Bad Teeth?

I just have a quick question for anyone who's fuzzballs have had to have most (if not all) of thier teeth removed.

Can they still eat dry food, even with minimal teeth?

Cotton, who we think is about 7 or 8, has horrendous teeth. He came from a feral colony and probably never saw a vet until recently. The rescue group we got him from had to have 4 teeth pulled because of how bad they were and he came with the warning that we'd probably have to do more in the future. Fast-forward to his annual exam this year and the vet thinks hes' going to need most (if not all) of his remaining teeth pulled. Not terribly suprising, but I'm a bit worried because Cotton LOVES his kibble. Whenever we've tried to switch him onto soft foods (and we've tried almost everything on the market) He munches on it half-heartedly (if he tries it at all)and makes a bee-line to steal our other cat's kibble the moment her back's turned.

Just wondering if there's any way he'll still be able to eat his kibble should he lose his teeth.

From all I have read, including other's accounts of their cats' experience after losing all teeth, most kitties seem to do fine with kibble - after the recovery period. If it were I, I would be prepared for a period of time on wet foods post-surgery, though....

OTOH, perhaps this is an opportunity for you to change everyone over to a wet diet...???

I posted some advice to another thread earlier today about the surgery itself...you'll find it here. Not all Vets will customarily follow each of those procedures, so it will be important that you speak to your Vet and ensure that Cotton receives the safest posible care.

Thank you for the link. I hadn't heard some of those so I'll ask the vet when we book him in.
We've thought about switching them off of the dry food before so who knows, maybe we'll try again. It is comforting to know that even if we have difficulty switching them permanently, we'll still have a fall back.

Most cats still eat kibble just fine ... though I do agree at least adding wet to the diet if able

Due to age MOST vets I know will use the protocol listed above,... it is also a "senior" cat or dog protocol