Older cat lost 6 teeth, throws up everything

13 yr old cat, part Siamese (touchy stomach), had 6 teeth pulled including all back molars on upper right. Since then she doesn't chew her food, she swallows it whole. We have tried every size imaginable of dry food to find something she will chew; she throws up everything. Wet food, she keeps it down unless it is stringy, in which case it comes up too. Ideas? We're going on vacation for 2 weeks, and I don't know what to tell my neighbor who feeds her. We used to leave out bowls of dry food for her and our other cat; now she throws up so we can't do that even though the other cat is fine with it. I know if we take her to the vet, they will want to do $200 of blood work, then will say, We don't know what's wrong with her. I know it's the size of the food and her not chewing.

 

Royal Canin makes a dry food that is small and I believe it's the "Siamese" dry food.
Why so many teeth pulled? I ask cause I wonder if she has stomachitis which would cause her to throw up quite a bit anyway.
I've fostered many siamese cats with virtually no teeth (last one only had his 4 canines left) and they all could eat dry and wet food just fine. I once had a foster who had not a tooth in her head and she wouldn't even eat wet food and she held it down.
I first eliminate all dry food for awhile (probably have to wait until you get back from your vacation) and feed only wet that she holds down to see if it is dry food. If she's fine for awhile then add the dry again.
Cats hardly ever chew dry food as it is. They tend to swallow it whole rather than chew it (one reason for the being good for the teeth fallacy).
So if she's not chewing after her dental she probably wasn't chewing it before.
Something else you could try when she's on an upchuck binge (my sealpoint does this quite often) is give her 1/4 of a Pepcid AC tablet (I buy the WalMart brand) but it has to be the AC little teeny pills. They help settle an upset stomach.

 

Thanks for the advice

Another friend suggested Pepcid, so I guess I'll try it. She is also (unfortunately) a cat who will swallow a pill, then throw it up using her hairball reflex. She is a VERY stubborn cat!

 

If the food itself is not the issue, but the size of it is - How about just throw her dry food in a blender to break it down into little pebbles & dust? I did that once with my little guy when he had a growth in his mouth...and another time when my 10 yr. old guy had a tooth issue. Or, if she keeps the wet food down and you have a neighbor feeding her, then have them just use that until you get home.

Why not just use that wet food all the time if she is ok with it? I know the idea behind dry food is that it is better for their teeth, but it sounds like that ship has sailed. Besides, Oxyfresh in their water is good for helping to keep teeth healthy.

 

Thanks for your ideas

We tried chopping up the dry food, but it's hard to get it uniform. She won't eat cat food dust! We want to leave out dry food for our other cat, and so our neighbor doesn't have to come over so often. She's the busiest person I know, and I feel guilty having her come over twice a day. We tried cat sitters once, but our neighbor said they didn't come regularly or stay long.

I do appreciate your ideas, though!

 

I also have a finicky stomach 14 year old. She only eats very little dry food secondary to her teeth/age. She prefers wet food and if that's what she wants at this point that's what I'll give her. But she also throws up usually really early morning when we are fast asleep. I also give her 1/4 tablet of generic pepcid and it really does work. I only give it to her for a few days in a row then not again until she starts up again.
If wet food is what works the best I would have the neighbor feed her that and leave dry out for the other cat.
good luck

 

Mortar and pestle works best to break up the dry food. I used that when I fostered kittens and it worked great. My Pumpkin never chewed her food and vomited whenever she ate food too fast. Hope all is well with your kitty.