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#1
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I'm feeling like a horrible pet owner...
Hi everyone,
My 3 year old fur baby is at the vets right now after having her teeth de-scaled and an id chip injection. We got her from an animal rescue place a year ago and she had the usual medical problems: fleas, ear mites and cat flu. But after taking her to the vet after two weeks of drops and medication he gave her a clean bill of health. So for the last year we've carried on as usual...spoiling and loving our little kitty. She was in last week for her yearly injection and the vet (different one from before) was shocked at the state of her teeth, and so was I. She had horrendous plaque build up, angry inflammed gums and a couple brown teeth. I couldn't believe it. So we booked her in to have her teeth done today. I've just gotten off the phone with the vets and my poor little girl has to stay for a few more hours. It turns out they had to remove a couple teeth because they were rotten!! I'm feeling so horrible. I love her to pieces, but I feel like I have let her down by not taking proper care of her. Before we got her she had not had a great life. The shelter told us she had 3 different homes before being dropped off outside their door. She was thin and malnourished and relied on the shelter's 5pm feeding schedule (wet food). I've had cats before and I have never given them wet food once they were adults and they've never had teeth problems. But Cilla was different. We tried to wean her off of it when we first brought her home but she refused to eat dry food and would howl if we didn't give her the wet stuff. My husband and I wanted her to be happy and to begin to feel settled with us so we have carried on with wet food once a day in addition to dry. Is this the reason her teeth have gotten so bad?? Have we done this to her? As much as we love her, a part of me is feeling like we don't deserve her, like we should find another home for her. I almost feel like I have abused her by not taking care of her like we should have. I think I just need some help. How do we get her off the wet food without making her unhappy? She is just like a child to me and I love her desperately. I just want her to be happy and feel secure. Any ideas? Thanks Summer |
#2
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Don't beat yourself up with guilt, you've done perfectly well by this cat.
A lot of cats have to have teeth cleaning and even tooth removal, just as we humans do. You don't have to take her off canned food (some say it's actually better than dry). What you might want to do is try to start brushing her teeth. PetSmart sells pet toothbrushes and meat-flavored toothpaste for cats. If she won't allow you to do this, don't fret (mine would never allow it), just have the vet check her teeth when she gets her vacs and have them cleaned when needed (my fourteen-year-old only had to have it done twice, but mine eat Science Diet dry). Hugs, CatNipped "SummerC" wrote in message ... Hi everyone, My 3 year old fur baby is at the vets right now after having her teeth de-scaled and an id chip injection. We got her from an animal rescue place a year ago and she had the usual medical problems: fleas, ear mites and cat flu. But after taking her to the vet after two weeks of drops and medication he gave her a clean bill of health. So for the last year we've carried on as usual...spoiling and loving our little kitty. She was in last week for her yearly injection and the vet (different one from before) was shocked at the state of her teeth, and so was I. She had horrendous plaque build up, angry inflammed gums and a couple brown teeth. I couldn't believe it. So we booked her in to have her teeth done today. I've just gotten off the phone with the vets and my poor little girl has to stay for a few more hours. It turns out they had to remove a couple teeth because they were rotten!! I'm feeling so horrible. I love her to pieces, but I feel like I have let her down by not taking proper care of her. Before we got her she had not had a great life. The shelter told us she had 3 different homes before being dropped off outside their door. She was thin and malnourished and relied on the shelter's 5pm feeding schedule (wet food). I've had cats before and I have never given them wet food once they were adults and they've never had teeth problems. But Cilla was different. We tried to wean her off of it when we first brought her home but she refused to eat dry food and would howl if we didn't give her the wet stuff. My husband and I wanted her to be happy and to begin to feel settled with us so we have carried on with wet food once a day in addition to dry. Is this the reason her teeth have gotten so bad?? Have we done this to her? As much as we love her, a part of me is feeling like we don't deserve her, like we should find another home for her. I almost feel like I have abused her by not taking care of her like we should have. I think I just need some help. How do we get her off the wet food without making her unhappy? She is just like a child to me and I love her desperately. I just want her to be happy and feel secure. Any ideas? Thanks Summer |
#3
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Don't beat yourself up with guilt, you've done perfectly well by this cat.
A lot of cats have to have teeth cleaning and even tooth removal, just as we humans do. You don't have to take her off canned food (some say it's actually better than dry). What you might want to do is try to start brushing her teeth. PetSmart sells pet toothbrushes and meat-flavored toothpaste for cats. If she won't allow you to do this, don't fret (mine would never allow it), just have the vet check her teeth when she gets her vacs and have them cleaned when needed (my fourteen-year-old only had to have it done twice, but mine eat Science Diet dry). Hugs, CatNipped "SummerC" wrote in message ... Hi everyone, My 3 year old fur baby is at the vets right now after having her teeth de-scaled and an id chip injection. We got her from an animal rescue place a year ago and she had the usual medical problems: fleas, ear mites and cat flu. But after taking her to the vet after two weeks of drops and medication he gave her a clean bill of health. So for the last year we've carried on as usual...spoiling and loving our little kitty. She was in last week for her yearly injection and the vet (different one from before) was shocked at the state of her teeth, and so was I. She had horrendous plaque build up, angry inflammed gums and a couple brown teeth. I couldn't believe it. So we booked her in to have her teeth done today. I've just gotten off the phone with the vets and my poor little girl has to stay for a few more hours. It turns out they had to remove a couple teeth because they were rotten!! I'm feeling so horrible. I love her to pieces, but I feel like I have let her down by not taking proper care of her. Before we got her she had not had a great life. The shelter told us she had 3 different homes before being dropped off outside their door. She was thin and malnourished and relied on the shelter's 5pm feeding schedule (wet food). I've had cats before and I have never given them wet food once they were adults and they've never had teeth problems. But Cilla was different. We tried to wean her off of it when we first brought her home but she refused to eat dry food and would howl if we didn't give her the wet stuff. My husband and I wanted her to be happy and to begin to feel settled with us so we have carried on with wet food once a day in addition to dry. Is this the reason her teeth have gotten so bad?? Have we done this to her? As much as we love her, a part of me is feeling like we don't deserve her, like we should find another home for her. I almost feel like I have abused her by not taking care of her like we should have. I think I just need some help. How do we get her off the wet food without making her unhappy? She is just like a child to me and I love her desperately. I just want her to be happy and feel secure. Any ideas? Thanks Summer |
#4
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Don't beat yourself up with guilt, you've done perfectly well by this cat.
A lot of cats have to have teeth cleaning and even tooth removal, just as we humans do. You don't have to take her off canned food (some say it's actually better than dry). What you might want to do is try to start brushing her teeth. PetSmart sells pet toothbrushes and meat-flavored toothpaste for cats. If she won't allow you to do this, don't fret (mine would never allow it), just have the vet check her teeth when she gets her vacs and have them cleaned when needed (my fourteen-year-old only had to have it done twice, but mine eat Science Diet dry). Hugs, CatNipped "SummerC" wrote in message ... Hi everyone, My 3 year old fur baby is at the vets right now after having her teeth de-scaled and an id chip injection. We got her from an animal rescue place a year ago and she had the usual medical problems: fleas, ear mites and cat flu. But after taking her to the vet after two weeks of drops and medication he gave her a clean bill of health. So for the last year we've carried on as usual...spoiling and loving our little kitty. She was in last week for her yearly injection and the vet (different one from before) was shocked at the state of her teeth, and so was I. She had horrendous plaque build up, angry inflammed gums and a couple brown teeth. I couldn't believe it. So we booked her in to have her teeth done today. I've just gotten off the phone with the vets and my poor little girl has to stay for a few more hours. It turns out they had to remove a couple teeth because they were rotten!! I'm feeling so horrible. I love her to pieces, but I feel like I have let her down by not taking proper care of her. Before we got her she had not had a great life. The shelter told us she had 3 different homes before being dropped off outside their door. She was thin and malnourished and relied on the shelter's 5pm feeding schedule (wet food). I've had cats before and I have never given them wet food once they were adults and they've never had teeth problems. But Cilla was different. We tried to wean her off of it when we first brought her home but she refused to eat dry food and would howl if we didn't give her the wet stuff. My husband and I wanted her to be happy and to begin to feel settled with us so we have carried on with wet food once a day in addition to dry. Is this the reason her teeth have gotten so bad?? Have we done this to her? As much as we love her, a part of me is feeling like we don't deserve her, like we should find another home for her. I almost feel like I have abused her by not taking care of her like we should have. I think I just need some help. How do we get her off the wet food without making her unhappy? She is just like a child to me and I love her desperately. I just want her to be happy and feel secure. Any ideas? Thanks Summer |
#5
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#6
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#7
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#8
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It *isn't* your fault and you are doing your best. Some cats DO have bad
teeth or gums genetically. As long as you are getting kitty vetted and that is the most important thing. |
#9
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It *isn't* your fault and you are doing your best. Some cats DO have bad
teeth or gums genetically. As long as you are getting kitty vetted and that is the most important thing. |
#10
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It *isn't* your fault and you are doing your best. Some cats DO have bad
teeth or gums genetically. As long as you are getting kitty vetted and that is the most important thing. |
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