# Senior cat lost her main front right fang - not eating



## Vespa (Nov 2, 2009)

A couple days ago our oldest girl lost her right front fang. I found it on the kitchen floor not more than a day after it came out. All her teeth looked bad when we got her six months ago and my wife and I don't want to have her put under to have them cleaned as we estimate her age to be 15 years old.

My wife took her to the vet yesterday and the vet didn't give her any antibiotics. I'm worried about infection. Her gum around the missing fang looks swollen but not pink. I'm inclined to believe the gum was always larger as this was her 'snaggle tooth' that stuck out more than the left fang. I'm keeping a close eye on it.

Now for the immediate problem: she's not eating. I plan on force-feeding her soft food w/ a syringe. I've done this before with other cats. 

I welcome advice on taking care of my sweet old girl.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Poor lttle girl! It probably hurts to chew. I would suggest some pureed baby food at first. She can just lap that up. Then you could try some pureed canned cat food, which is a bit coarser. If you're worried about her weight, I would give her some Nutrical. I hope she's soon back to normal. 

Of course, if she doesn't lap up the baby food, you could use a syringe and some Nutrical.


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## Vespa (Nov 2, 2009)

Thanks!

You are referring to this stuff here?:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2752978

Looks like something good for the short term. I got this stuff yesterday:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... lmdn=Brand

Doesn't look as good as A/D but not bad nutrient and consistency seems more paste-like which
is what she'll need for the syringe.

Just a side note: normally we feed our cats Purina One - Urinary Tract care pellets. They all seem to like it and I like the idea of a hard food helping to scrape tartar off their teeth.

Our girl is old and has bad teeth so I think she may be the one we have to keep on soft food the rest of her days with us.

I'll let you know if syringe feeding kick-starts her appetite so she's eating on her own.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

A number of years ago I was feeding a stray. I can't remember all the details, but I started out feeding dry, and for some reason switched to canned. I would scoop a lump of food into a dish for him. Then I noticed that he was just nibbling at the top of it and I thought he'd gone off of it. Then I noticed that his fangs were missing (maybe other teeth as well) and that he had to try to grasp his food with his lips. I switched to a small chunk senior's dinner and he seemed to be able to pick this up. Again I can't recall why, but I also swithched to small amounts five times a day, but he was being fed outdoors and an food left out was grabbed by crows of raccoons. Maybe you can hand feed small pieces without resorting to a syringe.

Don't know if this information will be of any help.


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## Vespa (Nov 2, 2009)

I got real lucky this afternoon! I started by trying to put a little in her mouth with my finger. She dropped a little out of her mouth but seemed to eat the rest. Then she finally started really sniffing the food in the container and then started licking it and then started munching it down!

I let her eat about 1/3 worth of the can and then took it away and put the lid back on and put it back in the 'fridge for later. I didn't want her eating too much after such a long period away from all food. In a couple hours she'll get about half of the remainder and if she's still hungry at about 7 or 8pm I'll let her have whatever she wants unless she hurls it up.

I'm so relieved and happy. All I have to do now is keep her on this track and make sure she doesn't appear to have infection start in her fang socket. I felt really bad for her when I first saw that tooth laying on the floor. I just hope she gets her strength back.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

That's good news! 

I would recommend canned food as her regular diet. It is my understanding that dry food does nothing for cats' teeth. Of course, you can feed both, but since cats are carnivores, canned food is more natural.


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## Vespa (Nov 2, 2009)

I agree Jeanie. Those sharp teeth aren't meant for carrots (unbelievable they put that in wet food!).

She really wants to go for the hard pellets. I separated her again this morning but she didn't have much
interest in the wet food. On the bright side, she seems to have much more pep and was running around
like her old self.

I think eventually she'll prefer the wet food. I just have to pick the best food for her that I can without breaking the bank.


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