by the skin of his teeth

I had to take one of my cats to the vets today as he needed to have an operation on his teeth. He is quite an old cat, I have had him for a few years now and have known for a while that his teeth were not great. These last few days he had been dribbling an awful lot, and his breath smelled foul. So, thinking he may have rotten teeth (they certainly looked pretty bad) I took him to the vets. They decided to give him an anaesthetic and clean his teeth up, removing any that were really bad. I was surprised when I collected him to find that although he had a great deal of plaque and tartar build up they had not decayed, and some antibiotics and anti-inflammatories should clear the gingivitis from which he was suffering. So everybody was happy.
He has obviously been feeling much better since he got home because while I was upstairs having a rest he somehow managed to get the kitchen bin, one of these tall thin shiny metal cylindrical numbers with a pedal operated opening system and drag it off the kitchen tiles and into the pool room (technically the dining room, but being young and irresponsible we decided to do away with the formal eating area and invest in a quarter-ton slate bed full size pool table) where the floor is carpeted. He then managed to knock the bin over and open the lid, untie the bin liner from the metal hoop that supports it, tugging so hard with his teeth that the steel ring has been left deformed and discard that in the living room. He then sifted through the rubbish until he found the remains of a quiche from yesterday and devoured the lot.
I am not really sure how he managed it, but I am guessing his mouth is feeling a lot better!