Cat with 10 teeth extracted!

JavaQueen · ‎03-09-2010

Hi all!

I agreed to care for my friend's cats while she travels. I have been their sitter for the past two years. Anyway, one of the cats had a Dracula tooth, which she lost. My frend took her to the vet and arranged for extractions. On Monday the poor cat had 10 extracted and she is a young cat. i felt badly for her. Ouch! She is kind of pudgy and sleeps a lot. My friend has not postponed her trip and so I get to look after the cat. As much as I love the cat, I think my friend is kind of selfish. She is not postponing the trip; she will go anyway. (If it were my cat I postpone my trip, just so I would be there in case somethng happened. But that's me.)

I know cats rebound, but that's 10 teeth. So I am going to do my best with meds, etc.

Anyone out there go through this with their cat? Any tips?

Thanks so much for reading!

ValuSkr · ‎03-15-2014

I think you'll need to feed the cat the soft, canned kind rather than the hard kind.

Scooty · ‎06-28-2010

My cat had all his teeth removed when he was about 8 years old. It took him a few days to get back to being himself. He slept a lot and didn't eat. I was very worried but within a couple of days he was fine. That was 5 years ago. He can still eat crunchy food as well as canned. He's still the best cat ever.

GCR18 · ‎07-03-2013

No way would I leave my cat. 10 teeth at once sounds like any awful lot. I haven't had experience with teeth. I imagine the cat will shy away from eating. I would sit with the cat and pet it, then try to get it to eat.

Hopefully the neighbor leaves you instructions and whatever food the cat can eat. If the cat doesn't want to eat, I'd give him fancy feast broth. It's in the regular cat food aisle. My boy ate it when he wasn't feeling well. Probably should discuss that with your neighbor. Hopefully she thought to get him something special if he won't eat.

Meowingkitty · ‎06-19-2010

I have a kitty that had several teeth extracted and she does well. She likes wet food but will eat dry also. Food tends to get stuck in her gums so she takes a long time to eat. She prefers chopped up food vs pate. Fancy Feast makes lots of varieties. Start with a small serving and give her more if she wants.

Lori Kaye · ‎03-14-2010

One of my cats had 8 teeth removed years ago. She does well with moist and dry food.

dmk2 · ‎07-19-2016

Several years ago, one of my cats (all were rescues usually with some physical issues) required extensive dental work and had 16 teeth extracted. He then had 2 more teeth removed a few years later, and at last count he had only 3 teeth left in his mouth.

God bless that sweet animal (who also had suffered a broken jaw which had malfused when he was probably hit by a car while he lived on city streets), because he was the happiest boy and never missed a meal. He actually tucked right into his wet food when he got home from the hospital and would even munch on kibble at times over the years.

The only issue I noted, which was actually a nonissue for me, was that he was a sloppy eater in that any wet food left would be at the edges or off of the plate, and I would just tidy it up and scoop it back on the plate for later. I would also have to take a damp paper towel and wipe his face off when he was finished eating because he always had food on his face. Of course, he always knew he was going to get his face washed by me, and, like any small child, didn't particularly like that part, and he would shake his head side to side and try to get away. So cute, because after this routine, he would run off looking over his shoulder at me, almost acting like he got the one up and got away.

Just remembering all this touches my heart because I miss him so much. Thanks for listening.

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

I have a rescue Siamese that had a genetic condition that caused her teeth to be reabsorbed into the gumline (never heard of it before this cat). It causes all kinds of problems - inflammation, pain, infection - so there's no treatment except to have the bad teeth removed. She ended up having two different surgeries (a year apart at a cost of about $2000 and she was only a couple years old at the time).

She only has a few teeth left now and she prefers soft, wet food but will still eat dry, if it's very small kibble. She's a happy cat though and a sweetheart!

As for leaving any of my cats when they're not well or have just had surgery? Not a chance in this world! Not unless it was a dire family emergency and then I'd limit the time to the least possible.

Good luck taking care of the kitty and bless you for doing it! I'm sure she'll need some TLC.

sweetee2 · ‎06-21-2015

I don't have a cat so I was just wondering why they would have to have so many teeth pulled at once. Poor things.

JavaQueen · ‎03-09-2010

From what I understand, cats can suffer from several conditions which cause loss of teeth.

This sweet little kitty was picked up off the tough streets of the Bronx. (She is kind of bossy and wants to eat up all the food.) In her case, it may have been tooth decay.

My friend had this cat for nearly five years and she takes her to the vet for checkups. But she was angry about blood tests which indicated that something is amiss.

She tries to take the cheap way out so she can travel the world. I can tell you stories about her.

She told me that she would leave the name of the vet and a credit card to cover the expenses. (No worries. I am honest. I have known her since 1988. )

But enough about her. I am worried about the safety and comfort the cat. I am so worried and even though I know there are informational web sites with info, it's also good to hear real-life stories. (I'm sure you know about what happens if one starts reading health web sites.

I am touched by all you kind people who have shared your stories about the kitties who have graced your lives. Some of them left me a little teary.