Help feeding cat with teeth problems

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Monte and Brian

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Hi all. My Monte was just diagnosed with diabetes this week. He also has very bad teeth, and had one pulled at the vet before we learned about the diabetes. Now, I am having trouble getting him to eat because of his teeth problems. He will eat some dry food, but obviously this is hard to chew and so he only tolerates it for so long. The problem with wet food is that all of the ones I've gotten that are supposed to be good for diabetics are a sort of patte texture and get caught in the pocket left by his pulled canine. So, he will eat for a bit until the food bothers him and then stop. I spent over an hour getting him to eat a meal this evening, even making the food into a sort of "soup", but he eventually drank out the water and it got sticky again before the food was gone.

Basically, I am looking for a wet food that is more of a "chunks" variety that is good for a diabetic cat, who also had mild kidney problems (so low phosphorous and not TOO high in protein). I know this is a very picky request but I'm desperate. My Monte is already so thin and I need to find something he can eat without discomfort so that his insulin can do its job and make him healthy again.

Thanks!
 
My heart goes out to you. Liquifing the food doesn't help?
Hang in there you will find a solution.

:YMHUG:
Jenn & Baxter
 
I added water a couple of times when he would lick it all out of the "soup". I guess I may just have to keep doing that until he eats it all, but that is a LOT of water for him to be having and I'm not sure he'll eat for that long. The problem is he will still eat all those super high-carb "chicken in gravy" style foods that are soft and chunky (I fed him these after he had the tooth pulled but before I learned about diabetes and he chowed them down quickly). I guess I'll talk with my vet. Of course the first priority is to get him eating a healthy amount, I guess if we need to use more insulin because he'll only tolerate higher carb foods it's better than him starving. I was just hoping there was a healthier commercial canned food that may be similar in texture to these types of foods.

I looked through Carl's thread. I may try a couple of the ideas, but I was really hoping for frankly an easier solution. It doesn't help that I'm a vegetarian so I don't have any meat in the house... If things get really bad I'll definitely have him eating yogurt and tuna, but I know they aren't going to give him all the nutrients he needs on a daily basis.
 
Maybe use a blender and a strainer for foods that have a taste he likes?

Do up a large batch and freeze as meals, then have one thawing in the fridge for the next meal at all times.
 
Hi,
Mullet is doing better today, and I found that chunk light tuna in water, mashed a bit with a fork worked well. He also scarfed down beef flavored Gerbers baby food. He also ate a tiny bit of my cheese omelet tonight.

Hope that helps....
Carl
 
When my diabetic cat, Timmy, had 10 teeth extracted, it took her about a week and a half to return to more normal eating. Most of the teeth removed were the tiny ones, but one was a canine. I bought canned chicken and gave it an extra chop in the food processor, including the liquid from the can, and that helped quite a bit. It was a little soupy but not sticky, so she didn't have to chew much. I think it takes awhile for them to get used to the new feeling of having missing teeth, even after any pain is gone. Timmy just ate small snacks for over a week before getting back to normal. Now, after a month, she is having no problems. Although, on the side of the missing canine, she curls her lip up like Elvis sometimes. It's very cute.
 
Also, Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys shredded chicken fare and shredded turkey fare are chunky food, with about 9% carbs, I think. Some supermarkets carry those flavors, but Petsmart definitely does.
 
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