My senior cat struggles to chew food on one side. What can I feed her?

I would be concerned about possible dental issues causing the changing in Soleil's eating habits. We can see tooth root abscesses, gingival inflammation, as well as tooth fractures that will affect how well a cat will eat. If Soleil has not been examined by his veterinarian in the past six months or so I would recommend scheduling an exam. If his teeth are all normal then you can discuss with your veterinarian how to address this, such as adding water to his food to make it easier to chew. There are prescription dental diets however they tend to be more for keeping the teeth clean versus easy to chew.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If Lady Patches is losing weight, it can definitely be due to her dental disease. However, other causes for weight loss include underlying medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism, diabetes, IBD, and cancer - all of these and others can be ruled out by your vet. You can definitely encourage Lady Patches to eat more by moistening her dry food or getting a food that is in smaller pieces. There are multivitamins available for senior cats, but they do not provide many calories. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you have!

Good Afternoon...thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I empathize with your struggle and Munchkin's picky diet. I certainly do not want to cause alarm, but many times cats will become "picky eaters" for many other reasons other than their teeth. As a veterinarian, this symptom always give me pause. Cats with dental issues still usually have a normal appetite, even with a bad tooth - they will still eat. There are many other conditions which can cause an older kitty to change their eating habits and influenced "what tastes good to them" - conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (even with no other GI symptoms), kidney disease, liver disease, and many types of cancers (that can be within any organ of the body...) can cause an older kitty to change their appetite preferences. I would want to know if Munchkin is maintaining her weight, or has she lost weight? If she has lost weight, this is also more concerning. I would recommend you monitor her weight very closely - if she is maintaining (and has not lost weight within the past 6-12 months...). You may want to consider a visit to your veterinarian for additional diagnostics including a full senior bloodwork/urine profile, and possibly an abdominal ultrasound and chest radiographs to ensure nothing more sinister may be going on. I hope this helps, good luck!

Hi and thanks for posting. A brand that comes to mind that may be what you are looking for is Sojos which is freeze dried food. You add a small amount of water to it and the food pieces are on the softer side but not mushy. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Personally I think the change in chewing is likely unrelated to eating the grass and it being stuck. Since Sandy is a senior cat the most common reason for a change in chewing or preference from dry to wet food is oral or teeth pain, underlying metabolic diseases (kidney or liver disease, intestinal disease) or nausea which is why she may have been eating the grass in the first place. I would have her seen this week by your Vet for an exam/check teeth and weight and senior blood work. Hopefully it is just her teeth and if her blood work is normal then schedule a dental procedure. I wish you and Sandy the best!

Given the symptoms described, gum inflammation ([gingivitis](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/gingivitis-and-stomatitis)) or other [dental disease](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/dental-disease-1/) may be the underlying cause(s). Both are very common in cats and may cause pain, especially when eating hard/dry food. Any[ treatment](https://www.petcoach.co/article/4-ways-to-treat-dental-disease-in-pets) will depend on the diagnosis but may include a [dental cleaning](https://www.petcoach.co/article/your-pets-dental-cleaning-what-to-expect), extractions, antibiotics, pain management and brushing her teeth at home. Consider a second opinion with a veterinary dentist if necessary. A dental cleaning and extractions (if necessary) will likely resolve the issue. To treat severe gingivitis, the last resort is total teeth extraction, which solves the problem for most cats. [Cats can eat without teeth](https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-things-every-cat-owner-should-know-about-dental-care/) and the appetite may actually increase due to there being no more pain. If your cat eats wet food without any problem, I would probably advise to just keep her on wet food as a full mouth extraction is a major surgical procedure.

You may want to look at his teeth, especially his molars (cheek teeth). Mikkel may have a lot of tartar on his teeth and severe inflammation of his gums which then hurt when he eats dry food. If you see brown concrements on his teeth, then he should be seen by a veterinarian and get his teeth cleaned under anesthesia. There is no need to have a tooth ache, and the bacteria in tartar can actually cause heart and kidney problems.