Cat doesn't eat well after teeth extraction.

[Timbooo]

Hello,

My rescue cat of unknown age (Pretty young) Recently had 28 teeth removed and is on medication now (Novacam).

My vet told me to give this to her for 7 days and call them after that. I've given it to her for two days now.
But I've noticed her trying to eat dry food still with no teeth to no success. Her wet food she touches but not as much as she should.
She's a bit groggy and seems unwilling/unable to eat.

Do any of you have any experience with this and some advice to give me before I call the vet tomorrow?

King regards,

Timbooo

[Kay]

cats are well known for trying to eat dry food after having teeth extracted, although 28 is a very major event

have you tried soaking her usual dry food until it's completely mushy? it wouldn't give her the texture she wants, but the taste would be familiar

if her mouth is going to be sore for a while though, you might want to try some very high density recuperative liquid food, as small amounts contain a lot of nourishment

Hill's do a Recovery food which most vets will stock - it is very expensive but you won't need it for very long, hopefully

[Timbooo]

Hello Kay,

Thanks for the reply. I've tried smashing up her kibble a bit with a freezer bag and a hammer. Just to see if she would swallow the tiny pieces.
Since she seems to just gag on the dry food she has now. Which I find rather concerning. 28 teeth is very major indeed. I got her early this year and she must've already had something going when she was at the vet. My vet is a cat rescue place as well. Very well known in my area.

But to get back unto topic, I don't think I can make it mushy, because she grazes on food normally. And I read that if a cat grazes and you moisten dry food it'll get loads of bacteria inside which can lead to several other problems in your cat.

Now I'm going to see if I can find a really small kibble size tomorrow in the hope that she'll be able to swallow those without trying to chew them.
I really just hope I can find a solution for my poor kitty. Whenever I see her trying to eat her dry food now it just pains me knowing that whoever had her before me just didn't help this cat at all.

Kind regards,

Timbooo

[Kay]

for really small kibble you need to get dry food for kittens - which is higher in protein than regular stuff, another plus while she's getting her strength back

[Ruth B]

I've had a couple of cats who have had to have major dental work done, one was 13 years old and had to have all his back teeth removed, but it was done over two sessions, the other is my current 5 year old lad that had lost most of his front teeth and his premolars and then when one of the canines broke had to have the root of that removed and the vet advised having all the molars removed at the same time as they were going the same way the premolars and front teeth had (the condition was caused by a virus). I was warned both times to have them on soft food for a few days, adding extra liquid to their wet food to help them eat it. Neither cat listened and both were quickly onto eating dried food, but always seemed to eat the pieces whole.

If it seems like she wants to eat and then tries and can't, trying her on small sized kitten dried food might help, as might things like the pate cat foods or even things like Lick e Lix or cat soups to get her started eating (I've never used the recovery foods so I can't really comment on those). However if she is lethargic and not interested in food or even attention then I think she needs to go back to the vets. There is a possibility that an extraction site has got infected, and while I would assume she was given an antibiotic injection at the time, it might be they can give her something else to help her fight it off. After the first time I always asked for as much treatment to be given by injection as possible after a cat had a dental done as I hated having to try force a tablet into what I assumed to still be a sore mouth afterwards.

[Timbooo]

I've got her on Novacam (Oral medication set for het weight) at the moment. And will be getting kitten dried food today. I called the vet and they said the exact same. I tried smashing the kibble a bit with a freezer bag and a hammer yesterday but she lost interest in her dried food for that night. She probably has a sore mouth indeed, but the antibiotics they gave me is with a little oral syringe. Without a needle of course. So I can give it to her in the cheek pouch by being very careful.

My pet store calls itself a specialist pet store so I should be fine with getting some great kitten food there. Hoping she'll eat that better. The vet said she ate kitten kibble when she was recovering for the first few days with them. But I am not 100% sure if she actually swallowed the kitten kibble. We'll see soon enough. The vet told me if she didn't eat at all I am not allowed to give her the meds. But so far she has at least eaten a bit of the wet food every time.

Kind regards,

Timbooo

[Mollycat]

Yes I currently have a dog on Metacam and the vet stressed very heavily that it must only be given with or after a meal. You'd think that would be easy with a dog wouldn't you? Nah, I can't be sure he will eat his breakfast before teatime, so we have had to think outside the box. Pesky animals!

There is a convalescence food, canned pate, that you can mix with water (or meds) as needed. High energy, nutritious, supposed to be very palatable. Might be worth asking the vet about it?

[Timbooo]

So I got her on kitten food for now. And she's eating away at those like it's nothing. But I was wondering, Are there any adult cat food with kitten sized kibbles? Cause if I can find those. I'll just order those if necessary.

[Mollycat]

As Kay says, the higher protein content in kitten food is probably a good thing for her while she regains her strength. I've never heard of specially small kibble adult cat food but I've never actively looked for it.

[Timbooo]

I mean my vet says it's quite the opposite that kitten food is very fattening and is bad for adult cats cause it has more fats in the food. Aka making your cat become fat which poses it's own risks. So I need to put her on this for the smallest amount of time. Aka a week ish. I'm trying my best to find a cat food that has small kibble sizes. But I can't seem to find any that are specifically made for this problem.

[Mollycat]

By all means delete if not allowed, this is the same question from another forum https://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/dry ... th.441806/

[Kay]

you might not need a small kibble food once her gums have hardened - meanwhile, like any food the kitten kibble is only fattening if the cat eats too much - I would suggest you weigh it out and stick to a daily amount of around 50 gms for now

the fact that she is able and eager to eat is a big step forward, and personally I would be satisfied with that for a month or so - and although your vet may be different, I tend not to trust vets too much on pet nutrition, as I believe it is not a significant part of their training

[Ruth B]

Is she particularly overweight already? If she isn't then I wouldn't worry too much about her eating kitten food for a few weeks, it is better than her not eating at all. As Kay says weigh the food and limit how much she has, but you can also weigh the cat (weigh yourself on a good set of bathroom scales then weigh yourself and her and do a quick subtraction), you will soon find out if she starts putting on weight that way.

I use Purina One dried cat food, I don't know if the pieces are any smaller than any other brand, but it is what both of mine have eaten after having major dental work done. One literally got out of the carrier and was face first in a bowl of of it as soon as we had him home, the vets had only kept him in a few hours after his surgery to make sure he came around fine, he never looked back after that and loved his crunchies until the day he died, teeth or no teeth.

[Timbooo]

I found a particular dried food that is smaller than most! Royal canin sensible 33. Those are made for cats who have troubles with digestion. But I've seen a lot of catteries use them as main food as well. So I'll check if she eats that tomorrow! Thanks everyone, I'll keep you guys posted!

[Mollycat]

I tend not to trust vets too much on pet nutrition, as I believe it is not a significant part of their training

Vets usually seem to be 'tied' to one manufacturer too which should ring big alarm bells, as well as the prices they charge for it. I've had vets recommend chicken and rice for convalescing cats and actually have to question whether they have ever fed a cat, has anyone ever had a cat eat rice? That's for dogs! Some cats eat mashed potato, but rice?? I'm not sure it's part of their training at all.

[Timbooo]

My vet said, you can set her on kitten food for the time being. No recommendation of brand, no recommendation on anything. They didn't try to sell me anything. I actually know this vet personally which is why I go there for my cats.

I found a smaller kibble size which isn't kitten food, so I'm pretty satisfied. And so seems my cat for now.
I'm already happy that she's eating exactly like before.

Steps forward indeed. <3

Thank you all for your advice on this matter! Really appreciate it~