Cat won't eat after having EIGHT teeth removed...

[Irritabull]

Ok, so me and my girlfriend have an almost 16 year old Siamese/domestic mix. He has been really healthy and playful, always full of energy...up until about 2 months ago.

We noticed he started making very wide open mouth near gag-like reactions when he would eat both his hard and soft food, so we took him to the vet. Well, initially she was all 100% negative about him, saying he was a blind kitty, totally disoriented in the office, and lots of other things when she showed us the major problem: his teeth. His large back molars alone were almost totally grey/black. We were horrified at it.

Fortunately the vet referred us to a VERY well known and respected pet dentist who helped us see more of what the problems were. 8 teeth needed to be removed, and he had massive ulcers all along the entire roof of his mouth and lower jaw. Well, teeth came out, he was doing fine, but this was all about a month ago.

Even after removing the bad teeth, he STILL won't eat. He nibbles a little on hard food, and now instead of chowing down on his soft food, he only licks the juices off it. It almost seems like he doesn't know how to properly eat now with the teeth removed, especially since 2 of them were his small incisors in the front. He almost seems to now know how to even drink water anymore, sticking his whole moth in his water instead of the usual lapping it up with his tongue.

We are totally stuck in what we can do to get him to eat. Nothing we are trying is working, new foods and things are just being met with an upturned nose, and he just seems to be wasting away as a result. Anyone have any ideas what we might be able to do to get the little guy to eat? : (

[sugarcatmom]

Have you had a follow-up appointment with the vet? Perhaps your kitty is still having some issues with mouth ulcers, or something isn't healing properly.

In the meantime, try adding a bit of warm water to his wet food to make it easier to lap up. Plain chicken baby food (make sure there is no onion powder in it) is appealing to many cats and can help entice them to eat more. It's not nutritionally balanced but might help get your guy over the hump. And try offering a variety of different wet foods, like Fancy Feast pate, Wellness, Natural Balance, Weruva, etc.

Here are some more tips on dealing with inappetence in cats:
http://www.assistfeed.com/FelineAnorexia.htm

Good luck!

[marko]

I agree with SCM - a follow up, with the pet dentist would be wise here. maybe the kitty needs another dose of antibiotics and/or pain meds, but only a vet should be prescribing these.
good luck

[Longblades]

Also, are you offering normal sized meals? Try offering only teensy, weensy bits of food to get him started. A quarter of a teaspoon. Repeat often. Know how a big plate of food turns you off when you aren't feeling up to par? Same with our pets.

One of ours had all her teeth removed. Over time, not all at once. She continued to eat kibble. Their gums can harden up well enough for that.

I also wonder if healing has proceeded as it should and if there isn't still something going on in your cat's mouth. I presume he was on antibiotics and they can alter taste and impair appetite. How long since he finished his antibiotic?

[lindapalm]

I agree with Longblades, I thing something is still going on in your cats mouth. We have two cats without any teeth and one without any in front, and on the second day after extraction they ate canned food, and will also eat dry.

[Goldfields]

I wonder whether his kidney function shouild be checked? Can't bad teeth in cats lead to kidney failure?