My cat won't eat after teeth removal, any advice please

[mrsrhodgilbert]

My 13 year old cat had been off her food for a week or so, we took her to the vet as it looked like she had a broken tooth. The vet kept her in, removed 4 teeth and took blood for testing. That was on 23 July. The blood tests showed nothing and her mouth has healed. But she is still barely eating and we've tempted her with so much.

The only thing she will eat is a fish from the chip shop, batter removed obviously. She had one, in several sittings, on Monday and we got another yesterday. So she can eat, she just won't eat other food. We took her back to the vet yesterday who has given a steroid injection to try to stimulate her appetite. She will go and look at the food but then walks away. She has lost weight and now just lies on her favourite chair for hours.

We have to call the vet on Friday with her condition and he said there are further blood tests he can do. It seems like she is deliberately starving herself and I'm seriously worried about her. Help please.

My cat broke his jaw and had to have quite a few teeth removed (we've no idea what happened to him). We got some cat food from the vet, was paste like, and for a while he'd only eat it off our finger. Perhaps try that. He did soon start eating properly and now even eats dried food despite having so few teeth.

Thanks for replying, they suggested I buy a pate like food which I will try today. I was hand feeding her soft egg yolk as she showed interest in our lunch yesterday and tiny bits of cheese which she also likes but after tiny licks she turned away. She eats about a mouthful of tuna in spring water although she licked the water off it. She has such a big personality it's heart breaking to see her like this. I'll continue to try to hand feed her.

@mrsrhodgilbert

Please call the vet sooner than Friday. Not eating for too long can cause a fatal condition called hepatic lipidosis in cats. I'd be concerned that there may be something else going on that was causing her not to eat, maybe the teeth were an incidental finding?

Fingers crossed for you both. It's so upsetting and frustrating when they just won't show any interest in food.

Today she has eaten about a Tablespoon of cooked white fish, about 1/3 of a small tin of smooth cat food, a few bits of chicken from my sandwich and maybe a teaspoon if tuna. She keeps going to sit by her food cupboard but isn't very interested in what I put out. She is capable of eating, seems keen to but doesn't. She has been a bit more active today, wandering round rather than just lying down. I'm really baffled. I don't know how much, or little, food is enough.

It is routine for most vets to give Convenia after extractions. It is because it is 'Convenient' rather than giving oral anti-biotics and is a long lasting injection which they won't tell you has the side effect of suppressing the appetite. The side effects will also last a long time, it took 6 weeks before my cat regained her appetite and I have never allowed it to be administered since. This might be the problem.

The solution is to keep trying with food. I had success with Gourmet mousse mixed with some water and I fed her with my fingers, a scoop at a time, a blob on the nose will get them to lick it off, then hold it under the mouth or wipe it on the lips. Keep doing it until you have managed to get some in. Any food with gravy or a cat soup and just squish out the liquid and do the same with that.

I was at the stage of the vet considering intubation it was so bad. Take a look on Google for the side effects of Convenia. If you ever need a/bs again avoid it like the plague. (Having typed all that I do realise it might have been something else that has caused it but worth checking what was given during and after the procedure).

The food cranky means is Hills A/D, it is an expensive tin of mousse which is quite palatable apparently and well balanced, worth a try. Some vets sell it.

If you get really desperate you could try mixing some sloppy food and using a syringe but do be careful to put it in the side of the mouth and push the plunger gently, you will probably need to wrap your cat in a towel unless you have a docile cat.

I hope you manage to get something in soon. It is more likely to be a side effect of what has been done and I would not be inclined to do a blood test yet, the stress won't help. Poor cat has been through enough already and needs lots of cuddles and following about with soupy food. I was out of my mind with worry until I read about the effects of meds. From then onwards I always asked what was being given.