Twelve year old cat getting anesthetic...

My 12 1/2 year old cat needs a dental cleaning; she has gingivitis, as
well as some tartar build up.

Of course I'm worried about the anesthetic; she had a dental cleaning 4
years ago. But there's a big difference between an 8 year, and a 12 year
old cat

I had saved a long thread on anesthetic agents, but I LOST ALL of my
ROCH+B threads that I have been saving ('locked threads')for 7 or 8
years.

So instead of just being able to go and read the information I had
carefully saved for just this day, I am asking for advice.

I had the vet use isoflurane the last time my cat needed dental
cleaning.

Is there anything that might be safer for my older cat?

I have a pretty low opinion of ketamine, BTW. It's a hallucinogen; when
cats wake up from it, they are often in pretty bad shape. "Whacked out"
it the term that comes to mind. Mild mannered cats can turn into 'psycho
attack cats'. And, they take a long time to 'come out of it'. I've seen
this first hand, BTW, many times. I've given ketamine to cats, many,
many times. Vets like it because it's cheap, and easy to administer.

Any first hand advice is welcome.

Thank you

"Gandalf" wrote in message
...
My 12 1/2 year old cat needs a dental cleaning; she has gingivitis, as
well as some tartar build up.

Of course I'm worried about the anesthetic; she had a dental cleaning 4
years ago. But there's a big difference between an 8 year, and a 12 year
old cat

I had saved a long thread on anesthetic agents, but I LOST ALL of my
ROCH+B threads that I have been saving ('locked threads')for 7 or 8
years.

So instead of just being able to go and read the information I had
carefully saved for just this day, I am asking for advice.

I had the vet use isoflurane the last time my cat needed dental
cleaning.

Is there anything that might be safer for my older cat?


That's the best there is.

I have a pretty low opinion of ketamine, BTW. It's a hallucinogen; when
cats wake up from it, they are often in pretty bad shape. "Whacked out"
it the term that comes to mind. Mild mannered cats can turn into 'psycho
attack cats'. And, they take a long time to 'come out of it'. I've seen
this first hand, BTW, many times. I've given ketamine to cats, many,
many times. Vets like it because it's cheap, and easy to administer.

Demand Isoflurane. They can do a sensitivity test on the cats blood sample
before the surgery to see how it will react. Isoflurane is reversed with
pure oxygen so it is very safe.

Any first hand advice is welcome.

I had a 16.5 year old cat anesthetized several times with Isoflurane with no
complications.

Paul

On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:57:31 -0700, "Paul M. Cook"
wrote:


"Gandalf" wrote in message
...
My 12 1/2 year old cat needs a dental cleaning; she has gingivitis, as
well as some tartar build up.

Of course I'm worried about the anesthetic; she had a dental cleaning 4
years ago. But there's a big difference between an 8 year, and a 12 year
old cat

I had saved a long thread on anesthetic agents, but I LOST ALL of my
ROCH+B threads that I have been saving ('locked threads')for 7 or 8
years.

So instead of just being able to go and read the information I had
carefully saved for just this day, I am asking for advice.

I had the vet use isoflurane the last time my cat needed dental
cleaning.

Is there anything that might be safer for my older cat?


That's the best there is.

I have a pretty low opinion of ketamine, BTW. It's a hallucinogen; when
cats wake up from it, they are often in pretty bad shape. "Whacked out"
it the term that comes to mind. Mild mannered cats can turn into 'psycho
attack cats'. And, they take a long time to 'come out of it'. I've seen
this first hand, BTW, many times. I've given ketamine to cats, many,
many times. Vets like it because it's cheap, and easy to administer.

Demand Isoflurane. They can do a sensitivity test on the cats blood sample
before the surgery to see how it will react. Isoflurane is reversed with
pure oxygen so it is very safe.

Any first hand advice is welcome.

I had a 16.5 year old cat anesthetized several times with Isoflurane with no
complications.

Paul

Thank you for the information!

If your 16.5 cat had no problems with isoflurane *several times*, I feel
much, much better about my younger cat getting it.

I'm certain I heard about isoflurane right here on RPCH+B, since the vet
I worked for NEVER used it. But that was many, many years ago.

I read on wikipedia that the patent on it ran out, so it is much cheaper
than it used to be.

I don't care about the cost, of course. I just want to be sure my cat
has a minimmaly 'bad time' from the anesthesia; and most of all, comes
home in her carrier, not in a box.

I greatly appreciate your input!

My 21 year old cat had her teeth cleaned last year. They used
isoflurane. She did great, no problems, wasn't too groggy when she
came home, and felt a LOT better after her teeth were cleaned up. I
was very nervous because she only weighs 4 lbs, she's really tiny,
always has been, but I'm glad we did it now.

Good luck!