>I just had the teeth of my nine ferrets and a cat cleaned with them fully
>awake with a regular scraping method by a vet. tech, with no side effects &
>not much discomfort.  Much safer than gassing them, especially since my
>kitty is 15 yrs. old..  Not an option.  Also MUCH cheaper than gassing.  I
>think that's an out for lazy or semi skilled people who want to drain your
>pockets:)
 
You are one of the lucky ones :).  I work with a vet and personally clean
animals teeth.  Firstly, you have no idea how hard it can be to simply
handle some animals, nevermind clean their teeth.  It is neither laziness,
nor lack of skill, nor a desire for cash that leads vets and techs to do
cleaning under anestetic.  Where it is possible we would certainly do
without the use of general anestetic... because, as you have already stated,
if general anestetic is an option, it is always safer to do without.
However, not all animals can be handled equally (nor in all situations).
Please appreciate the years of experience as well as 1000's of animals
handled by those who work for and with vets.  Most of the time, It IS
NECESSARY for both the animals safety and the vet techs for to be under
general.
 
                          Michaela Maurice (aspiring to be a vet)
[Posted in FML issue 1657]