My cat had some teeth removed... Wants to eat dry food?

I have a rescue kitty and she had really bad teeth so I took her in for dental surgery. $1000 later, she came out with 8 tooth extractions and 4 root extractions. She is quite old and fairly small (she lost half her weight at the shelter before I had her) so I figured she wouldn't take the surgery well and come home quite groggy.





I was worried that she wouldn't be eating that much but as soon as she came home she went straight for the dry food (before her surgery she could eat wet food only because of the state of her mouth). After she had enough of the dry food, she'd head straight to the wet food and gobble it up.





I think it's great that she has such a big appetite but should I keep her away from the dry food in case she upsets the sutures in her mouth?

My cat had some teeth removed... Wants to eat dry food?
I just asked my vet this very question for the same reason.





Your feeding options are:





- Wet food


- Dry food that's been soaked in water


- Dry food that's been pulverized into dust.





And no dry kibble for 2 weeks when the vet will look to see it's all healed nicely.





Mine is perferring the dust a bit more than the other options, believe it or not. I never would have guessed since tuna is on the menu too. She seems to like the tuna if we sit together and she eats it from a flat dish with me giving her a little bit from the can at at time.
Reply:ya only wet food or she could have 2 lose more teeth!
Reply:I would stick with wet until healed.
Reply:If she wants the dry food, let her have it....It sounds to me like her nutritional needs far outweigh her tooth problems....GOD BLESS YOU FOR GIVING HER THE RIGHT HOME !!
Reply:actually the first to answer this may be wrong. wet food can lead to more dental tartar and therefore more dental cleanings. lay off the dry food for about 2 weeks, or at least get it alittle soggy with water. after that most of the ehaling should be complete and you can feed her whatever she wants! :o)
Reply:You need to keep her away from all of the dry food until your vet says it is okay to put her on dry again. Wet food is easier and better for her after her surgery. Call up your vet and ask when it's ok to give dry food again, if at all. Be sure of that!
Reply:This is a good question to call and ask your vet about.





Most likely she doesn't have sutures in her mouth. Your vet probably recommended feeding her soft food for 5-10 days until the wounds have healed. However, after the healing period dry food is the best food for her. It will keep the tarter down on her teeth and reduce the risk of future extractions.





Good luck.
Reply:add warm water to the dry food
Reply:I'd keep her off the hard kibble till she's healed.
Reply:Your kitty should be eating wet food just because of the extractions. HOWEVER you can add water to her dry food to make it soggy.





I agree that wet food is not good for cats, but in this case.. it is fine until she is feeling better.





Oh, and good for you for rescuing.
Reply:Are you sure that she has sutures? Most extractions are not sutured. I would call my vet to find out what he/she recommends. Otherwise, you could just moisten the dry food for a few days, since her mouth is probably a little tender.

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