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My cat had surgery and won't eat. How to feed him safely?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 12.1254 lbs

My cat had fallen from 7th floor during a fight with another cat and had his tongue torn apart.His skin of lower mandible has also severed off.A surgery has been performed.but my cat is not eating or drinking.He seems very hungry.Is it okay to give him food ? Or it will be infectious to the tongue? How many days he can survive on iv? He was given iv during surgery.itz been 3 days of his accident.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Stacey Anstaett, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 16th, 2019

Oh my goodness! Poor guy! He does need nutrition. What was your vet's recommendation for feeding him? Its hard to assess the risk of infection without knowing what the area looks like more specifically. Definitely offer him water. Is he on antibiotics? If he is on antibiotics, offer him a liquid diet; you can soak cat food in water, mash it up with a fork and let him lap it up. Sometimes a temporary feeding tube is needed to help patient's recover from significant oral injury. Regarding the IV, My understanding from the information you gave is that he was on IV fluids during the surgery, but he went home after surgery. The IV fluids will help him maintain hydration for the time that he's getting them, but not much beyond that, so he does need to be offered water and if he's unable to drink it you need to take him to a vet and either discuss subcutaneous fluids (fluids you can give under the skin at home) https://icatcare.org/advice/cat-care/how-give-subcutaneous-fluids-your-cat or possibly a feeding tube, as subcutaneous fluids don't provide nutrition (calories, fat, carbohydrates), only hydration and electrolytes. IV fluids also do not provide nutrition.
Thank you for asking PetCoach!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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