Dry food for post-extraction stomatitis cat

Here's the gist of my question: Can anyone recommend healthy grain-free dry foods that are good for cats with sensitive mouths? Read on for some more (perhaps unnecessary) details

About six weeks ago, my stomatitis cat had about a third of his teeth removed after suffering a particularly painful flare-up. Immediately after the operation, he began regaining his hunger, but expressed little interest in his usual food––Blue Buffalo and Wellness wet food, and Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry food. He did, however, develop a ravenous taste for the cheap and less-than-nutritious kibble that his playmates (my neighbor's cats) ate: Purina Cat Chow Naturals. He never showed much interest in this food before his mouth began bothering him, which makes me pretty sure that he likes the food because it's not as hard as the Blue Buffalo dry food. There's more air in the Purina than in the Blue Buffalo kibble, which is pretty dense (think roughly a Cheeto versus a cheese puff).

I allowed my cat to eat the cheap stuff for about six weeks in order to get his appetite back and to get back to a healthy weight. Now that he's doing well, I've tried to get him to eat the Blue Buffalo, but I can tell that it still hurts his mouth after a few bites. I don't want to feed my cat this unhealthy Purina stuff for the long term. Can anyone recommend healthy grain-free dry foods that are good for cats with sensitive mouths?

Thanks!

I would recommend any of the following depending on your cat's needs:

1. Nature's Variety Instinct Dry Rabbit Formula

2. Nature's Variety Instinct Dry Chicken Formula

Avoid the other dry formulas NVI offers; they are even higher in carbs than the two I have mentioned here.

They are grain free and much lower in carbs than a lot of other big name brands. I have also noticed the kibble are much smaller and seem easier to manage.

Good luck!

Thanks, Thehistorian. I'll look into Nature's Variety. I should note that it's not the size of the kibble that's the concern, but rather, the hardness. I'm looking for a kibble that has a little bit of air in the middle so that it's not so hard on the teeth, gums, and roof of the mouth.

CatmanWest said:

Thanks, Thehistorian. I'll look into Nature's Variety. I should note that it's not the size of the kibble that's the concern, but rather, the hardness. I'm looking for a kibble that has a little bit of air in the middle so that it's not so hard on the teeth, gums, and roof of the mouth.

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Unfortunately soft healthy kibble is called canned. You could add some warm water to make it soft, feed small amounts wash bowl can get moldy after a while.

I'm not aware of any dry food that is light and airy. Many are dense and crunchy. Can you feed only canned food while your cat's mouth heals?

Maybe try freeze dried raw food. It's much softer and crumblier than regular dry food and many brands come in kibble-like shapes. Try Stella and Chewy's or Nature's Variety Instinct. Both can be fed dry.

What about kitten grain-free dry?  Both Blue Buffalo and Wellness Core have a kitten variety.  It's more expensive than the adult version, but the kibble seems a bit more delicate.  That's what we fed our shop cat, along with wet food, after he had most of his teeth removed.  He's now moved on to adult Blue, but we fed the kitten food for several months.

Nutram's grain-free kibbles are pretty small, and the food is very well-made and comes in two different recipes.

after my piglet had all four canines removed, i was explicitly told not to feed her kibble for some time... i think it was like 6 weeks.  if he's lost that many of his teeth, chewing kibble might be an issue.  wet food may be easier for him.  piglet used to hate pates and would only eat minced or flaked foods.  now she loves pates - i often mix in some warm (filtered) water to get the texture even more lap-able and she loves it.  

Sometimes its darn near impossible to get a cat to eat canned food, even when its just had major dental surgery. With Oliver, we cooked for him for the first few days and then started him on Royal Canin Indoor Mature, which is easy on sensitive teeth and gums. I tried every kind of can available with him, to no avail. He just wouldn't do it. With Gwendolyn, a cat I was fostering, she wouldn't even eat my cooking. We wound up smashing her kibbles up. It was doubly hard on her because she was from Animal Control and stressed to begin with, and then had to have dental surgery done in fairly short order. I wound up sending her home on the Royal Canin as well, but it took me a couple of weeks to get her off the Whiskas first!!