Stomatitis post extraction feeding problems

[BonneB]

My senior newly adopted male cat was diagnosed with stomatitis in July and had a full mouth extraction on 7/22. He is having difficulty eating all of his food. I am having difficulty finding anything he can eat completely. What seems to happen is he licks it and it ends up getting smushed down and then he gives up. I will fluff it up whenever I can but he seems to get finicky about the remains if they aren’t from a fresh cracked can. My friends think he has me trained but he is still pretty scrawny, so I don’t think he’s eating too much and he always seems hungry — especially around 4am. I am a new cat owner. I’ve always had dogs. So feeding alternative foods is foreign territory to me. But I feel like if I am going to go the extra mile of blending food to better liquefy it, I might as well make him food from scratch. The consistency of those squeeze up treats seem to be about perfect for him. Everything else is too thick and pasty. The pate gets smushed down into a lump. The flakes get left behind. Another issue is I think he is puking from his renewed ability to groom himself. He pukes about every 3-5 days, which some people have said is somewhat normal due to all the hair balls. So I am giving him a fish oil supplement for that too. Which so far has kept thinks moving out the proper end.

 

[BonneB]

Kept *things* moving

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Believe it or not, cats who don't have any teeth can still eat kibble, if that is something he was used to prior to his surgery. I'm not necessarily advocating that, but wonder if he ate that prior to you adopting him. It may actually be easier for him to eat because cats don't really chew their food, they can pick it up with their tongue and then move it around in their mouth to the back and swallow it whole. This is what amuses me when people think eating regular kibble is good for dental health But I know just what you mean about him basically getting most of the liquid out of it and leaving "pulp" behind in the dish. I have one who does that and just recently he's learned that he can take bites out of it and swallow them. It took 12 years for him to learn that. Your guy could do that too as long as his gums are completely healed, he just needs to learn how, and I'm not sure how one goes about teaching a cat how to eat .

Sometimes what I do with my guy when he leaves "pulp" behind is mix a little more of the same food into it, with a little more water, so there is more flavor. Often he will then eat more, but not always. My guy is on the thin side too. I do not offer a different food though, because he is picky enough. So you might give him a smaller amount consistently, then add more food to his bowl as he polishes it off. This does keep adding in flavor, as mentioned above.

 

[Sherrymskt]

I have been battling this for a few yrs now. 3 cats which one I had to put down due to cancer. My remaining 2 have numerous teeth pulled. One has 4 left and another has 2. Both are 5 yrs old. I feed Blue by The Blue Buffalo Co.dry kibble. The chicken flavor. Kibble is very tiny (like the size of a screw head) which helps with just swallowing it instead of trying to chew. It's very smelly with a hint of fish smell to it. I have one cat that has digestive issues and he eats it as well and does well on it. Blue also does wet food as well. Maybe mix a lil wet and dry together. Since finding this food they will not eat any other dry food. Grab u a small bag and try. Wal-Mart started selling it in my small town and Amazon as well. Maybe also a appetite stimulant from you vet to help get his eating going. Hang in there and I hope you can find a resolution soon.
I wish you luck with your fellow.

 

[LTS3]

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Foods like Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers/Creamy Delights

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Mousse-texture, Reasonably Priced Wet Food?

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Hairballs can be treated with store bought hairball remedies or a raw egg yolk (beat and add to food. No raw egg white) or egg yolk lecithin.

How Best to Manage Hairballs

Hairballs are an early warning sign of a motility problem in cats. This article describes how best to manage hairballs.

www.foodfurlife.com

 

[BonneB]

Believe it or not, cats who don't have any teeth can still eat kibble, if that is something he was used to prior to his surgery. I'm not necessarily advocating that, but wonder if he ate that prior to you adopting him. It may actually be easier for him to eat because cats don't really chew their food, they can pick it up with their tongue and then move it around in their mouth to the back and swallow it whole. This is what amuses me when people think eating regular kibble is good for dental health But I know just what you mean about him basically getting most of the liquid out of it and leaving "pulp" behind in the dish. I have one who does that and just recently he's learned that he can take bites out of it and swallow them. It took 12 years for him to learn that. Your guy could do that too as long as his gums are completely healed, he just needs to learn how, and I'm not sure how one goes about teaching a cat how to eat .

Sometimes what I do with my guy when he leaves "pulp" behind is mix a little more of the same food into it, with a little more water, so there is more flavor. Often he will then eat more, but not always. My guy is on the thin side too. I do not offer a different food though, because he is picky enough. So you might give him a smaller amount consistently, then add more food to his bowl as he polishes it off. This does keep adding in flavor, as mentioned above.

Ha. I actually almost bought his old kibble today just to try it out. I did buy the soft blue Buffalo treats and he won’t even try to eat those. He used to go nuts for them. I did give him some friskies canned (which his former humans said he loved) and he scarfed down about 1/3 can. Possibly too much at once because he puked shortly after. I’m going to try the kibble and also more frequent small meals. Thank you.

 

[BonneB]

He used to eat both prior to the diagnosis but he did stop eating just before I took him to the vet.

 

[BonneB]

I gave him some of his old dry food yesterday (blue Buffalo indoor cat with lifesource bits) and he gobbled it up. This was after an epic puke session in the morning, and a little time to settle down his tummy. I was so excited that he ate it and has kept it down (14+ hours now) that I ordered more kibble. This time I got the senior/Hairball/sensitive stomach Blue Buffalo kibble. I’m definitely going to explore the mousse varieties of foods too.
Side note: I have been giving him fish oil and once a week Miralax (per vet) for hair balls. I also try many of those techniques suggested to get him to eat. He definitely seems finicky. The bowl of brown soup is pure chicken blended with his pate and water.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It might even be the fish oil that is turning him off his food. Neither one of my cats like it and will not eat if it's in their food. For hairballs, have you tried Hairball gel that you put on your finger and they lick it off. Or I use Vet's Best Hairball Relief. tt's a large tablet that I break into pieces or sometimes even crush and they just gobble up. I give them one a day and it keeps them going out the back end. If for some reason I skip giving it, once I remember, it will prompt a hairball almost immediately.

 

[BonneB]

I just started the fish oil a couple days ago. He seems to like it. He loves fishy things.