Ok, I'll tell my story, which is not pretty, but may, in some small way make you feel better Cliff, if only because it isn't your story. I had mine out in my early 20s, all four at once. All four impacted. The dentist had to cut each one into pieces to get it out. When they were done (it took a team), I was given codeine. I am very seriously sensitive to codeine. The dentist was told this. He didn't listen. So my mouth was so swelled up I couldn't really open it, and I was puking. Yep, out my nose. For days. Codeine is a sensitivity that gets worse each time you take it. That was my last time. It can screw with your stomach so that no amount of bread and milk will fix it. You just have to go empty, and starve for awhile, to get it out of your system. The dentist had one ray of sunshine for all of that agony. He said if I had been puking through my mouth, I might have infected the holes. Thanks doc. Next time, read the chart, that clearly says I will puke on codeine. Hope you're feeling better, or at least better than the kid who was puking through her nose did. :)

Elvis died after dental work night before, Jim Henson- Muppets guy died after trip to dentist. Your teeth/sockets send bacteria straight to the heart. If you have any kind of heart trouble or there will be a lot of blood you need to take antibiotics starting before you go to dentist about 6 hours. I always have to have them as both parents had heart trouble & I bleed a lot in my mouth but no place else. If you have pacemaker or have had heart surgery you must have antibiotics before & after & if on certain drugs they might need to be stopped before that much surgery(warfarin, nightly aspirin & statin drugs for example) You need a good talk with dentist & prescription filled so you can start drug 6 hrs before dentist starts working on you. It's too late if you think you will ask for antibiotics afterwards if you feel funny. Because of direct path of bacteria to heart you don't have time after the teeth are pulled. A lot of times the heart itself gets infected & that is quick death. If your dentist. doesn't believe this go to a different dentist as he doesn't know what he is doing!

I agree, Rachelellen, I have one cousin who is now 16 with Downs and of course we have little Linsey, David's niece, she's three now and born with Downs and all those heart issues. This forum helped pull her through as an infant when the doctors held out little or no hope, so she's extra special to us. Anyway, the 16 year old, Catherine, can be nearly immovable, but she loves to be helpful. If I'm making lunch at the farm and she is there I always involve her in the decisions as to what to have and the simple chores in getting things ready. My cousin is amazed, says Catherine will eat things at the farm that she's refused her whole life, just because "she" cooked them or chose them. There's certainly no use in arguing with him, you will most certainly lose but if it's his idea, well, it's a whole new world. LOL Good luck to you. Does he eat alone? I've also found that if other peers or friends say they love something, it becomes more palatable, much like very small children. Annie

If it has come to the point where the vet determined the teeth need to be extracted it´s better to have them extracted, bad teeth are very painful, also, the cat doesn´t chew the food but swallows it whole or partially chewed which causes malnutrition because it can´t be digested properly. The primary reason to worry here is the age of the cat, better have it done with inhaled anesthesia with either Isofluorane or Sevofluorane.