My cat is 14 years old and is grinding her teeth when eating wet food.

I took her to the vet about 6 months ago, and they have inspected her teeth and her teeth and gums are fine (they actually commented on how good she looked and said that her weigh was stable). The vet said that she may be grinding due to stress! which i find strange, as this only happen when she eats wet food, but not dry. If she was stressed wouldn't she grind her teeth at any time?
I have also noticed that she is losing weight recently, she is really enthusiastic for food, but when I show her the wet food, she turns her nose up. So I have decided to feed her dry food, which she loves.

The reason I haven't let her eat dried food previously, is becase she suffers with urinary infections and tends to not drink enough water when eating dry food. This then causes her urine to be string and eventually leads to an infection. I am hoping that by giving her dried food will stop her grinding noise, and help her gain weight.

Apart from grinding teeth and fussiness over food, she is not acting any differently. Still active, catching mice, not drinking excessively, or grooming more or less.

She is due her yearly check up and booster jab, but wondered if I should be more concerned and bring this forward.

Does anyone know why cats tend to grind their teeth when they reach around 12 years old? Should I be concerned?

hey the only time ive come across cats grinding their teeth is when they could do with a dental because theyv got alot of ]

tartar on the teeth but if it were 6 months ago that she was given the ok then it might not be this

reason, i think ive heard that stress could also be a reason but like u said would have thought shed be doing it all the time,

also if shes losing wieght but eating the same amount as what she normally would id deff get her

check out ther likely to do a blood test to see if alls ok. But i think if uve any

worries maybe a call to ur vet will give u a lil advice? keep us updated

Becky

Hi Becky,

Thanks for the prompt response.
I'm hoping that she's losing weight due to her not wanting to eat the wet food. This has only been recently, and I have only noticed the weight loss in the past 2-3 weeks, due to this reason (I hope!!).
She has eaten dry food and I have treated her to some tuna (her favourite) today, and she's eating fine. I don't want to keep giving her dry food as she suffers with urinary infections, and tends to not drink water, and doesn't like alternative milk products.

Does anyone know of what food may be suitable for her?

I am taking my cat to the vets tonight. I will keep you updated.

Just got back from the vets.

The vet has said that he couldn't find anything wrong with her. Her teeth and gums look fine, her heart rate and temperature and organs seem normal. She has lost 600gms of weigh within 6 weeks.
He told me that there are many reasons why she may have lost weight, but didn't want to take invasive action at present. So for precautionary reasons, he has given her antibiotic and vit c jab, and asked me to bring her in in 2 weeks time. He would have given her a worming jab, but I have only recently done this.
If she continues to have lost weight in 2 weeks time, then he will take blood and urine tests.

Thank goodness for that!!!

I'm still not sure on why she is grinding her teeth though.

Hi!
Hope it won't be nothing serious!

I'm curious about the outcome of your kitty's teeth grinding.
My mother's 12 year old cat started grinding her teeth yesterday and has some similarities.

Her last visit to a vet they commented on how healthy her teeth and gums were. We took her to a different vet today and he could not see anything obvious. He gave us antibiotics just in case it's a loose tooth that may get infected, and said if the grinding does not stop in a week or two they would have to do a dental exam under anesthesia and possibly surgical care depending what they find.

We really want to avoid anything invasive if possible.
I have been searching online for information or similar stories for suggestions that may help out.

Thanks! Djaren

Hi Djaren,

Thank you for your response. The teeth grinding is very odd isn't it?.

My cat has been acting as if she has a loose tooth recently. She was grinding and then flicking her head to one side. I put my finger in her mouth and checked every tooth, but they are fine. I took her to the vet again last week, (mainly as she is due her booster, but thought i'd ask him to check her teeth again) but my vet assures me that her teeth and gums look fine, he actually said her teeth and gums look in excellent condition for her age. He seems quite stumped!

He told me to come back if I have any concerns in the next two weeks. He said that it may be root pain, so if she is still acting up, then he will xray and investigate further.

I must admit since then, she's been ok. I have given her some tuna, as this is suppose to help clean the teeth and touch wood, she hasn't shown any problems since.

I wouldn't worry about your mothers cat going under anesthesia and possibly surgical care. My previous cat had terrible teeth, (due to a car accident and breaking his top and bottom jaw) and he had dental work on and off throughout his life. It is a simple procedure, and cats do not mind having teeth out.

Please keep me informed about your mothers cat.

It could be a symptom of chronic renal failure (CRF). I have a 17 year Siamese that was diagnosed with CRF Nov 2007 after a blood test and she started doing this about a month ago. Google "renal failure grinding" and you can read about it. Her weight is down to 4 lbs.

Just a quick update. My cat has been diagnosed with a Hyperthyroid.

4 months ago, I was concerned as my cat was grinding her teeth when eating wet food (which started this thread). I took her to the vet, who had told me she could be stressed.
I was slightly concerned as she was beginning to loose weight. She started being fussy with her food, until I changed her wet food to another type of wet food, which she was eating lots of, but she was still loosing weight. I monitored her weight loss over 3 months with monthly visits to the vet, and she got down to 4.2kg! I had blood tests taken, and she was diagnosed with a Hyperthyroid.
She is now on 2 tablets a day, and she has gained 500g in 1 month. She has recently had further blood tests and this shows that her kidneys and other organs are all ok. My next step is to decide whether to continue to give her tablets for the rest of her life, or to have an operation to remove one of her thyroid glands.
In the meantime, I have decided to continue giving her the tablets and let her have a rest for a few months until I decide what I would like to do.
My cat no longer grinds her teeth and is living a happy healthy life.

The reason why I am telling you all my story, is to advise that if you notice any difference in your cat, please take him/her to the vet. Even if it's the slightest thing. At the beginning, I was told that the vet couldn't see anything wrong with my cat, but as the owner, I just knew something wasn't right. Over the next 3 months my cat drastically lost weight, and I believe that due to my persistance and us diagnosing the problem immediately, this saved her life.