grinding sound when eating?

I'm hoping that someone has experienced this as it has me stumped.

My foster cat had dental work done a few weeks ago and had most of his teeth extracted (he has a few in the front). He was on antibiotics for a week and all seemed fine. About 2 weeks after the surgery he started losing his appetite and was lethargic. The strangest thing of all is that he makes this very weird crunching sound when he's eating wet food--and there's no teeth there. His mouth also seems to be bothering him. I took him to the vet and he said one of the spots where an upper canine was removed looked like there could be infection and now he's on Clavamox for a week. It's been 3 days and he's a bit more perky but is still having trouble eating and is making that sound.

Has anyone else ever heard of this? Unfortunately since he's a foster (and he's old ) I don't think the rescue group wants me running to the vet every week. I'd take him out of my own pocket if I thought there was something they could do. Could I be doing something to speed the recovery? I'm hoping the Clavamox will help.

I think this is normal because my cat Chynna does it too. She had most of her teeth extracted on April 9th.

I think its Normal too. Coco dosent ahve alot of teeth and she does the same thing and she is 16.

I'm so glad to hear that. I've been worried that there was something seriously wrong with his mouth. Will the antibiotics suppress his appetite? He still isn't eating much.

if he just had dental work I wouldn't be surprised if his mouth is still sore.

What antibiotic is it. Coco used to get Clavamox but it made her get bad stomach aches so she was switched to Cephalexin. When Meeko had Clavamox she didnt want to eat to much either.

I have a hard time giving Chynna pills. I can get the pill into her mouth, it's getting it closed and staying closed so she swallows that is the problem

I explained that, and my fear of hurting her mouth after the dental, and I asked for injectable pain medication and antibiotics.

I was sent home with preloaded syringes of Hydromorphone as well as Ampicillin, for 4 days. I had to give her an injection of each twice per day. So much easier and less stressful for both her and I, and most certainly less painful to her than me having to pry open her very sore and swollen little mouth

While on the antibiotic she had 2 very small bouts of diarrhea. Probably 1 to 2 tablespoons each, and I think she threw up once, but it was just a small amount of digested food.

It was about a week before the swelling of her face was completely gone, but her mouth was still somewhat sore. I took her to the vet on May 1st, which was about 3 1/2 weeks post op, and the vet said that her mouth is looking really good and is nearly completely healed.

She is taking some time to get used to eating without all of her teeth. I guess the food doesn't always sit well in her mouth and she shakes her head and paws at her face a bit to try and change it's position.

Chynna has always been a "chewer". I've never seen a cat that actually chews their food! She does! I've been giving her wet food mixed with a tablespoon or two of warm water to make it more soupy. She licks it until it's dry. I add more water and she does it again. Eventually she gets the food into her.

She won't eat chunks or minced anymore, at least right now. I guess because she has to chew it and is still not accustomed to having the food not stay where it's supposed to inside her mouth.

That grinding was a bit daunting, but I've gotten used to it. I forgot to mention it to the vet when I was there, but if there was a problem she woud have seen it inside Chynna's mouth. I saw her mouth and it looks nice and healthy with no signs of infections or drainage.

Just wanted to add that this sounds normal. My husband's old family cat, Rosie, had this after she had some dental work done. We spoke to her vet about it, and he said it was not an issue, so I wouldn't worry about it.

He's been taking Clavamox for 5 days and he has been eating a bit more the last couple of days . I left some food in his dish overnight and it was gone in the morning--I never thought the sight of an empty food dish could make someone so happy

I think his mouth is feeling better as he was rubbing it and drooling last week but he seems to have stopped that. I think he's 'crunching' a bit less too, maybe he's learning how to eat without his teeth. If I had to guess what it is I think it's maybe some kind of suction sound from the gaps in his mouth.

THANK YOU all so much for reassuring me about this, I've been worried sick about this poor old guy