cat just had teeth extracted and some issues followed...

[jackal2001]

Hello,
I'm hoping someone can give me some insight as I want a second opinion to my vets.   My 9 year old cat just got home yesterday from having oral surgery to have some teeth extracted.  He had this done 3 years ago and had no issues then.
1. When I got him back yesterday, his 3rd eyelid was closed in his right eye.  The Dr. told me this could be normal sometimes due to the extractions and should go away in 3 days or so.  My research on the internet only found a few cases of this and it didn't look so good.  They said if it didn't go away they could treat it with pregnazone I think but they didn't want to do it the same day he was released. I am concerned this will not go away as it is 2 days after his actual surgery and he still has it.
2.  If he shakes his head, he immediatly falls over on the right side.
3.  He hasn't eaten or drank anything in almost 24hrs now.

I am going to try and give him his oral antibiotics later today.

I am very concerned with my cats health and I am feeling that he is worse off than when he went in.  He had none of these issues other than licking his nose which indicated to me he was having issues with his teeth again.

[opus88]

I too will clarify, I was not talking at all about dry foods, except to make a comparison of how high dry foods are in carbs....besides IMO dry foods are the worst thing we can be feeding our pets.
the protien in dry food which is heavily plant based is NOT equal in quality to the protein in canned food which is meat based...Dry foods are water depleted and cause kidney and bladder diseases among other health problems, they are sprayed heavily with deadly chemicals as preservatives.

But thats another topic, in my original post I was referring to can foods and in the second paragraph I mention that not all can foods are necessarily low in carbs.

Hill's A/D has 15% carbs .(non prescription 24%) Yes the A/D is alot lower than many canned foods on the market.
however there are some that are lower still.
such as EVO or Wysong's Au Jus which have 3%
Wellness Core I believe has 0 grains, but I'm just going on memory here.

As far as amino acids thats included in all cat foods that I'm aware of in the form of Taurine, has to be or cats would be going blind and or have heart problems. And taurine is the most important of all the amino acids, many of the others such as glutamate, glycine, proline & serine are non essential.

Not trying to argue specifics with you Nancy...this is not my intention at all, we can all learn from each other and I value your opinions as I hope you do mine.

I'm sure many kittens do thrive on Hills A/D, because it is lower in carbs than many other can foods on the market you're right...and I'm sure the nutrient content too  would be excellent. also the moisture/fat levels are similar  as with others in the better brands.
and you are very correct when you say when eating a high quality food they only need a very small amount in comparison to what they would need of a lower quality food.

my whole point of adding my post was to state that HILL's isn't necessarily one of the best ones on the market. and as Jade remarked not all cats will eat it, I know none of mine ever would. perhaps if they were started on it as a kitten it would be different (?)

I only hope that Jackal is able to get his kitty eating and healthy once again. And I believe we are all trying to help him out with our suggestions......

[nancyjac]

Let me clarify:

I was referring to the a/d canned food, not a dry food.  All dry foods are high in carbs (which isn't a bad thing btw).  The a/d does have a high protein and moister content with moderate levels of fat.  It is also fortified with amino acids and other nutrients not found in most cat foods.  Carbs are the only macronutrient that feeds brain cells (in any animal).  The sites you quote rightly discuss the issues associated with a ratio that is excessive in carbs and deficient in proteins and fats.  But they are not suggesting that cats do not have a dietary need for carbs.  

I have fed literally hundreds of just weaned kittens.  Those that have trouble eating or gaining weight appropriately, almost always respond best to the a/d formulation.

[opus88]

Jade is right MUST get that kitten eating and fancy feast tho not a great food choice they do like it and will eat it when most other brands fail.

Nancy...I've done alot of reading on pet foods.
The Vets recommend Science Diet because they have been trained to think its a good diet, they mean well they just haven't been trained to put much research into nutrition.
However its not. Science Diet is very high in carbs. (grains)
I quote from info on one site www. catinfo.org
"In the wild, your cat would be eating a high protein, high moisture content, meat-based diet, with moderate level of fat and only 3-5% of their diet consisting of calories from carbs. (just a not here dry food contains 35-50% and some of the cheaper dry foods contain even higher amounts.)

Please note also that NOT ALL can foods are suitably low in carbs.
For instance most of the HILL'S SCIENCE DIET and the HILL'S PRESCRIPTION DIETS are VERY HIGH IN CARBS.

Cats have NO dietary need for carbs. infact a diet high in carbs can be detrimental to their health....grains are a cheap filler in foods, therefore the manufactures make better profits.

this info is is avail on www.catinfo.org on the link
"Feeding your cat: Know the basics" on page 4

cat food has recently become an obsession with me due to health problems in my own cats.
I could quote another very excellent source if interested.

[Jade59]

Hi jackal...do I understand you right?...you're kitty is barely eating Anything?  After so many days of this, this could lead to a crisis and I think you should go out and buy the commercial food just to get your cat to eat something.  While the Science diet is a great idea, from my own experience and others on the forum, not all cats will eat this, plus it's expensive and you have to buy a large bag (you said you were broke) so you might want to get some Fancy Feast and try that just to get kitty eating.  PrettyKitty1 here on the forum went through something similar with her cat barely eating and his organs began shutting down and he ended up in an ER hospital for quite some time and nearly died.  

It sounds like your kitty's mouth might hurt...maybe something has gone wrong with one of the extractions?  It just sounds like too many days that your kitty hasn't really eaten and I'm worried :(

[nancyjac]

You might try Science diet a/d food.  It is ground and formulated to be nutrient and calorie dense.  It is often recommended by vets for developing kittens or for older cats with eating issues.  Even if he only eats a small amount, it will provide him with more calories and nutrients than the same amount of other canned food.  It generally isn't sold in grocery stores but you should be able to find it at a pet supply store.

[jackal2001]

I'm off from work this week so I continue to monitor him.
I've been feeding him Solid Gold Tuna Cat food for well over 2 years now and he always would eat it.  It is very soft and mushy.  It has big chunks of tuna in that but i normally crush them up.  In the past 4 days he has been getting better but has not eaten any of it since then.  I also tried some TikiCat which is soft pieces of fish and same thing.
I'm giving him everyting and anything I could think of.  He won't eat chicken any more no matter how small i make the pieces.  he tries to chew it and can't and I think he gives up.
He won't eat babyfood either.
I don't feet my cat any commercial grade cat food like friskys, fancy feast, etc. but I may have to now.

When I go back to work next week and leave a bowl of food out I guess we'll see what happens.