cat with broken jaw not eating

[oTTer]

My cat broke his bottom jaw, Veterinarian wired it and I got him home Monday. He acted like he wanted to eat, and he wee-weed twice at home, but since I can't see any evidence that he's eaten. The bottom lip was extremely pus filled, I put a warm compress on it last night and this a.m. it was WAY down, but I brought him food and he sniffed it, but made a lot of licking motions. Maybe trying to get the goop off his mouth? Where else would that pus have gone? ICK. Anyway, how long is this guy gonna make it before his system starts shutting down? This was my concern when deciding to fix him vs. putting him down... Veterinarian thinks he got hit by a car. He's alert, just mouth very sore and not interested in eating.
I called the Veterinarian yesterday too, and I think if he's not eating today I'll take him back in.
How long can they go without food?

[latergatorj]

I am very sorry to hear what's going on.

I've had a cat in the past that had a broken lower jaw as well. Unlike your kitty, Zoey, was not in a car accident. The Veterinarian told me that he had a weakness in the two lower jaw bones. If you feel a normal kitty's jaw towards where their nose is, you'll feel a slight gap between the bones... this is because cats lower jaws are really composed of 2 bones, not 1. Zoey's jaws weren't as connected as they usually are in cats and something happened to cause the bones to seperate, we are not sure what. He was an indoor cat.

This happened 10 years ago and at the time my Veterinarian told me that he could operate and put in a piece of metal to hold the bones in place while they grew back. The Veterinarian told me, that the only problem with this, is that cats are very sensitive animals. Sometimes the slightest change can put them off their food. The Veterinarian told us to do a "look see" and see if Zoey would eat on his own. He told us that in actuality there is no point to the surgery because the bones fuse just as well on their own.

We didn't opt for the surgery. He didn't eat on his own, I ended up feeding him by hand and by putting food on his upper lip for him to lick off.

We ended up putting him down about a month after this started. He was just too thin, he had that look in his eyes, and there wasn't any hope for him to get any better. When it started, his weight was around 11 pounds, when he died he was just over 8 pounds.

In cats, any bit of weight loss is a lot.

The answer, to your real question as to how long cats can survive without food is that it depends on the kitty. Overweight cats have more fat to help them survive longer. Also, a cat that drinks verses one that isn't, will live longer. The longevity of your kitty also depends on how fast your kitty loses weight (which is partly affected by the speed of their metabolism).

It sounds like you had the surgery done on your kitty that I didn't have done now. I'm curiuos as to what your Veterinarian said about your cat's prognosis with the wire verses without now.

Also, it is unknown as to why, but the longer a kitty goes without eating, the harder and more unlikely it is that they will eat again. This makes it very important that you get your kitty to start eating again... as soon as possible.

To tempt cats to eat, you can ask your Veterinarian for a pill that increases their appetite. In the past this has been offered to me as a pill rather than liquid, but perhaps your Veterinarian can provide it in liquid form so that you don't have to manipulate your cat's jaws to give the medicine.

Additionally, vets typically will tell you to offer your cat anything. The things that tend to work most are items that are fresh, but smell more than most things (Such as fish, or raw liver).

Good luck with your kitty. Please keep us posted.

[kerreyd]

What happened to your cat that had jaw surgery? Like the previous message, my cat too is missing the jaw pieces to keep his jaw aligned. He figured out how to relocate it on his own for a few months, but now is having major problems again. The vets suggest experimental surgery, but I don’t know what to do. It kills me to see him like this and he is only three. Any advice?

[gerikt]

I just got back from taking my cat on an emergency visit to the Veterinarian. He got hit by a car tonight and we rushed him in to see the Veterinarian. She kept him and says that in the morning she will wire his lower jaw and that she has seen most cats do very well. I saw this post and wondered how your cat has done. Let me know if you have any advice on how to help my cat through his recovery. Thank you

[maggie from romford]

Hi how is your cat now?