How soon to feed food after dental??

Hey, have a question. My cat Pooka had a dental this morning, and she had 3 extractions. My boyfriend picked her up at the vet and being a guy, he completly forgot to ask when we could feed her. The vet tech said not "right away" but not an exact time. She is starving and wandering around looking for food. I would give her wet food, because the vet said to keep her hydrated. I just dont want to make her sick by feeding her too soon...

You can feed her right away, providing she has fully come around from her anaesthetic, which it sounds like she has (the vets shouldn't send home animals that are too sleepy anyway).

Feed her half of what you would normally feed her and then resume the normal amount the following day. Give her some soft, chunky food as it won't be too painful. The pate-like food can sometimes get stuck in the extraction site, which is why it should be soft and chunky. Try and feed her a bland food to avoid stomach upsets after the anaesthetic.

If she normally eats dry food, you can start feeding this again after one week.

Thanks. I fed her a little, and she seemed satiated. Then I feed the other cats. She ate their food and since she kept the other bit down for 2 hours I though she would be ok. Now she is acting ok, but her stomach is huge, like really distended and I think she ate like 2 cans of cat food. I mean she could look abnormal cause she was emaciated before because of her teeth. However I am still worried....is this ok? Can a cat on pain meds and coming off of anesthesia kill themselves by eating too much?

I would just watch her to be sure it all stays down. I think the biggest risk is that they can vomit up the food or accidentally aspirate (inhale) some of the food or vomit if they are still out of it from the anesthesia.

If you can, try and feed her separately from the other cats so she can't eat their food as two cans is a bit much! I think she would make herself vomit from eating too much. I'd say give your vet a call and tell them about her stomach to give yourself peace of mind. You might have to feed her very small meals for the next 24-48 hours as it can't be too good for her to be pigging out so much after an anaesthetic.