# kitty with sore mouth needs soft foods- ideas?



## elysiumdream (Feb 4, 2009)

My 17 year old male cat, Willy, has a chipped tooth with the root exposed. He had a temperature of 103 and obviously was feeling terrible. I've since taken him to the vet, where he had a blood test, antibiotics and pain reliever sent home. He does have kidney disease, which shows on his blood work, but it is in the high normal range and the twice-weekly fluids are keeping it there. The doctor was concerned about his organs and such, but everything came back looking great for such an old man. His tooth and possibly arthritis seem to be the culprit in making him feel so bad. 

Now my question is what to feed him? He is still uncomfortable (and seems stoned), but the pain meds and antibiotics seem to be doing their job. He had tuna juice, some regular food mixed with water, cat milk and I bought some baby food, which I will try later today. I was just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions. He IS eating, but it is in such small amounts, I know he will lose more weight. He already lost one pound in the last month. He's only at 6 pounds now and I just worry about him and want him to be comfortable. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

My recommendation is that you have the tooth extracted ASAP. His mouth will heal quickly once it is gone, and he'll be able to eat normally again with no pain.

A few months ago, my 19 yr old CRF and hyperT cat, Billy, developed an infected canine tooth. As I'm sure you can understand, I was extremely nervous about putting him through general anesthesia and dental surgery, but the vet insisted that antibiotics would NOT be able to resolve a dental infection - that the best the antibiotics could do was knock back the infection for a while until it flared up again. Billy was miserable with a painful tooth, and I didn't want him to have to suffer that pain over and over and over again, so I agreed to the dental.

I had the vet follow very strict guidelines before, during, and after the procedure to help protect Billy's kidneys, and the procedure was completely successful. In fact, Billy had FOUR teeth extracted during the procedure. His blood pressure did drop for a moment during the procedure, but with close monitoring and fluids onboard, they were able to bring it back up quickly. Billy received Clindamycin (antibiotic) for 10 days post-dental in addition to a week or two of antibiotics before the dental. He also received a single small dose of Tramadol for pain post-dental. Within a few days, the swelling in his mouth subsided, and he was back to normal and pain-free.

The following link outlines safety guidelines for performing dental procedures on CRF cats:

http://www.felinecrf.org/related_diseases.htm#dental_precautions

Please do seriously consider having your cat's bad tooth extracted. Antibiotics and pain killers are temporary bandaids for such problems. Worse yet, they're bandaids that can put additional strain on your cat's ailing kidneys.

Laurie


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## elysiumdream (Feb 4, 2009)

Thanks for the advice.  But the doctor said she thought the tooth would break off on its own and the root be reabsorbed. So for two weeks he shall have antibiotics and pain reliever and then a check up to see how everything is going. If after close monitoring, the doctor feels differently, we may discuss having it removed. But right now I would rather not put him through that. All I'm focusing on is getting him to eat and making sure he is comfortable. And since making the original post, he has gobbled (slower than usual) his baby food and then food from my other cats bowls.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

It's great that he's eating. Prescription A/D is very high calorie and easily mixes with water, so he may find that easy to lap up. You'll have to get it from a vet's office, though. If he'll eat it, mixing some Nutrical into his canned food gruel will add even more calories.

Laurie


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

BTW, what pain med is he on? I hope NOT Metacam. Metacam can seriously damage his kidneys. I hope he's on a very low dose of Buprenex or Tramadol. They're safer for his kidneys, though I personally wouldn't even use them unless your cat's pain is intense.

Laurie


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## elysiumdream (Feb 4, 2009)

I was given a can of A/D but I don't think Willy liked it so much. But I did try on the first day, when he really wasn't wanting to eat anything. I'll try again. I've never heard of nutrical. Is that some canned cat food?

The pain was intense. He was hiding and refusing to eat at all. His pain med is Buprenex .3mg


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Nutrical is a high calorie paste that comes in a tube. You squeeze out a little and either mix it into his food or smear it on his foot so that he has to lick it off. Some cats like the taste of Nutrical and will eat it solo squeezed onto a dish. Some cats hate it and won't even eat it mixed into their food.

If your boy doesn't want to eat A/D by itself, mix it 1/4 to 3/4 with a canned food that he will eat.

Laurie


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## elysiumdream (Feb 4, 2009)

I think I'll buy some nutrical for Willy. As long as I mix it in something yummy (like baby food, which he LOVES), I don't think he'll complain. And I would love to fatten him up. He's such a scrawny old man. :wink: How does your Billy like it?


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Unfortunately, Billy won't touch anything with Nutrical in it. He also isn't fond of A/D, though he will eat it every once in a blue moon. Billy has always had a very finicky appetite, even before he developed CRF. It is, of course, even worse now.

Laurie


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