Trouble Eating

[xena17]

When my 16 year old cat eats it looks like food is getting stuck in her mouth. She then starts using her paw as to try and "unstick" the food. She had some dental work done back in Dec (2 teeth removed and a clean) and has been showing this behavior since. I have had her back to the vet twice who cannot find anything wrong with her mouth (no ulcers or pain or other tooth issues). It is really frustrating to watch her eat as she chews like it is difficult as well. The vet cant find anything and I am at a lost what else it could be. She doesn't seem to be in pain but I think it is frustrating for her too. The vet and I have put it down to the 2 teeth missing but we thought she would have got use to that by now. Any insights as to what else it might be would be great. Thanks

 

[stephanietx]

I'm at a loss as well.  Are you feeding wet food?  If you are, maybe you can water it down so it's more like a liquid she could just lap up would help.

 

[betsygee]

 
maybe you can water it down so it's more like a liquid she could just lap up would help.

That's a good idea.  I do that for a couple of older cats I have who are missing some teeth, it seems to make it easier for them to eat.

 

[xena17]

She does have some wet food but mainly cooked chicken and cooked salmon. Her kidneys are not the best so I don't give her a lot of tinned food anymore. It's so hard to tell with cats, especially older ones if they are just being fussy with their food or if the chewing is the issue. I have shredded her chicken this morning and put some water with it. She had a little and then wandered over to my other cat's food (cooked chicken in chunks) and eaten all of that with no problem (insert pulling hair out).As long as she is eating then I am happy.

 

[catwoman707]

 
When my 16 year old cat eats it looks like food is getting stuck in her mouth. She then starts using her paw as to try and "unstick" the food. She had some dental work done back in Dec (2 teeth removed and a clean) and has been showing this behavior since. I have had her back to the vet twice who cannot find anything wrong with her mouth (no ulcers or pain or other tooth issues). It is really frustrating to watch her eat as she chews like it is difficult as well. The vet cant find anything and I am at a lost what else it could be. She doesn't seem to be in pain but I think it is frustrating for her too. The vet and I have put it down to the 2 teeth missing but we thought she would have got use to that by now. Any insights as to what else it might be would be great. Thanks

I have seen that before, in cats who had teeth removed and how they eat after and from then on.

I believe it's the lack of teeth there, she probably tries to move the food where she can chew it. Seems that way, and it was the same when I had a tooth pulled, it made me keep biting my tongue because you have to use your tongue to keep the food where it can be chewed rather than the empty space where it wants to go.

 

[xena17]

I kinda feel that I have done everything I can and as long as she is not in pain and continues to eat then that's all that matters. You just never know with cats they are so elusive when it comes to health issues.

 

[catwoman707]

Exactly! Highly doubt she is in any pain too.