14 y.o. Cat not eating after dental surgery PLEASE HELP

Hi,

I haven't been around this site for a while but I am very scared for my Oliver and I hope someone can help me. 3 days ago he had a dental and they removed most of his teeth. He was doing great at the vet afterwards, alert and eating well, and they send him home 24 hours later. He was sent home with dermal codeine which he is getting every 12 hours. He had a previous reaction to buprenorphine so we didn't use that. He did get metacam when at the vet. No antibiotics.

Since coming home, he has shown no interest in food and he is very lethargic. Of course these things always happen on the weekend

He has mild renal failure and has been drinking fine. I gave him 100 ml sub q fluids last night so he is well hydrated.

I took him to the emergency vet this morning and they said his mouth looks great. No temperature. They gave him 1/4 tablet of mirtazapine which had ZERO effect on him. They syringe fed him some food which he accepted and I have given him more since then.

I am at a loss to understand why he was doing so well at the vet but so badly at home. His posture says he is very uncomfortable, hunched over, squinting, paws tucked under. Could it just be that he is still in a lot of pain and the codeine isn't helping much? I will be calling my own vet first thing tomorrow when they open.

Thanks for any input.

I'm sorry for your cat, it may just be because his mouth hurts from the teeth removal or maybe he's just getting old... Sorry to sound self centered but can you show me how to post have health problem with one of my kittens and getting concerned

When your cat has had one or more teeth removed. Here are a few things you will need to know about the next week:

* Your cat will need to be fed soft food only for the next week.
This is because there are either open sockets, or sutures, or both in your cat's mouth, and trying to chew dry food could break sutures, or get stuck in sockets, neither of which would be pleasant for your cat.

* If your cat will absolutely not eat wet cat food, you can try either moistening down dry food until it is slightly soggy, or you might also try human meat baby food such as a chicken or turkey baby food. Many cats will eat meat baby food when they won't eat regular canned cat food.

After dental surgery your cat might start showing signs of pain, discomfort, lethargy, not eating, vomiting, or having problems opening and closing the mouth. If any of these things happen you should contact the vets and get him seen to at the earliest opportunity.


http://www.allfelinehospital.com/dental-extractions.pml


Hope this helps

I'm concerned that he was given metacam especially since he's already shown mild kidney issues. I do agree to try the soft foods and see if he might eat them.