I've had dogs and cats all my life. They all have lived good, long healthy lives. I currently have a 5 year old stray cat that has lived with us for a few years. We spayed her and life is good... Took her to the vet today for her yearly shots and she is now up to date. She is overweight and we continue to work with her but she has issues that she hasn't given up on since being a stray... Anyways, my point is she's pretty healthy. The vet noticed today that one of her back teeth/gum areas looked infected and red (yes, I saw it!) and mentioned that the tooth (and maybe others) should come out. Before I knew it, the surgery was booked and it will cost me $400 next Tuesday. Now I'm wondering if there is anything else we can try before the surgery. Antibotics? I don't know. I love my animals and have always been a good animal mommy. Fortunately, none of my animals in the past have every had any serious issues- Yes, I consider surgery serious. Anyway, She doesn't appear to be in any pain or sick... She plays, runs, eats and acts normal. Are there any other options? What would you do?

I should also say that I'm new to the area and this is only the 2nd time I've been to this vet. The last time was a few weeks ago with my dog for his shots and all was well. I like this vet and others recommended him. I ended up spending $165 today (shots, checkup, flea stuff, special food) and the thought of another $400 is making me sick. UGH!!

Suzette

PS. My husband says "For god's sake, it's just a cat!". As you can tell, he isn't a cat lover.

You can always get a second opinion.
In the end, the cat probably will need some teeth pulled. In some cases they just need a good cleaning, but cats have a condition that weakens the neck of the tooth--the part between the root and the crown. Eventually the crown (the part you can see) may break off and leave the root in place with its nerve endings exposed--very painful!
There has been some argument that these things have been caused by modern feeding practices, but I read somewhere recently that they went back and looked a mummified cats from Egypt and found the same disease process!
If you want to find out more about this, Google "feline neck lesions", "feline cervical lesions", or the real lulu, "feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions"
The more you know the better prepared you are to ask questions and make decisions.

Thank you for the info, Carol. It was extremely helpful. Prior to posting, I googled all sorts of keywords but still wasn't getting any real answers. Your posting helped me understand the real issue and I feel that surgery on Tuesday is the right thing to do.

I agree with possibly getting a second opinion. Although I too am inclined to think the tooth may need to come out. Problems with bad gums/teeth are being linked to all kinds of different issues.

As for prior to surgery (and no, this isn't major) -- she needs to be on an antibiotic! If you have to ask, that is, the vet did not already put her on one, I'd go find another vet. She should be on one several days prior and at least several days following the dental work. ALL of the problems I've seen following this type of work have been due to lack of antibiotic, and the vet really oughta know better.

Yes, yes, yes to presurgery antibiotics! The blood flow is very near the surface in the mouth tissues, and when you go messing around with an infected tooth, it is all too easy for the bloodstream to pick up bacteria and deposit it in very bad places, like the heart valves and kidneys.