Jessica has had trouble with her teeth for quite a while. Her left front tooth is curving to the left, and her molars are "stairstepped" or uneven. I've heard from two vets that it might be best to have her front teeth removed in order to keep them from growing too much and making her molars not meet when her mouth is closed.
I don't know how much the surgery would be, but she'd likely have to stay overnight at the vet to make sure she's eating again. I'd have to chop up her carrots and probably make lettuce and things into smaller pieces, since she couldn't bite stuff off after her front teeth are removed. I really am agonizing over this, for I feel like it'd be mutilating Jess, even if it'd help her in the long run. Hopefully I'll get to talk to our vet here in Indiana and ask her if their removal would really fix the problem with her molars. Financially (and emotionally, for Jess), that would make it worthwhile, though I'd still feel like a horrible Mom.
Jess doesn't chew on things too much (Calvin has the corner on that market), but she does use her front teeth a lot when she grooms herself, pulling out loose tufts of fur and eating them. (She also pulls hunks of Cal's fur out, too, so she wouldn't be able to do that anymore, either.) That isn't good for her digestive system, eating that much hair, but since buns groom so much, I don't know if just using her lips and tongue will give her as much satisfaction. She'd still be able to inhale parsley and stuff (lips help feed in food, even if she can't rip stuff up using just her lips) since she doesn't use her front teeth for that, and I'm watching her to see what else she'd be unable to do if the teeth were removed.
My poor, sweet, sassy girl.
Mama
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