Not a Great Day to be a frugalsuz Feline

Update - the kitties took their pain meds with their food today so I didn't have to force feed it to them. Phew! They seem much better already.
Gigi - woah! Momma took out those carriers again! Me outta here lickedity split!

Well, dear friends, I'm sure you all remember our last visit to my kitties' favorite place - the vet! The real reason we went that day (other than a checkup and some routine shots) was to have Gigi's teeth checked out. She had been scratching her mouth after she ate and it was worrying me. The vet told me that both kitties had some inflammation in their gums. He recommended they come in for a teeth cleaning and teeth checkup (just like a human's visit to the dentist). The only catch was that because they're cats, they have to be put under general anesthesia for the procedure. Oy!

So yesterday was the big day. DBF came over to help me wrangle the kitties into the carriers and off we went. I dropped them off at 8 in the morning (Mousse meowing up a storm the whole time). They actually kept him in my carrier (rather than the ones they use at the vet) because he was already hissing and acting up. I still have the label the put on the top - "CAUTION!" Sigh, my cats.

I called around 2:30 to see how they were doing and was told that everything went fine (phew). Around 4:30, I went and picked them up to bring them back home. Both kitties were still very sluggish from the drugs and were very quiet on the way home. The vet told me that they had to pull five teeth for each of my babies. :( Gigi lost her top snaggleteeth (you know those massive ones that make them look like vampires?) and Mousse lost his bottom (as well as some other smaller teeth). One of Gigi's teeth was very eroded and the doctor basically just snapped it at the gumline and sutured her gums around the root. He said that root may give us some trouble in the future, but we'll just have to wait and see.

The vet thinks they may have a disease called Feline Resorptive Disease. Basically, the immune system attacks the teeth and over time, they may have to have more teeth pulled. He put Mousse on a special food that is designed to break up plaque, so that should help. Unfortunately, Gigi's already on a special food for digestive issues, and its more important she take that food than the plaque food. And unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease. The vet said we'll just keep checking their teeth when they come in for checkups and told me to be on the lookout for any unusual behavior.

When we got home and the cats walked out of the carriers, I could really see how "out of it" they still were. Mousse seemed to recover sooner, maybe because he's larger. Gigi was a little woozy and unsteady on her feet for about an hour. They both keep licking their chops, probably because the sutures inside their mouths felt so odd. I gave them their first dose of antibiotics smushed inside a little bit of wet food and they ate it with no problems. Today I have to tackle the pain meds, which are liquid. I'm hoping they'll take that with the food as well because they do not like being handled and I'd hate to have to force it down their throats.

They seem so much better today. Other than licking their chops a lot, you'd never even know anything had happened. Cats are funny like that, they really hide their pain. I didn't even know anything was wrong with Mousse at all. Its just because I was taking Gigi to the vet a couple weeks back that I brought him along. And his teeth were as bad as her's! Oh - I almost forgot! They have funny little shaved spots on their necks and tails. I'll try and snap a pic for y'all. It looks really funny. I'm just happy they are home and on their way to recovery. And hopefully they will be much more comfortable eating now.

Vet bill: $1,034.96. Happier, healthier cats - Priceless.