Almost no teeth left! Options

[Angel Simba]

Dear Cat Lovers,

Our beautiful Burmese is turning 17ys old in a month and lost 11 teeth in the past 2 ys. He still eats his dry food though I wonder how he manages it! He is however asking (of course) for more wet food. This would not be a problem if Simba was not a diabetic in remission. We almost lost him early 2010 if only for the good care of the Vet Hospital in Sydney Uni. As Simba is eating more wet food, we noticed recently that he is more thirsty and lethargic (first sign of a rise in sugar level). Considering that dry food hurts him and wet food can trigger diabetes again, can you pls give us some advice on what food to give to a diabetic-proned senior cat with practically no teeth? Thank you so much.

[Panda Azura]

could you feed him cooked chicken mashed up a food processor instead of wet food?

You could water down his dry food too, so it is soggy

[Heather Sharada]

Try watering down his dry food.....I guess the question his given his age Is his enjoyment of life more important than extending it.

There are some good articles about feeding a diabetic cat....main thing seems to be low carb high protein and this article seems to promote no dry food....

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-feed-diabetic-cat-5730752.html

If you are going to change his diet do it gradually.

[fleabag]

One of my old girls had 3 teeth left in her dotage ..she only liked dry food which she gummed with great enthusiasm and plain wrap yukky brown cat tuna ..
Are you sure it hurts him or is he just bunging it on to get something else..
I've also heard of people blending dry down to a smaller powder and mixing it with water, maybe try reducing the size with a blender.

[stephm1188]

Yeah, you could wrap some in a plastic bag and whack it with a rolling pin to break it down!

I don't know much about diabetic cat diets, but maybe even combining the wet and dry foods to soften them up and see how you go?

[kittenmitten]

don't dispel how tough their gums are when they have no teeth, just like toddlers, they can still get a good bite up. If he is happy to eat dry food, maybe mush it a bit (but you will then need to watch how long you leave it for, as it will then go off), but would not remove it altogether