you are going to feed. There shouldn't be any surprises for the vet day of.

I hope the vet will do dental x-rays first. Mine did and called me right away to let me know what he saw before proceeding. Take in some of Pookey's food to they give him that instead of whatever high carb food they have hanging around. Put a blanket or towel in his carrier that he's been lying on, and put in a recently used but not washed t-shirt or PJ top of yours so he has your smell there too.
 
Thank you so much Wendy. This makes me feel better. They're making a home call for blood pressure next week, which will be 1 week prior to the dental.

They are doing x-rays. I had the same thoughts about bringing my own food, and vet agreed. Great tip about the t-shirt in the carrier.

I will show them that chart and get on the same page about the fast.
 
Tim & Pookey said:
Thank you so much Wendy. This makes me feel better. They're making a home call for blood pressure next week, which will be 1 week prior to the dental.

They are doing x-rays. I had the same thoughts about bringing my own food, and vet agreed. Great tip about the t-shirt in the carrier.

I will show them that chart and get on the same page about the fast.
Click to expand...
Also, if they do any extractions confirm they take xrays after as well to make sure they got it all. This is common for good dentistry but not everyone knows this. You don't want any unnecessary complications during healing.

And if he's due for blood work or urinalysis this would be a good time while sedated.
 
Laurie & Petey said:
Also, if they do any extractions confirm they take xrays after as well to make sure they got it all. This is common for good dentistry but not everyone knows this. You don't want any unnecessary complications during healing.

And if he's due for blood work or urinalysis this would be a good time while sedated.
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Thanks Laurie. Good reminder, and I’ll have to think. He just had those tests done recently but it can’t hurt to have more data.
 
I'm sorry I've been off the board for a while and never got a notification you tagged me. I actually found this post by accident!

All of the above advice sounds like the right plan. The vet who did the dental for Jack said he could have a little food the morning of, and 1/2 his insulin dose, but that was early for us (4am) since the ride is 2 hours and drop off was 8am. We had some time to play with. Jack got gabapentin the night before, and the morning of , as well as buprinex the morning of (gabapentin & buprinex are lovely together) He was given a shot of Onsior before being discharged, and only went home with buprinex for pain for 7 days. However, his mouth was really sore and he wasn't eating so we added Cerenia in for two days. Buprinex was still an issue with his cheek pocket, and he wasnt eating well, so I ended up adding gabapentin in with the buprinex for a few days before moving to just gabapentin. (you can see the meds on the SS notes column) Definitely discuss the pain med protocol before so you have everything on hand in case you need to switch/add when Pookey comes home. I have found vets differ greatly in the amout/type of pain meds they dispense, so I'm used to going in with a list of 'discussion points"...LOL. I would also ask about Cerenia (or better yet generic Maropitant Citrate which is MUCH cheaper) just in case of nausea. I read that the Cerenia has some pain relief properties as well. Good luck, please keep us posted, and I'll be sending positive vibes and praying for a successful and uneventful dental for Pookey ❤️
 
Jack & Mopem'sMom said:
I'm sorry I've been off the board for a while and never got a notification you tagged me. I actually found this post by accident!

All of the above advice sounds like the right plan. The vet who did the dental for Jack said he could have a little food the morning of, and 1/2 his insulin dose, but that was early for us (4am) since the ride is 2 hours and drop off was 8am. We had some time to play with. Jack got gabapentin the night before, and the morning of , as well as buprinex the morning of (gabapentin & buprinex are lovely together) He was given a shot of Onsior before being discharged, and only went home with buprinex for pain for 7 days. However, his mouth was really sore and he wasn't eating so we added Cerenia in for two days. Buprinex was still an issue with his cheek pocket, and he wasnt eating well, so I ended up adding gabapentin in with the buprinex for a few days before moving to just gabapentin. (you can see the meds on the SS notes column) Definitely discuss the pain med protocol before so you have everything on hand in case you need to switch/add when Pookey comes home. I have found vets differ greatly in the amout/type of pain meds they dispense, so I'm used to going in with a list of 'discussion points"...LOL. I would also ask about Cerenia (or better yet generic Maropitant Citrate which is MUCH cheaper) just in case of nausea. I read that the Cerenia has some pain relief properties as well. Good luck, please keep us posted, and I'll be sending positive vibes and praying for a successful and uneventful dental for Pookey ❤️
Click to expand...
I forget, but I might have edited the post and added the tags afterwards, which I don’t think it notifies the people that way. Either way, thank you Christine!

Good reminder about Cerenia. I’ve been meaning to get that even just to have.

The vet tech is coming in a few days for blood pressure. I’m going to load her up with questions and action items for the vet :LOL:
 
Tim & Pookey said:
I forget, but I might have edited the post and added the tags afterwards, which I don’t think it notifies the people that way. Either way, thank you Christine!

Good reminder about Cerenia. I’ve been meaning to get that even just to have.

The vet tech is coming in a few days for blood pressure. I’m going to load her up with questions and action items for the vet :LOL:
Click to expand...
Good for you! Unfortunately we pet parents have to very vocal advocates for our fur babies at times, and I make NO apologies !
 
Hi Tim! We went through this twice with Bella, both times it went very well an she was so much better after the surgery that it was all worth it.
Both times we fed her normally the night before, and then 1/2 meal in the morning and 1/2 dose. They monitor glucose levels. Do not hesitate to call and ask if anythingf feels weird. The 2nd time I was told she would be at 2 pm, fasting since midnight. I called and said that would not be possible, explained, and they changed it so she would be first in the morning. I always tried to ask and say I was worried rather than telling them they were wrong, and always had good response. I cancelled once because I did not feel OK, they called me the day before and said they had a cancellation, Bella was scheduled for a few months later but they could take her the next day, mid-day. I don't remember the details but it felt rushed, the vet did not know her, so I said no finally and she was fine.
All that to say, mostly, go with your gut, you know him, you know a lot about diabetes, if anything seems weird to you: ask. Maybe the tech forgot or did not think it through, it can happen easily, we're all humans.
And good luck to you. I was a wreck both times.
Where is the hug emoji?
 
Cecile and Bella said:
Hi Tim! We went through this twice with Bella, both times it went very well an she was so much better after the surgery that it was all worth it.
Both times we fed her normally the night before, and then 1/2 meal in the morning and 1/2 dose. They monitor glucose levels. Do not hesitate to call and ask if anythingf feels weird. The 2nd time I was told she would be at 2 pm, fasting since midnight. I called and said that would not be possible, explained, and they changed it so she would be first in the morning. I always tried to ask and say I was worried rather than telling them they were wrong, and always had good response. I cancelled once because I did not feel OK, they called me the day before and said they had a cancellation, Bella was scheduled for a few months later but they could take her the next day, mid-day. I don't remember the details but it felt rushed, the vet did not know her, so I said no finally and she was fine.
All that to say, mostly, go with your gut, you know him, you know a lot about diabetes, if anything seems weird to you: ask. Maybe the tech forgot or did not think it through, it can happen easily, we're all humans.
And good luck to you. I was a wreck both times.
Where is the hug emoji?
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Thanks Cecile! That makes me feel better. He doesn't have an urgent need for the dental, and as much as I like hanging out with you all, I want to do everything I can to avoid going back to insulin and all the pokes. I just hope it's the right decision.

The hug emoji shows up in the search if you type "care" or “hug”.

Hope you are enjoying your trip!
 
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She still needed it, a lot, and she got it a few weeks later.
My trip is nice, I am glad we are spending time with my mom. But it is so hot here, it's taking all my energy away! Days are around 35-38º Clsius (I am afraid even to look at how many ºF that is. 100?), and nights are way too hot too, above 20º, 70ºF, probably around 75-76. We're leaving on Tuesday.
 
Cecile and Bella said:
She still needed it, a lot, and she got it a few weeks later.
My trip is nice, I am glad we are spending time with my mom. But it is so hot here, it's taking all my energy away! Days are around 35-38º Clsius (I am afraid even to look at how many ºF that is. 100?), and nights are way too hot too, above 20º, 70ºF, probably around 75-76. We're leaving on Tuesday.
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Holy cow! I hope the AC is good where you’re staying. I would have that room set at like 65 F lol
 
@Tim & Pookey
I'm sorry but I never got that tag either. Im just reading over this condo now. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner and didn't answer any of your questions. Seems you've got lots of great advice on here anyways.
Now it looks like he's already done and awake. Im glad it all went fairly easy but I remember how stressful this whole thing is for us.
Sending lots andnlots of healing vines for Pookey
🤗✨️🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃✨️🤗
 
Karolina & Nestle said:
@Tim & Pookey
I'm sorry but I never got that tag either. Im just reading over this condo now. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner and didn't answer any of your questions. Seems you've got lots of great advice on here anyways.
Now it looks like he's already done and awake. Im glad it all went fairly easy but I remember how stressful this whole thing is for us.
Sending lots andnlots of healing vines for Pookey
🤗✨️🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃✨️🤗
Click to expand...
Thank you, Karolina! So stressful. Appreciate the vines 🤗
 
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