My FIV+ cat needs teeth pulled. Is anesthesia safe for him with FIV?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Persian | Male | unneutered | 6 years and 1 month old | 5.5 lbs
My cat has Fiv+, due to that he has issues with his teeth. Our vet recommended some extractions. I'm not sure about this, mainly in regards to how anesthesia and the extraction itself can affect a FIv cat. What should I do? He's still eating fine at this point.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on February 8th, 2018
Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Cats with FIV can live a very long and healthy life! If he has dental disease and needs teeth removed I recommend doing it. The dental shouldn't cause progression of his FIV and will likely improve his quality of life. Leaving diseased teeth in the mouth of an immunocompromised animal isn't good either! i hope this helps!
4Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on August 18th, 2019
Removing the teeth is often indicated in severe cases of stomatitis. It may help with the infections. However you must consider that an FIV positive cat has a compromised immune system and it sounds like this kitty is quite badly effected. I would certainly consider his health as a whole before doing significant procedures.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
8 weeks ago I adopted a 12 yr old cat from a shelter who had recent dental surgery and was severely underweight. Once I got him home I took him for a complete exam. During the exam we found a mouth infection, ear infection, elevated liver levels, swo
Removing the teeth is often indicated in severe cases of stomatitis. It may help with the infections. However you must consider that an FIV positive cat has a compromised immune system and it sounds like this kitty is quite badly effected. I would certainly consider his health as a whole before doing significant procedures.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I've been told my cat needs a tooth extraction I'm worried about him having anaaesthetics, he gets very stressed going to vet.
Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! Poor Milo! Most of the time they do just fine! It is best for his health to have the diseased tooth taken care of. You can ask your Vet to prescribe a sedative to you to give to transport him to the Vet. Anesthesia is always risky but complications are rare and we do everything possible to eliminate risk. Monitoring is done during anesthesia and blood-work should be done prior I wish Milo the best
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi,what is my cat life expectations if he was recently diagnosed with FIV and got severe stomatitis and nasal discharge. He is 11 years old
Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! Poor Mi! When kittens are diagnosed with FIV we tell the owners that they can live well in to their geriatric years. FIV is like HIV in people. The pet will do fine until the immune system is compromised then the pet gets sick with secondary infections or cancer. If Mi is otherwise healthy I would recommend full mouth extractions for the stomatitis. He could have nasal discharge due to dental disease. While he is under anesthesia the vet can get skull X-rays to look at his nasal cavity. But the nasal discharge can also be due to lymphoma (cancer), bacteria, viral or fungal infections. If the stomatitis can not be managed and he is too painful to eat then I wouldn't expect him to live comfortably very long. If your Vet can control the pain and inflammation then I don't see why he couldn't have more time. I don't think I can give you an exact time frame with out examining him or knowing more about how he is feeling currently. I hope this helps and I
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
We have this 10-year-old Persian who's always grinding her teeth, so we brought her to a vet, who then diagnosed her with gingivitis and suggested putting her under general anaesthesia so they could remove the tartar. We are weighing the pros and c
Hi there. I agree having her teeth cleaned it’s a good idea especially if she has tartar buildup.I would start by having your veterinarian run some general bloodwork to make sure her organ function is good and if everything looks good and her heart is healthy and anesthesia is very safe. Having bad dental health can be more detrimental in the long run and getting this taken care of would be a great idea. Also make sure that wherever you have her teeth cleaned has full monitoring devices and that they do intravenous fluids during the procedure. This is a standard safety measure and you want to go somewhere that has that available. Hope that is helpful and have a wonderful day.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My cat is a feral about 10 she has fiv and a very infected mouth has tuff time with food and bad smell my vet says I should put her down she is in pain it's hard to decide to take her life what is your toughts
That is a very tough question to answer without actually seeing her. However, I would wonder if she is healthy enough for anesthesia? If so considering pulling all of her infected teeth may make her a lot more comfortable. If she is painful, and nothing can be done to improve her quality of life, then that is usually when I start to consider euthanasia. I hope this helps guide you, but it is never an easy decision. Take care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My cat is 19. He has the start of kidney disease and a heart murmur. His teeth are rotting; causing him extreme pain. Every other month he gets really sick and stops eating. I take him in, he is given antibiotics and he then gets better. My vet sugge
Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! I think you are between a rock and hard place. I would find a Vet comfortable with Harley's kidney disease and is fast with dental extractions. Specialists aren't always the fastest at removing teeth. Sometimes the general practitioner is quicker and what Harley needs is to NOT be under anesthesia for 3 hours. Your Vet may just not feel comfortable with the severity of his teeth, his age and underlying kidney disease. Who and how they monitor anesthesia is also important. For the sake of his kidneys they need to be sure his blood pressure is stable and doesn't drop too low. I think you can have his teeth done, but there is risk due to his age and kidney disease but you don't have much choice at this point. I would find someone with in your budget that feels comfortable and you need to be willing to accept the risks and go for it. I wish you the best!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
My cat Jessie a former feral has been diagnosed with severe periodontal issues by my vet and she wants to do tooth extraction (she only has her canines basically) and was told she was more like 8-10 years old rather then a past vet who never looked a
Hi and thanks for posting on Boop by Petco! Cats (and dogs too) do surprisingly well with little to no teeth. Most pets are able to eat their food with no problem. Sometimes moist or wet food is given to make consuming their food a bit easier to gulp or the hard kibble can be wetted down too. This is likely not going to affect her other than enjoying the relief and added health benefits of having decayed painful teeth removed. I hope this helps and I wish you and Jessie the best!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
my cat has undergone anesthesia twice in a month, once for mouth examination and once for freezing the ulcer in her mouth with a chemical which was thought a tumor. she has stomatitis. she had depomedrol injection 5 days ago and getting antibiotic ta
We sometimes do anesthesia multiple times on animals in just a few days or weeks. That is not abnormal. I can never tell you that she will be fine to have anesthesia again after 5 days. No one can tell you that. As long as they are hydrating her (putting her on IV fluids during the procedure) though, I would not be overly worried. Anesthetics we use are the same as in human medicine (in most cases) and are very safe. If she is eating better and you want to wait a couple weeks that may be an option. You should voice your concerns to your vet and go from there. They may agree with you that since she is eating better maybe she can wait a couple weeks. They may have a reason they want the procedure done so quickly. I don't have enough information to know what they are thinking. Hope this helps. If you have more questions you can always opt for a private consultation where we can chat back and forth. That way you can ask as many questions as you'd like. Best wishes.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My cat is going on 10 next month. Is he too old for anesthesia since he's got stamatitis?
If his heart and lungs sound normal with no murmurs and his blood work is other unremarkable (testing liver, kidneys and blood sugar), then most people are willing to pursue anesthesia still to help him. IF there are abnormalities in these areas, they can still anesthesia, however, they often may use different medications to accommodate those problems. It is very common for cats of that age to get sedated for procedures though.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Can local anesthesia be used when normal anesthesia is a higher risk? My cat has bad teeth health, and has tartar in his teeth. The vet has said that normal anesthesia would be a risk for my cat, are there any other ways to have his teeth cleaned?
Local anesthesia is sometimes used for things like removal of a skin tumor or repair of a wound, but it isn't going to be effective for a dental cleaning in a pet. The purpose of anesthesia in dental cleaning is to immobilize the pet, as pets will not sit with their mouths open for us to clean their teeth. We sometimes use local anesthetics in addition to general anesthesia with dental work if a tooth needs removal (we will put a local block at the site of the tooth), but it acts just as pain relief and numbing of that area, not to keep the patient still. I would discuss with your vet the risks versus benefits of anesthesia based on your cat's teeth. We do dental procedures all the time in older pets, but before we do so recommend a geriatric workup which may include bloodwork and urinalysis, blood pressure and ekg, and x-ray of the chest. These help us ensure the anesthesia is more likely to be tolerated. If your cat is in pain or having trouble eating due to the teeth, sometime
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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