Help 17 year old cat won't eat after dental.

Can anyone help. I did the stupidest thing anyone could do. I took my 17 year old cat who ate well and was happy for a dental to remove tartar (the vet said her teeth were rotten when I took her for a check up). She came home on Wednesday groggy - but made an attempt to eat. Then she shook her head and stopped. Took her to the vet who gave her pain killers and an appetite stimulant. She came home desperate to eat - but stopped each time because her teeth were making a bone on bone grinding sound as she chewed. Took her back to vet - who put her under anaesthesia AGAIN and removed a tooth. I fetched her from hospital because she wasn't eating. The few times she takes a mouthful this cracking grinding sound starts up, and she backs away from her food. Vet couldn't find anything wrong with her - he removed the tooth in the second surgery because it may have been the cause. He has no idea what is causing the sound as there are no loose teeth. I cannot believe I put a happy cat through this. I don't know what to do.

 

Boy that's a hard one the vet can't find any other reasons why there is a grinding sound?? Have they done any xrays to see if there is something broken?? Maybe a chip of a bone is floating around somewhere in there or maybe a hairline fracture??
I hope she gets feeling better...
Have you syringe fed? Is she doing anything drinking??

 

Thanks for your reply

My vet has abdicated all responsibility - he says he has never heard anything like it, and that's basically it. I have an appointment with a Feline Dental Specialist tomorrow, so hopefully he can shed some light. Syringe feeding her for now. She approaches her food, takes a bite, and then starts shaking her head and grinding, so she is afraid to eat.
I will post the results tomorrow - just in case anyone else has this problem (have not been able to find out a thing about it)

 

Wow!! time to find a new vet!! That's not a good vet, obviously something is wrong and it wasn't wrong before the cleaning and extraction...so fix it...I would be pissed off!!! I'm glad your going to a specialist!!
I've never experienced or heard of anything like this so please do let us know what the results are..
I'm glad that you are syringe feeding as they can't go long without fluids esp....poor thing..

 

Ok saw specialist. The grinding is a pain response - she is in severe pain. She is in hospital for rehydration, pain control, IV antibiotics and nasal feeding. Aside from tooth pain and her kidneys (which are really not bad), Vet said she is in very good health. He cannot find the source of the pain without an Xray, and he won't risk that unless she is fully hydrated. Could be an infection in the root, or something else (hairline crack) causing the nerve to be so painful, which is why she can't eat.The lesson here is never, ever allow a vet to do a dental on an older cat without Xrays. I did tell my vet not to take any chances, but I guess he thought he knew better than me which has caused my cat unnecessary pain and suffering. She may well have to have a third anesthetic to remove another tooth, but I'm praying she will come through ok given that her kidneys are doing well. Thank-you for your support - will update again. Hopefully this will help someone else.

 

This thread, while very interesting to me, is pretty old now.

 

Thank you for the update...my guess is there is a hairline crack in there that was caused by the extractions old cat possible brittle bones??
Good luck and hang in there sounds like this vet knows what he's doing...

Keep us posted

 

This is very rare to see a 17 year old cat. You are very lucky that your cat live for such a long time. As you told that her age is 17 and she recently came from the doctor, it might be possible that she facing some problem in her teeth or mouth that's why she is behaving like this. You should care her more now than previous.