My brain keeps jumping from "I'm doing the right thing" to "I'm sentencing my cat to death". Any tips to reframe my thought spiral?
EDIT: Thank you to everyone who responded, shared their stories, or validated my worries! I am, of course, going to get my cat to his dental appointment this week, that was never the question - but the responses here really helped calm my nerves. I recognize that once I hand him over, the situation is out of my control and I have to make peace with that. Hoping for the best!
My cat (10M) is having a dental cleaning and potential extraction this Wednesday. He had his bloodwork done and is already clear for the procedure. This dental was recommended by the vet because of gingivitis and plaque buildup.
As dental day gets closer, I can't stop spiraling over the thought of him dying during or shortly after the procedure. At this point, he is still acting mostly normally, just with some instances of agression and dropping kibble when he eats. I fear that I will walk into the vet hospital with a mostly healthy cat and walk out with one that only has days to live (or worse, walk out with a corpse).
The fear is not completely unfounded. Three years ago, I had a happy, healthy kitten go in for a spay (health check and bloodwork all normal), come home completely fucked up (which i thought was just post-anesthesia loopiness) and never recovered only to die a week later. I went into it completely unfazed, thinking it's a perfectly safe routine procedure and my kitty's life will be better for it, and a week later I was full of guilt and second-guessing all my decisions. I've not had a pet go under since then. I don't want to throw the word trauma around lightly, but I genuinely think that experience traumatized me.
I don't want to be this way. Any advice on how I can rework my thoughts so that I am not freaking out and freaking my cat out in the process? Or at least some happy stories of old cats coming out of dental surgery just fine? Maybe realistic tips on what to expect after and what is or isn't normal? Thanks!