Cat Not Eating

Hi,

My cat is not eating since he had all his teeth removed except for 4. He had them out because the vet said he had bad gingivitis as I had constant trips to the vet and his mouth gums were blood read at times, but turned out the vet said after they came out they were all just rotten no gingivitis.

They phoned 3 days ago and said they were keeping him in overnight because it was a traumatic operation for him. I picked him up yesterday and was told he had eaten nothing. I thought they might of put him on a drip while they had him the night before to make him feel a bit more comfy but they said he had no drip.

Anyway they said he had a 5 day antibiotic injection and gave some syringes to last till Monday with pain medication in that I squirt under his tongue twice a day.

The thing is he does nibble at a few bits but with him being off food since the night before his operation as usual you have to not give them food which was Tuesday night. He was eating very well till he had them out.

He as lost some weight, I guess it just needs time for his mouth to heal?

Called the vet yesterday morning to explain how he was and a nurse who was there when he had the operation said it was a real bad time he had and they had to yank at them to get them out as they were deep rooted but left 4.

I have been syringe feeding water and cat milk every now and again and he does drink some water on his own at times and tries to nibble food then just goes off and sits depressed.

I just mashed up in a bigger syringe some hills food the vet give to come home with high calorie like a paste. I added water mixed it filled a 10ml syringe and slowly gave him it. I just don't want him loose weight and not sure how long it will take for his mouth to feel better so that he will start to eat again normally.

Should I keep giving the syringed food and if so can you tell me how many per day please till he sees the vet again Monday afternoon for after surgery checkup.

He is around 12 years old but like a kitten up trees before the operation and full of life except for the time she had to keep going for his mouth about every 6 weeks. When I bought him home the vet said watch him very close because his age and the anesthetic they gave him may not of been good for him with his age.

Thank you

Amazing since my original post he "stripe" just had around half a packet of whiskas simply sachet with jelly. Licked it mostly but most of it is gone!

I am thinking that first syringe of high calorie food may of made him feel a bit stronger and want to eat..Or the pain med he had around 4 hours ago.

Hoping he keeps this up now

he keeps eating!

I don't know how much he weighs, but when I had to syringe feed our 11 pound senior cat that was not eating on his own at all, I gave him 6 oz of food a day. 30ml is one ounce. I used 15ml syringes, and I gave him 3 of them, 4 times a day. With a 10ml syringe, you'd need three of them to be one ounce of food. Depending upon how much he weighs and how active he is, he probably needs between 4 ounces and 8 ounces of food a day.

But hopefully he'll start eating enough on his own! To entice him by smell, you can also pour a little tuna juice on his food, or buy some freeze dried liver treats - these you can easily crush with your fingers over his food so it's very powdery. VERY strong smell, attracts most cats. (Just hold your breath while you do it if you're sensitive to the smell of liver LOL).

Originally Posted by LDG

he keeps eating!

I don't know how much he weighs, but when I had to syringe feed our 11 pound senior cat that was not eating on his own at all, I gave him 6 oz of food a day. 30ml is one ounce. I used 15ml syringes, and I gave him 3 of them, 4 times a day. With a 10ml syringe, you'd need three of them to be one ounce of food. Depending upon how much he weighs and how active he is, he probably needs between 4 ounces and 8 ounces of food a day.

But hopefully he'll start eating enough on his own! To entice him by smell, you can also pour a little tuna juice on his food, or buy some freeze dried liver treats - these you can easily crush with your fingers over his food so it's very powdery. VERY strong smell, attracts most cats.

(Just hold your breath while you do it if you're sensitive to the smell of liver LOL).

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Thank you so much for that information it helped a lot. He went to the vets today just for a pre-op check. He started to eat full half meals and is now well back on the road to recovery, but I would think will take a little while for the gums to heal properly.

So glad to hear he's doing better!

So glad to hear that your baby in on the mend. you can also heat the mashed up food in the microwave for about 5 seconds as the heating increases the smell. You can always put the food in a blender too if that helps.
Good luck!