Today, I’d like to raise a serious issue: choppers.
And also a great goofy galoot: Chopper.
I’m a tad ashamed to admit that, before my Tabby’s Place years, I knew very little less than a scrap of nothing about feline dental health.
Dr. C and Denise giving Mittens a dental: It looks scarier than it is. (And, I promise, no Mittens - or anyone else - was harmed in the making of this photo.)
What a difference three years make. Now I think about cats’ teeth all the time. (Well, not all the time. Sometimes I think about cats’ souls and hearts and paws and tails and pancreases. And also The Colbert Report. And seashells. And sometimes cupcakes. But I digress.)
It turns out that, if you’re a cat, dental health is a Really Big Deal. The more stoic among felines can hide their pain dreadfully well, but make no mistake: bad teeth hurt. Badly. By the time a cat shows he’s hurting - pawing at his mouth, crying out when eating, or avoiding food altogether - he’s in some hellacious pain.
And really rank teeth do worse than just ache: left untreated, mean mouth bacteria can cruise through the bloodstream to areas that matter more than teeth: heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.
So we take kitty choppers (and the kitty Chopper - but more on him in a moment) quite seriously at Tabby’s Place. On a regular schedule, Dr. C and Denise sneak a brave peek into each cat’s mouth, and any feline in need of a dental gets one, pronto.
Alas, there’s no staring at stickers on the ceiling or picking a favorite find from the Treasure Chest in a feline dental. The only kind of cat that gets a dental is a snoozing cat, so anesthesia is always part of the package. That gives Denise and Dr. C the kind of peaceful mouth they need to do a full dental, cleaning the teeth that are OK and extracting the ones that are wonky. In extreme cases, like stomatitis boys Jimmy and Desi, we need to call in the specialists.
Steve: Does this look like a guy ready for dentures to you?
Today, we had a dental surprise from the likes of one marmalade teenager: Steven.
Now, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you didn’t need major periodontal work done when you were 15. You didn’t have a bridge and ten crowns put in during elementary school. And you didn’t have to miss jayvee soccer practice to have your dentures fitted. Other than a cavity here and there, and awesomely-colored braces, most young creatures have pretty unproblematic teeth.
Not so for teenage dream Steve.
He’s only a year old, but Steven’s dental today was unexpectedly epic. Dr. C and Denise had expected he’d just need a basic cleaning (scale and polish, if you want to get fancy). We should have known by now that the boy who hid inside the couch is good at hiding things everywhere…like Massive Issues in his cute, young marmalade mouth.
Steve needed multiple extractions due to bone loss and root exposure. He’s on some serious pain medication tonight, but clearly feeling fine. Last I saw him he was chattering like a myna bird from his Hospital cage. Dr. C hypothesizes that Steven has such funky teeth at such an early age due to the viral issues he had as a wee one. Fortunately, with vigilance and annual dental cleanings, it’s very possible his dental drama may level off and not get any worse.
At any rate, our little gabber is going to be just fine. It’s a good thing Denise and Dr. C think about cats’ teeth even more than I do.
Oh, and about that other kind of Chopper: he’s available. Again. I was looking forward to posting about how he and Huckleberry were both on hold to be adopted this week…but reality preempted my post. Huck is already home sweet forever home (and we do believe it’s forever this time). There’s no such luck for Chopper (or his roomies, who would reeeeeeally love to see this Prozac-popping, hyperkinetic, human-hugging, cat-clobbering character take his leave).
Not yet, anyway. This adopter may have had a change of heart…but someone out there will have the perfect heart for Chopper.
Meantime, we’ll just keep loving him. And all the cats. And their choppers, too.
Tags: chopper, dental health, desi, jimmy, mittens, steve
Perhaps Steve’s, uh — interesting past behavior — was a result of a hurting mouth? I know this has happened with my own cats — I’d love to hear what Dr. C and the Wonderful Denise have to say about this!
Oh wow, great thinking Karen! I wonder if that could be it! My oldest kitties didn’t need their first dental until age 11 (last year), but my 4 yr old has already had one and my 6 yr old needs one. I guess it’s just like humans, you never know!
Poor Chopper!! Well, even though this home didn’t work out, that must mean there’s a better one in store for him!!
That probably explains Stevens mood the last couple of weeks. I did notice he was a bit out of it. (Btw, has anyone else witnessed Steven putting Natalie in her place? I don’t think he really likes her.) Oh Chopper! I love that cat! And its better that he didn’t go to the wrong house, more time we can spend with him!
I absolutely adore Chopper! He’ll find the perfect forever home soon. I’m sure of it.
Oh, and Steve called. He said he wants a Treasure Chest filled with birds, mice, and fish in feline dental pronto. 
Furry baby teeth are precious and need care - so why don’t the kitties understand this and let us brush them? I produce a toothbrush and *flash* they are gone! Have to start them young, is all I can say. I am so thankful for the wonderful people at Tabby’s Place who give everyone such thorough and loving care - THANK YOU a million times!!!
And gorgeous Chopper - I spent some love time with him over the weekend and he could not be more of a sweeetie! What a big, lovely, magnificient mushpile!! I know the right person is out there - dreaming about meeting a boy just like him. Next time for sure it will be his loving, forever home!