Thank you so much for the thoughtful response! I am feeling a little more at ease, and this will help me narrow my questions for the vet this week.

He is such a sweet boy. Only be afraid if you are another cat sitting in a seat he decided he wants to sit in now. He. Will. Sits.

Would you mind telling me about your experience? My poor Meeka is likely going to have all of her teeth extracted soon. Her teeth are fine, but the gums get super inflamed to the point where they bleed if you touch them. We’ve been managing the symptoms with meds and have an appointment next week with another vet with better on-hand equipment to try and determine root cause. My vet assures me she will be happier if it does come to extraction, and the research I’ve done seems like she will more or less live her life like she normally does. I think the thought of the first few days/weeks post-op is what feels most daunting right now.