Little “clean-up” break :)
Soon we are about to finish our cats little “regeneration break”, that we’ve had for last couple of months. During that time we managed to deal with few issues that needed our attention (we’d mentioned some in previous post HERE).
It’s hard to plan anything for a breeding female in the cattery. There are many things that get in the way – pregnancy, nursing, recovery time from kittens, heats etc. If not those, there are also control tests, vaccinations, after which they also need some time to recover…. That’s also the reason why Elma and Hela still have some show titles left to achieve. (Why we didn’t attend any show during the last break, I will write a bit later). So while we were having those months off, we were able to at least plan something.
Issue that required handling concerned our cats… teeth. Prophylactics and everyday maintenance of oral hygiene is one thing. But even people get their teeth cleaned by professional once in a while (since I have a braces I even do it more often lately). Our cats mouths were in quite good condition but we decided not to wait until it worsenes.
Elmirka, Helen, Dziabąg & Cody had their blood test done so we could decide if they qualify for general anesthesia. Luckily there was no contraindications. So on two free Sundays we had, we took turns to the vet clinic where I work and did their oral sanation.
With Elma – first signs of plaque were noticed during her health check in October. We decided it was about time to get rid of it. After administering anesthesia and placing iv catheter, I intubated Elma. I used a special tube called v-gel. It’s much easier to fix then regular one and in my opinion – safer when it comes to cats. During entire procedure under anesthesia Elma’s parameters were monitored and I could check it on the monitor screen anytime. But removing plaque from premolars, molars didn’t take long.
Every tooth surface should be cleaned. It concerns buccal/labial and lingual site. It’s also important to reach gum pockets (space between the tooth and surrounding gum, that’s created by accumulating plaque). These also may contain bacteria and sediments that are not visible. Sometimes cleaning this part may cause a little bleeding of the gums.
Elma managed anesthesia and the procedure very well. She had to make funny faces while waking up from it. But that’s a typical thing when it comes to our cats. Unfortunately we were so concerned about her that we forgot to take pictures of her teeth before and after cleaning.
When it comes to Helen we had to remove plaque mostly from maxillary premolars and molars. Around the molars we’ve noticed first signs of gum inflammation. Sometimes this kind of changes can be missed during standard health check as this requires to reveal this part of teeth arch. And not all cats will allow you to do that – not even at the clinic.
Cody had just light plaque. But because we were already set for the procedures for all the cats, we did his teeth as well. If it was just for him, we would probably wait a bit more with anesthesia.
But with Cody there was one more thing that made us go for it. One was that we were set to deal with that issue in all cats. Second thing was his hormonal chip removal. When we decided to have a break – spring was around the corner. And this is usual cats reproduction season. We didn’t want our boy to have to deal with his sex drive and hormonal distress. Our girls were blocked from heat, but other cats in the neighborhood were not. Cats have very sensitive smell and we wanted Cody to be able to sit on the windowsill without getting crazy from pheromones in the air. That’s why he got subcutaneous chip called Suprelorin. It blocks testosterone production and sexual instincts and fertility along with it. Duration is variable (even up to 2 years). We wanted to keep Cody blocked for no longer than 4 months so we had to take it out after some time. After surgical removal, fertility should be back within a month.
Dziabąg had more plaque and some tartar already. But he is older than Cody and had more time to gather all that on his teeth. Unfortunately periodontal diseases can influence other organs. Bacteria can spread from teeth via blood, when inflammation occurs. For example patients with renal problems have poorer outcome when they have periodontal disease. Considering Dziabąg’s kidney issues (about it you can read HERE), we were even more determined to deal with that.
Someone may ask, what about Whisper. For that answer you will have to wait at least until the end of July.
Another thing that we managed during these few months, concerned Elma. After last pregnancy and nursing, she still had two little cysts on her ovaries. The one she had during health check in October got a bit larger than then. We decided to start pharmacological treatment that succeed. In latest ultrasound there were no cysts and her blood test came back ok. That’s also why we are taking her on “sex-holidays” next weekend. Elma turned 6 years old this June and in two years she will have to retire. But before that we would like to leave another of her daughters in the cattery. Cody obviously cannot be the father. That’s why we had to search for a different father for her next litter. But I’m not saying anything more about it right now. But please keep your fingers crossed for a lot of girls in Elmas next litter, so we could pick the best one to keep .
