This morning I noticed that Dushka was not eating normally but using her paw to transfer each morsel to her mouth, and I wondered what had set her off on that behaviour. She seemed to eat enough, though it took her a long time. Then later she was on my lap when she began pawing at her mouth really frantically, so much so that at one point I had to release a claw that got stuck and was causing her to growl and shake her head, which of course made it worse. She growled when I touched her, and even tried to scratch me (never has she done that in 4 years) but eventually I managed to scruff her and open her mouth, and I saw immediately what the trouble was - a thin sliver of plastic, maybe 3/4 inch long, and very sharp, was wedged between two lower teeth and sticking in her gum. It must have been excruciatingly painful. I got it out easily and my snarling, growling ball of fur just went limp and curled up, relaxed, to sleep on my lap for three hours. She is usually the most laid back of cats - it must have really hurt her. Tonight at supper she started off using her paw but ate from the floor if she dropped a piece, then gradually began to eat normally. I think she didn't trust the bowl not to hurt her at first.
