Willow has teeth out............any tips

[catsmum]

Good morning. Willow had her annual health check on Monday just before we went to London for my birthday. 3 days earlier we had noticed a bit of blood around one of her gums so we got teh vet to check it out and it wasn't good news.

Initially we thought it was 2 or 3 teeth she would have to have out but she has had a few removed from the bottom and all her top teeth apart from her 1 front canine and her very front teeth.

We had a good talk to the vets and nurses yesterday and we do trust them and have no worries, we have been with them a long time. Her teeth were beginiing to reabsorb back into the gums giving her lesions and once they started to look around properly sum had got infected.

I felt so bad that we hadn't noticed. Our cats are all well cared for and we use logic to clean their teeth but we had no idea anything was wrong with Willow until 3 days before her annual health check, I just felt awful I hadn't known something sooner I was a wreck yesterday hoping she would be o.k under the anaesthetic as she is nearly 12.

Anyway she is on some light food for a few days and has a check up booked for monday. We have antibiotics for her and some metacam too. This morning she seems a lot brighter.

I am hoping there are others of you that have a cat with not many teeth left and I would like to ask you how your cat adapted to this as it must be strange for them and moving forward long term what diet is going to be best for her. We always have dry food for our cats so I wonder if she will ever be able to eat dry food again or if we will have to moisten it for her. i know our vets will be able to give us advice but i like to hear from people who have gone through this.

They did a blood test before putting her under and her glucose level was sky high. My friend who as you know was a vet nurse and she said this is standard as the levels can go high as cats are stressed ie through travelling in a car so the test now will see if her glucose level is normally this high or not.

Willow is just very fragile and we love her so much and I just need some reassurance she will be o.k with not many teeth left I worry about my furry friends, i know I am daft but that is what being a mad cat owner is about isn't it
Thanks
Karen

[dinahsmum]

Oh Karen - your poor little baby! Still, she's on the road to recovery now. Life will be so much better for her without constant dental pain.
I've no direct experience of toothless cats but would say that, from the detritus sometimes returned with an early post-meal vomit, they don't appear to do a lot of chewing of dry food. She may well be able to suck kibble up and swallow it down without much jaw action!

[tilly]

Hi my cat Tilly has lost most of her teeth too and she gets on fine she even manages to eat biscuits. she has lost all her canines and most of her molars she still has her all tiny teeth at the front top and most of the tiny ones and the bottom.
The only thing is she tends to take longer to eat and make more mess as the food keeps falling out of her mouth when she tries to eat it. But she gets there in the end, but if like me you have more than one cat I would seperate willow at feeding time so she can eat at her own pace and won't get worried.
Do feel free to email if you have any other question.

Sally

[Samz5]

My cat Bones has no teeth left at all!
Over the last 7ish years he had 3 operations for teeth removal, he is about 14 years old now and had the last four of his teeth removed last year - the other 4 cats here have no teeth problems so the vet says its just one of those things.

He has no problem at all eating wet or dry food, I think the gums harden up after a few months, obviously just after his operation he had a bit of discomfort but he doesn't seem to anymore.
The only problem I can see with his eating normal cat food is its better for him if the food is in a bowl rather than a plate as he seems to lick all the food off of plates.

Oh and a few years ago when he had 4-6 teeth left he raided the kitchen bin for chicken scraps and ended up nearly choking on a chicken skin, I had to pull it out of his throat, he will try and eat things without chewing however big they are, so if ever the cats get any chicken or other meat I make sure to cut it up nice and small for him.
Over all I think he just has a few minor problems, nothing life changing.
He used to be a bit of a biter when he wanted food, now he can just gum instead, it feels really funny but I pretend it still hurts just so it doesn't hurt his feelings !

[catsmum]

you have no idea how much happier you have made me feel reading your posts - thank you so much. It's at times like this I wish our cats could talk to us and could really understand what we were telling them.

She has eaten a bit more food and will stay on this wet food the vets gave us for a couple of days.

she has slept a lot but when she has been awake she has been very smoochy indeed. i don't think she hates too much

Thank you

[yola]

Karen she's probably relieved that all the pain and discomfort has gone away! I have a cat at the moment with one manky tooth and he's really not a happy puss so I can't imagine how painful a whole mouthful would have been

I had a friend whose CRF cat had no teeth, Morris managed fine on wet food, she didn't give him biscuits (oh and he had pate daily to hide his medication in)!!

[dandysmom]

My Misty had lost most of her teeth by the time she was 18, and had no problems eating wet food', she didn't like dry. And still loved a bit of cheddar or a sardine,,,

[Grete]

Sorry to hear of your poor puss's dental problems, I bet he will be a changed cat once it has all cleared up and free from pain and discomfort.

Glad you came and found us! We'd love some pics