Post Extraction cat food? HELP!

[RedHedd]

Josie had her teeth cleaned and most of them extracted about a week and a half ago. She has her sharp teeth - the canines, but no others. At first she was eating okay - slurping the Rx Science Diet A/D (garbage food IMHO) and trying to eat her crunchies. Now she's becoming more difficult to feed. Her gums look healthy and I don't think she's in any pain, but she's even rejecting the Fancy Feast that she used to so love. The only things she will eat are Whiskers Temptations treats - definitely NOT a food replacement.

I've tried several different foods and will continue. She's turning her nose up at the Natural Balance (dry) which she used to love. Any tips? Is there a softer dry food that you've had success with for your gummy kittehs?

As they are copy cats, now Marbles is becoming more picky about eating too and is starting to refuse to eat the stuff that she used to eat, mostly because Josie's isn't eating. HELP!

[Karen]

Can you look into her mouth at all, and see if any of the extraction sites are sore-looking?

[RedHedd]

Can you look into her mouth at all, and see if any of the extraction sites are sore-looking?

I'll have to try tonight - She's extremely difficult to handle and dislikes being checked. From what I have been able to see, all looks like healthy pink tissue. Much better thna the inflamed gums she had before.

[Karen]

Also, you could just try wetting down the hard food, cats don't "need" crunchies - especially gummy kitties!

[RedHedd]

Well I called the vet to schedule her follow-up and asked. They said to try mixing baby food in with her wet foodl. I will do this tonight. As I recall there is a meager selection of baby foods that don't have strange stuff - I just want the mooshy and plain chicken, beef, lamb, turkey ..... We'll see what they have.

[Moesha]

Can you soak some dry food with tuna juice or something else that may tempt her? I'm betting something is sore though. Oscar just had mouth surgery and was eating wet food fine. All of a sudden he stopped. The vet suspected the same type of granuloma that had been removed from his mouth had developed in his intestinal tract. He gave him a steroid shot and Oscar is back to eating. Of course now he's gotten where he only wants canned. The vet said that as his condition worsens, he may have to have all of his teeth pulled. I'll be watching this thread to see what other suggestions may be made. Hope all goes well for Josie.

[Freedom]

Get some high quality grain free cat food, in cans. Try these: Fussie Cat, Weruva, and Tiki Cats. You can find go to their individual web sites, and find a dealer near you.

My cats go nuts for Weruva's Marbella Paella. :rolleyes:

[RedHedd]

Thanks! I have access to Weruva and Tiki Cat - I'll try those although I don't like giving them fish too often and I think Tiki is mainly fish.

Josie did lap up the baby food/Fancy Feast combo I "cooked" up for her tonight (which actually looked and smelled kinda good) and now she's eating the dry Natural Balance, which she has always loved. She seems perkier too.

I got a gander at her gums and they look good, no redness or swelling.

[Freedom]

?? Why don't you like giving them fish too often? Not heard that before.

[RedHedd]

It's not healthy for them; they are obligate carnivores, therefore they need meat

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/01/03/fish-as-a-protein-source.aspx

[Freedom]

I figured you were heading to the ethoxyquin controversy. That is why you feed a high quality food, prepared in a human food plant.

Anyway, just get her eating once she starts, after a day or 2 or 3 you can mix it up.

Ob

[RedHedd]

Tried the Weruva and Tiki Cat - they do not like it .... at all! They didn't even drink the "juice." I am syringe feeding Josie baby food; she's nibbling some treats and some Natural Balance, but I can tell she's frustrated.

I see the vet first thing Saturday morning - I hope she has some solutions for me. This is SO frustrating as Josie is almost impossible to corral - burrito wrap is out of the question; she's way too wiggly. I have to be really sneaky to get to her with a syringe full of food. Ugh. She's not starving, but she's not getting enough to maintain her voluptuousness. The vet may be pleased that she's lost a little bit as she was getting .... very "fluffy."

[Freedom]

Now that is weird - them not liking it! Odd that it is BOTH of them. Could they be finding food someplace? Paws crossed the vet has some ideas!

[RedHedd]

Of course with my vet appointment today, Josie started eating almost normally yesterday and was completely fine today. The vet was impressed - her gums are healing well - they look so nice and pink. She hasn't lost any weight, so we know she's been getting enough nutrition. The vet did give her an appetitie stimulant to use "just in case" and gave her a dose there. I snuck half a one to Marbles too when I got home as she's been mimicking Josie's picky eating and now they're both eating. I did pick up a can of kitten food that Petco had on sale - good stuff - and they're scarfing it down

I think we're over the hump with this ordeal - at least I hope so. For now all is normal; I have purring and tussling kitties again and Josie has a new nickname - she can now add "Gummy Girl" to the list of different names I call her. You know how we do that.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm glad to hear that both cats are now eating again. Some times a few of mine will get a bit picky too and then later they eat well again. The only canned food that I've found that everyone seems to like at least most of the time is the grain free Wellness canned food. I now buy the large cans at An Jans Feed & Supply Store in the Chicken, Turkey, Turkey & Salmon, and Chicken & Herring. They also eat Merrick's Before Grain dry food in the Chicken and the Salmon flavors. Good luck.:)

[krazyaboutkatz]

I just wanted to add that I called both Merrick & Wellness this morning to ask them if they use ethoxyquin in any of their cat foods that have fish in them. They don't.:) They only use natural preservatives. It's great to know that my cats are eating good quality food.:)

[katladyd]

Cat's can be so picky. I've tried almost all the "good" canned foods: Merrick Before Grain, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, Newman's Own, Orijen, Fromm's Surf and Turf, Wilderness, Wellness, Royal Canin, just sooo many. My boys will eat just about any dry there is, so they only get good ones, but the only healthy wet they will even eat a bit of is Wellness Chicken and Herring. My vet said after Ming's last blockage to feed him more wet, whether it's healthy or not, he NEEDS the water in his diet! So, I am now giving them Friskies Special Diet for urinary tracts and he is doing fine! I HATE feeding him this stuff, but he won't eat any of the others and when he doesn't eat wet, he blocks. So, Friskies it is.

[RedHedd]

I'm trying a lot of different foods right now to see if something really different from what I'm giving them would make they go cuckoo nuts for the food. The appetite stimulant DOES work - they scarf down their usual food (Natural Balance, Fancy Feast 1x a day as a treat; Whiskas Temptations or EVO treats) with no problem when they're on this Kitty Cannabis ;) They LOVED the Trader Joe's canned chicken cat food - go figure! It is cheap, but the ingredients look pretty okay although no reviews by Petsumer Reports.