😺 We heard it's Ginger Cat Appreciation Day today! That's funny. Isn't it every day? Half of our staff has a ginger kitty at home! Check out our cute Oliver, Sam, and Freddie! Do you have ginger cats too? Show us your ginger kitty!
#gingercatappreciationday #gingercat
What tips and tricks do you have for incorporating toothbrushing into your pet’s daily routine?
Stella, one of our RVTs, took a video of her and her kitty Cheech’s daily toothbrushing routine. Cheech is a typical kitty who does not tolerate anything that he does not like. He is, however, very food-motivated, so Stella has trained him to accept toothbrushing using his kibble. Now he waits on his chair to have his teeth brushed every evening. Taking less than 2 minutes a day, toothbrushing has greatly benefited Cheech by helping to prevent periodontal disease and allowing Stella to monitor his teeth for the development of tooth resorption.
A dental homecare program should only be started after your pet had a thorough oral evaluation by your veterinarian. Check out the links below for step-by-step instructions on how to introduce toothbrushing to your pet:
Hale Veterinary Clinic Dental Care for Pets - http://www.toothvet.ca/dentalcare.html
World Small Animal Veterinary Association Introducing Toothbrushing Client Handout -https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GDC-Toothbrushing-Toolkit-1.pdf
Honey was one of our patients with severe dental diseases that warranted whole mouth extraction last month. Yesterday, we received an update from her owner with some wonderful news and a video of her 3 weeks post-op:
‘Hello, Dr. Hale and clinic team,
Happy New Year! Hope you had a very happy holiday season.
Just wanted to share our good news with you about Honey. She has made such wonderful progress since her full-mouth tooth extraction on December 5.
Honey is doing very well. She is eating both wet and dry food and seems to be managing well and adjusting to her new toothless mouth. She seems happy and playful and definitely enjoying a new life and as far as we can tell, without pain.
Although we were not counting on the overwhelming complex problems as new cat owners that Honey was dealing with, we feel so fortunate to have gone through this journey with all of the care and support from you and your staff, on the recommendation of our veterinarian. We are so grateful that Honey was able to have her surgery so much sooner than originally planned.
We are starting a new year with a cat who has a new lease on life! She really has come leaps and bounds since she came to us.
We can't thank you all enough!’
Can you believe Honey had a mouth full of advanced periodontal disease, tooth resorption, retained roots, and buccal traumatic granulomas? She was so lucky that her current owner took her into their care and pursued treatment for her. At first, they were very nervous to hear that Honey needed whole-mouth extraction. Now, they say this was the best decision they could have made for her quality of life! We hear this all the time from owners of pets who had whole-mouth extractions. Many people say that with no more dental pain and infection, their pets are much happier, eating better, and playing like a puppy/kitten again.
How do we make our patient’s visit fun without using treats? Almost all our patients are coming for surgeries under general anesthesia, so we cannot give them treats pre-op. One of the alternatives is to offer some of them toys to play with (under supervision) while we are getting ready for their surgeries. Of course, the Christmas tree plush toy with a squeaker inside is the most popular one this month! The plush toys are washed in the laundry, and rubber balls or Kong toys are disinfected after each patient. A paper towel roll can also be a very fun toy that is free and readily available. Playing not just provides our patients a more positive experience here, watching them having fun puts a smile on everyone’s face too!
😺Kitties are generally less playful in a clinic setting, but we find some of the outgoing ones enjoy a pinch of catnip or playing with a bird feather we found outside!
We hope this video brightens your day too! Happy holiday!🥰
