# does anyone's cat have a problem chewing?



## Avocado (Apr 7, 2005)

my boy francis has always seemed uncomfortable chewing his food. he is only three years old, his teeth are clean, and his mouth has been checked out by the vet and he is in good health. i have had him since he was 4 months old and he has always eaten strangely... he only chews one kitty kibble at a time and sometimes it will fall out of his mouth. canned food often falls out of his mouth, too. unlike my other kitties he can not eat big chunks of food, even if they are soft... he dosent seem to know how to chew with his back teeth. if i give him a big hunk of cooked meat of something tasty he will just lick it, and will only eat it if i break it up into bite size pieces. 

does anyone else have a funny chewer? i've got my other two kitties eating raw but francis is a problem... because of his weird eating habits it is hard to feed him new things.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Sounds a little bit like Mellie, except for the food falling out of the mouth part. She eats her food one kibble at a time, picking up each one and giving it a bite. (BTW, cats don't chew....they don't have the right kind of teeth to chew....they can only bite....their upper and lower molars are like a scissors!!) And when presented with something large, she either ignores it or just licks it. I couldn't get her to eat a nice juicy raw chicken wing. I'm wondering if maybe this has something to do with mom cat not teaching little kitty to hunt and give the killing bite?

The thing that would concern me is the food falling out of the mouth business. This sounds like either some lack of sensitivity in the mouth to the feel of food or some lack of control. Has your cat ever bitten his tongue?


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## Meowmie (Jun 4, 2005)

Since you've been to the vet and your vet couldn't come up with anything, 
you should consider taking your kitty to a veterinary dentist for an oral exam to find out why he is having trouble chewing his food and why food is falling out of his mouth. (This is something I would be concerned about because it has to be a sign of some kind of problem.) 
Your vet can refer you to a veterinary dentist, and here is a link also:
http://www.avdc.org/dipl-list-table.htm


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## Avocado (Apr 7, 2005)

lol tims kitties... if i had titled my thread "does anyone have a cat who has a problem biting" i might have been misunderstood. i watched him eat a few times yesterday, and it seems that maybe the tiny kitty kibbles are still to big for him... it looks like he takes one in his mouth, bites it in half, swallows the half, and the rest falls out of his mouth. weird, none of the others do that. my carmella seems to eat several pieces at a time, but she is a little piggy.

meowmie, thanks for the link, but i did speak to my vet about this ( a vet that i am VERY happy with) and she seems to think that francis is in no danger. she did examine his mouth, too.


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## Meowmie (Jun 4, 2005)

I know you did check with your vet because in your first post you wrote:
his mouth has been checked out by the vet and he is in good health. 

You did NOT mention, however, _how_ the food falling out of your kitty's mouth happens, that's why both timskitties and myself voiced concern.

I just remembered something in connection with such problems, so let me ask you, when you change the drinking water, is the water clean, or do you see food particles floating in it?


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Avocado said:


> lol tims kitties... if i had titled my thread "does anyone have a cat who has a problem biting" i might have been misunderstood.


I understand completely!! :wink: 8) 

About the food falling out, your explanation of biting and swallowing half and dropping half I think is reasonable, and it that case there's no problem other than having a messy eater. A pet tray under the food dish will help out there!!


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## Meowmie (Jun 4, 2005)

Avocado, I hope you don't mind one more question.
I already asked about the drinking water, now something else.
Have you ever observed how far Francis opens his mouth when he yawns?
If not, please do that. 
Whether he opens his mouth wide, all the way, or not, is very important and can help you come closer to determining what the problem is. Because, no matter how we look at it, a cat should not be uncomfortable chewing his food. _Always_ uncomfortable as you put it.

Since cats (like people) can suffer from TMJ syndrome for example, I can't help wondering if maybe that's what's wrong with your kitty. If your vet is not thinking of this possibility, the problem can go undiagnosed and consequently untreated. 

I still believe you should have your kitty seen by a veterinary dentist.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Meowmie said:


> Have you ever observed how far Francis opens his mouth when he yawns?


Excellent observation....wish I'd though of it!! Getting slow in my old age.









I was thinking that maybe the cat just _looked_ "uncomfortable" eating to Avocado because he has a different "eating style". But you're quite correct, there are a number of things which could cause eating to actually be uncomfortable....or painful. If the vet examined the mouth, that would rule out some of the more obvious, like teeth, or mouth ulcers, etc. But a TMJ problem would go unnoticed except for the yawning observation. Frankly, seeing how wide cats do yawn, I'm surprised they don't all have TMJ disease!! :lol:


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## Avocado (Apr 7, 2005)

drinking water seems fairly clean, but i do change it daily and i have two other cats. when i emptied it today there were two kitty kibbles in there, i assume that someone was eating enthusiastically and knocked them in there.

i have been watching for a yawn but i think my little booger is yawnless... not one yawn all day. i'll keep watching. i think our vet actually did mention TMJ as a possibility ( i have a slight case myself so i am not unfamiliar with the condition) and Francy is due for a checkup soon, i will ask her about a veterinary dentist. thanks!


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