Would you do a dental on a chemo cat?

My Kaely, who is on chemo for lymphoma with a possible relapse, started drooling last week. The vet looked in her mouth today and said it looked bad. She will probably need extractions. Could a sore mouth be the reason for her weight loss and not a relapse? That's the only symptom. Am I crazy to consider this? Fellow cat lovers. what do you think? Donna

 

I did a dental on Justin while he was on chemo. He really needed the dental and my vets were very careful with him. I would also ask your vet what he advises as far as precautions. We did antibiotics before and afterwards.

 

Hi Donna,

Bad teeth can really hurt, and any infection will only be more of a drain on the immune system.
I'm with Patti. I think her suggestion to talk to your vet about precautions are right on. I had 2 srs with health issues have extractions as it was effecting QOL. Winnie was in remission, but on steroids still from her lymphoma days. She got ABs and and lots of fluids. ( and pain med for after care )
pre dental b/w. make sure they monitor BP and other vitals during proceedure. If you have a board cert. vet. dentist that is a good idea. I took Wolfie out of town for that.

Best wishes for Kaely..... and for you . (((( Donna ))))

 

donna, there are quite a number of boarded dentists around philly. a few at penn, one in malvern, and a couple others in the general area. http://www.avdc-dms.org/dms/diplomates.cfm

and yes, sore mouth could be a reason for weight loss. keeping my fingers crossed that's the reason.

(((kaely)))

 

Thank you, Patticass, Cheryl, and Choy-Foong for your posts.I want her to have a good quality of life while she's with us. I know most people would think I'm crazy to spend so much on a cat with a poor prognosis, so I just won't tell them! It's just that she acts so normal it's hard to believe the cancer will take her soon.

I love my vet, and the practice. She is amazing, and she knows my cat. The practice is an emergency 24 hr hospital. I will talk to her about the BPs, etc, beforehand. She did mention antibiotics afterwards for 10 days, and she has always been oblidging on pain meds for her arthritis. I will be very worried, tho, but she wouldn't drool without a very good reason. I don't want her to be in pain. I am trying to convince myself I guess! Thanks. Donna