Saturday, February 14, 2015

Does the Tooth Fairy Visit Cats?



And if so, do you think she'd find my teeths,
if Momma put them in our cat tree?




I sure hope so, cuz there they are. Momma said to wait til I felt more like my old self.
I bet you've guessed by now - I had oral surgery. It was a bit more involved than the average.

Momma says she'll spare you photos of the sutures. Our vet told Momma and Papa not to look. He said they might freak if they did.

They removed bone from my upper jaw, too, but it's not in my box. Uh, I don't think.

Momma & I spent Friday evening on the floor.
Friday night was kinda rough. I had a bit of trouble metabolizing the anesthesia. And I was bleeding a bit, too. Momma curled up on the floor next to me and held me for hours while I shivered uncontrollably. It wasn't a lot of fun.

One Sick Puppy Kitty

Maxwell is doing much better now, but he was doing that "I'm in pain" purr while shivering, and he was on Buprenorphine for days.

His tooth problems stem from the fact he was so sick as a kitten. For almost half a year, we fought infection after infection: both upper respiratory and in his ears. Our vet told me he's seen so many cats with this kind of health history lose their teeth to Juvenile Onset Gingivitis once they reach adulthood.

He also said Max would be toothless by age 5 because of that.  
(Psst! Guess what? I turn 5 on April 14! And I still have ten teeth left!)

But his gums - they're always inflamed. I treat them daily with a gel that kills the bacteria, to try to reduce that inflammation. And each February, he gets his teeth cleaned.
And each year, he loses one or two. Or twelve.

We cannot emphasize strongly enough that Pet Dental Health is a lifetime thing, and not just for older cats.

Maxwell: Hey does the Tooth Fairy pay for kitty teeth in wand toys, you think?
I sure hope so.


Faraday grabbed Momma's cell phone and pawed this pic of me on Sunday night while I was under the Influence.
(In case anyone wonders, kitty morphone tastes awful. Blech.)

So ... I gotta ask.
Do I look any different to you?


Will you still love me without my fangs?


It's not that I'm vain, really. (But I did have a handsome set, don't you think?)
________ 

We'll have a fair amount of "throwback" Fangs on Friday, because we have loads of Maxie photos we haven't yet shared with you. We assured him he would always be our Valentine, with or without teeth.  :-)

And we are beyond thankful he's beginning to return to his normal cheerful self.

Thank you all so much for your kind words on Wednesday when we mentioned he'd had surgery. 
This one was a bit tougher than past years, and we're happy it's behind us now!

39 comments:

  1. Maxxie, Mom and I are so sorry you had to go through that experience. And that you had a bad reaction to the medicine. We hope your Valentine's Day is a day for feeling a lot better. Yes, of course we love you "sans fangs"!

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  2. Purrs that all will be well in your household.

    .ʌ„„„ʌ”˜˜‟ ╮
    ≽ˉ•ˉ≼¸_„(”)
    (¯`v´¯)
    `*.¸.*´
    Happy Meowy-tine’s Day – Purrs from the Zee and Zoey Gang!

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  3. I'm going to suggest the tooth fairy give you a field of catnip for your pains. It will be a ton of fun and help relieve the pain as you will be nipped out. So sorry you have the dental issues, but it is not your fault. You are lucky to have a family to care for you.

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  4. You poor, sweet boy!!! I am so sorry you had to go through that. You sure are lucky though to have such a wonderful, caring family. That box of teeth just kills me.

    Happy Valentine's Day to you all!!!

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  5. Oh sweet Maxie! You are as handsome as ever. You don't need teeth or fur or eyes or anything on the outside to make us love you. You've already won us over with your heart.

    We're so, so sorry you had to go through all of that...and sorry for your worried-sick-mom.

    We love you, buddy.
    Will you be our Valentine?
    xoxoxo

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  6. Happy Valentines to you. Have a super Saturday and we hope some good things come your way.
    Best wishes Molly

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  7. Happy Valentine's Day, Maxie! You still are handsome and gorgeous. And Mom, thank you for all your care!

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  8. Maxie, you are still as handsome as ever! Happy Valentine's Day! We hope the Tooth Fairy brings lots of wand toys! So glad you are doing ok after your surgery! We know how scary that is.
    Purrs,
    Gus, Jaq, and Pearl

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  9. Oh Max! Wes is purraying for yous and having so many teeths taken out at once, ouch! But yous will does better now!
    Kisses
    Nellie
    PS Happy Valentines Day

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  10. I am so glad you are getting back to normal and you are still as handsome as ever - fangs or fangless. You could start a new meme - fangless friday and show your butt

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  11. You lost bone? You should get extra stuff from the tooth fairy for that! Feel better soon, Maxwell.

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  12. Maxewell, you are as handsome as ever. Please feel better soon.
    Love,
    Lola and Lexy

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  13. OH Maxwell we are so sorry for the horrible aftermath of the surgery. We are sorry too about all the toofie troubles you've had. But we ARE happy to see that beautiful face and those fantastic blue eyes of yours.
    Happy Valentines Day
    ~Annabelle, Boo, Jinx & Ping

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  14. Oh sweet Maxwell, I'm so sorry you've had such a rough time. Dental health is really a lifetime thing. And very, very important. Your pawrents are wonderful to make sure to keep good oral health for you. Glad you are getting better. I wish you a relaxing weekend xoxo

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  15. oh you poor thing! We didn't know! We are so sorry, but....you are still as handsome as ever!!! Hoping you are completely on the mend now. xoxo

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  16. Oh Maxwell ! You'll always be pawsome to our eyes ! You don't need teeth or anything else !
    Our Angel Isis was almost teethless at 4 years old. When all her bad teeth were gone, her gums began to heal ; she was able to eat everything, even crispy treats, without suffering.
    We're really sorry you and your mom had to go through all of that ! We hope you feel better soon ! Purrs

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  17. That doesn't sound good for you or for your Mama Maxwell! In fact, it sounds kind of awful! Sucky awful!! We hope you are feeling better now with every passing second. And you are beautifully handsome! You just are a beautiful boy...fangs or no fangs. :)

    We are sending you all our Valentines and extra love.

    your pals,
    the critters in the cottage xo

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  18. I am sorry you had to go through all of that Maxwell. Of course we all still love you with or without fangs.

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  19. So glad you're home & feeling better! You're still super handsome. :)

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  20. Of course we will still LOVE you without your fangs !!

    Happy Valentine's Day to all of you ♡♥♡

    XOXO

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  21. Oh Maxwell, I'm sure sorry you had more teeth taken pal. You do look as handsome as ever though dude. Hey, the Tooth Fairy came to visit Sister Zoe when she had 3 taken out. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

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  22. Oh Maxwell, we are sure sorry to hear about all the trouble you are having. One of our cats had all the same trouble but he is older. We sure are glad to hear that you are getting better and that nice Mom of yours spent the night with you. And to be honest, you will be able to get along just fine without those teeth. It just takes a while to get used to it. We think you look very handsome as always. Happy Valentines day.

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  23. You are still as handsome as ever even fangless. I am glad you are feeling better, that sounds like an awful ordeal. I hope the tooth fairy brings you anything you are wishing for. Happy Valentine's Day!

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  24. Oh you poor widdew baby!!! What an ordeal. We'd love you completely toofless, seriouslies.

    Felix had that stuff for his knee surgery and he was an unhappy camper too. We're so glad you are gonna feel PURRmanently better, now!

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  25. Oh Maxwell, we're so sorry you lost more teeth. And we sure hope the Tooth Fairy brings you something good. We agree, it's really important for us cats to take good care of our teeth. They're the only ones we have!

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  26. Maxie, we are so sorry about yer teef problems! We hope ya get lots of good stuff from the teef fairy. As it turn out, we are gonna have our teef cleaned next week.

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  27. Poor, poor Maxie! I’m sending tons of healing purrz. No cat should have to go through that. You are still handsome, however.

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  28. We are so sorry that surgery and its aftermath were so difficult, Maxie. If it is of any comfort, our Zoe now has no teeth. We adopted her as a senior kitty, and she only had about four teeth left. Now, those were removed about 2 months ago.

    Wishing you a day filled with love and happiness, dear friends. Big hugs, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

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  29. So sorry to hear that it was a rough one :( Hopefully this will help with all the inflammation though. Hope you all had a Happy Valentine's Day!
    Luvs
    Marty and Mom

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  30. Oh dear, sweet, sweet Maxie, we are so sorry to hear what an ordeal this was but are relieved that you are starting to feel better now. We know the love your Mom has for you is healing you as we speak and we send many purrs and good thoughts your way, dear buddy. Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

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  31. Hope ya do get a visit from da Toof Fairy!

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  32. I'm sorry Maxwell had such a rough time. Sending lots of healing energy his way for a quick and complete recovery!

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  33. Poor widdle Maxie...we lubs yoo wif or wifout teef.

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  34. Handsome as ever, Max! My crew goes to the vet this week. Two of them have dentals. They promise to be as brave as you.

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  35. Handsome as ever, Max! My crew goes to the vet this week. Two of them have dentals. They promise to be as brave as you.

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  36. Hi Maxie..

    you had the most awesome fangs eva, I bet the toof fae brings you a very awesome wand toy for them..

    But you are so much more than your fangs, so yes, we luvs you very much fangs or no fangs..

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  37. We think you're super handsome either way!! So sorry you had to have all that done my friend. Hopefully it'll make you feel better in the long run. Purrs from us!

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  38. Losing an additional 12 teeth is pawful, but better than being in poor health. Now we think the Tooth Fairly should bring a whole basketful of toys and treats for that many teeth. We will love you no matter how many teeth you have. Hugs and kisses and a belated Happy Valentine's Day. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

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  39. It never occurred to me that the Tooth Fairy would pay in wand toys. That's a spectacular idea! I'm glad your recovery is progressing and you're feeling better. I can't imagine anyone, human or kitty, would love you any less without your fangs. You're just so dang cute.

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Coolio! A comment? For US?