FRAfter dental surgery: the first days home, and life with fewer teeth
Your cat or dog is coming home missing a few teeth, with a mouth that is still numb and a list of instructions. This page helps you through the first evening: getting him to eat, giving his medication without forcing, and spotting what needs a call. It also covers what comes next: the recheck, then life with fewer teeth, which dogs and cats handle well.
This guide is a home-care support tool. It does not replace personalized advice from your veterinarian, and the instructions you get at discharge, written for your pet, come before this page. For any questions, contact us at 514 223-1197 during our opening hours; outside our hours, a 24/7 emergency centre answers.
Cat or dog: where the markers differ, they are split, cats first.
When to go, when to call
Most recoveries go smoothly. These signs do not. One is enough: you do not have to work out which one matters most.
Go now: during our opening hours, come in and call us on the way (through a passenger or hands-free); outside our hours, go to the nearest 24/7 emergency centre.
- His mouth or nose is bleeding and it will not stop, or he keeps swallowing blood, or there is fresh blood in quantity in his saliva, in his water bowl, or on his bedding.
- He is working to breathe, or he is a cat breathing with his mouth open, or panting.
- A soft swelling that crackles under your fingers appears on the neck or the body.
- He bumps into furniture, cannot find his litter box or his bowl, staggers badly or cannot get up, or you cannot wake him properly; or he has a seizure, or collapses, even briefly.
- An eye stays squinted or closed for more than an hour, turns red, cloudy or swollen, seems pushed forward, or its pupil becomes smaller than the other; or the facial swelling grows by the hour or spreads to the eye.
- His mouth hangs open and will not close, or his jaw looks crooked.
- He vomits again and again, vomits blood or something that looks like coffee grounds, or passes black, tarry stools.
- He stays restless, whines or seems to be in pain despite the medication he was given, and it does not settle during the evening.
- Your cat goes back and forth to the litter box, strains and produces nothing, especially a male: it may not be constipation.
Call us the same day: during our hours, call us; outside our hours, call a 24/7 emergency centre: someone will tell you whether it is now, today, or an appointment.
- Your cat completely refuses a real meal, whether it is the small soft portion on the first evening or a meal on the days after, or he will neither eat nor drink.
- Your dog's appetite is still reduced beyond the 24 hours after he came home, or he is flat and listless.
- The cheek or face keeps swelling instead of going down, pus appears, or a bad smell comes back after it had improved.
- After an upper tooth was removed, he starts sneezing, has a runny nose or a little blood from the nose, or snorts while drinking or eating, even days or weeks later.
- He keeps rubbing or pawing at his mouth, or he has bitten his tongue or lip.
- His pain is growing instead of easing: he hides, stops grooming, chews on one side only, drools more and more, or drops more and more of his food.
- The next day, he is still very drowsy or flat, cat or dog alike.
- His cough is getting worse instead of passing, turns wet, or comes with gagging.
- In a cat, the pupils are still very wide after the next day.
- He has not passed any stool 48 hours after coming home.
In the meantime, put nothing in his mouth: not your fingers, not gauze, not a medication. A pet in pain may bite, and you could pull out stitches: keep your face away from his mouth, and no muzzle, he needs to be able to breathe and vomit freely. Keep him calm. Set a cat gently in his carrier without holding him tight; if he is struggling to breathe, do not wrap him, and keep the ride calm and cool.
If you are unsure, call anyway: triage is our job, not yours. Outside our hours a 24/7 emergency centre answers, and describing the situation on the phone commits you to nothing.
The first evening and the first 48 hours
Your pet usually comes home late in the afternoon, awake but still under the effect of the anesthetic and pain medication. The first evening and the first night fall outside our hours, and the days after may land on a weekend or a long weekend: we close early on Fridays, and the clinic is closed on weekends and statutory holidays. When we are closed, anything this page tells you to call about the same day goes to a 24/7 emergency centre, without waiting for us to reopen. As soon as you are home, look up the 24/7 emergency centre nearest your home and write its number on the fridge sheet (section 5): you probably will not need it, but you will not be hunting for it at midnight.
What was done at the clinic
- Under anesthesia, the mouth was examined tooth by tooth, and the diseased teeth were removed here.
- The mouth was also numbed locally, on top of the general anesthesia.
- Pain was treated during the procedure and in recovery, and he woke up under close monitoring before going home.
- Laser therapy is part of our care after extractions. It is an add-on: it does not replace the prescribed medication or the instructions on this page.
Settling him in for the evening
- A quiet room where you can see him, away from stairs and from anything he could jump off, until he is steady on his feet.
- A blanket he can lie on, and get off if he gets too warm.
- Other pets kept apart for the first few hours: he comes back smelling of the clinic, and his housemates may not welcome him kindly.
- A cat who normally goes outside stays in until your veterinarian tells you his mouth has healed.
What is normal
- He sleeps a lot, seems a little lost, or has little appetite on the first evening: this is normal after anesthesia and usually eases within 12 to 24 hours. In a cat, eating little is not refusing: if he completely refuses his small soft evening portion, call us, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed (section 4).
- His mouth stays numb for a few hours. Offer nothing hard or hot while it lasts: he could bite his tongue without feeling it.
- A little blood in the saliva, pink-tinged saliva, especially when he eats or drinks, for a few days and less and less. A small ooze can even start again on the first evening, when the clot shifts.
- A small dry cough for a day or two: the tube that helped him breathe under anesthesia may have irritated his throat.
- In a cat, in the hours after coming home, he may purr, rub against everything or seem in his own world, and his pupils may stay very wide that evening, sometimes into the next day: that can be the effect of some pain medications, and your discharge instructions say whether he received one. But a purring cat can still be in pain: what matters is what he does. If he bumps into things or cannot find his litter box, go, to us during our hours, otherwise to the nearest 24/7 emergency centre (section 1).
- A single vomit in the hours afterward is common; cats often tend to hide for a while.
- No stool on the first day: he fasted and he is eating little.
Watching without opening the mouth
Do not lift his lip to look at the stitches: you could pull them out, and a pet in pain may bite. Most of what matters can be seen from the outside, and what cannot be seen is ours to check:
- How he eats: does he come to the bowl, does he swallow, does he drop his food?
- His saliva: less and less pink, or fresh blood?
- His face: is the cheek or the area under the eye swelling, or going down?
- His nose: is he sneezing, is it running?
- His paws: does he keep bringing them to his mouth?
- His mood: is he hiding, grooming, coming to you for attention?
To recognize trouble breathing, especially in a cat: see Count your pet's breathing at home.
Reading pain on a cat's face
A cat in pain shows very little. The Feline Grimace Scale, developed at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Université de Montréal, helps you read it on his face: the position of the ears, squinted eyes, a tense muzzle, the whiskers, how he holds his head. It has been validated in cats after mouth surgery, and owners can use it. Look at him when he is fully awake and calm, not while he is eating, grooming or asleep. It does not replace a call: if you think he is in pain, call us, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed, and give him nothing from your medicine cabinet (section 3).
External link: felinegrimacescale.com (opens in a new tab).
For care after anesthesia in general (a skin incision, the cone, rest), see General post-operative care. For the mouth, a cat's appetite and bleeding, keep to the markers on this page: nothing in his mouth, not even gauze, and a cat who completely refuses a meal means a call.
Give no home medications
On the first evening he is sore, he is eating poorly, and your medicine cabinet is right there. That is why this section sits here and not at the bottom of the page: what relieves a person can kill a cat, and a mouth that has just had surgery should get nothing but what you were given.
What you never give
Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Fatal to cats, even a single tablet. There is no safe dose. If your cat swallowed any, it is an immediate emergency. In dogs, it damages the liver.
Ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve), aspirin
Toxic: digestive ulcers, kidney damage. Never a human anti-inflammatory, for any reason, in dogs or in cats. Cats are more sensitive to them than dogs, and that is not a matter of using a smaller dose.
Leftover prescriptions, and the other pet's painkiller
Same apparent problem, same weight, same household: none of that is ever enough. What relieves a dog can kill a cat, and a dose calculated for another patient is not a dose.
Gels and ointments "for the gums"
The ones made for people are designed to be spat out, and an animal swallows them. Some contain local anesthetics that are dangerous when swallowed in quantity. There is no home version of what is happening below the gum line. Baby teething gels are no exception: in cats, some damage the blood within minutes.
Clove oil, essential oils, "natural remedies"
Nothing concentrated on or in a pet: these oils are absorbed through the mouth and the skin, and several are toxic to cats. Natural does not mean safe.
Salt water, hydrogen peroxide, mouthwash
Do not rinse his mouth or pour anything into it: the advice given to people after a tooth extraction, which is everywhere online, does not apply to him. A pet does not spit, he swallows, and the clot protecting each site needs to stay put. In cats, swallowed hydrogen peroxide can be fatal.
Cannabis or CBD products
Never. In Canada, no authorized veterinary drug contains cannabis, CBD included, and CBD can change how prescribed medications work.
The medication you were given
If medication is planned for home, your veterinarian gives it to you with the instructions: give it exactly as directed, and nothing else from your medicine cabinet. His everyday treatments, prescribed before the surgery, are not what this means: do not stop or change any current treatment without speaking to us; if the question comes up while we are closed, call a 24/7 emergency centre.
- Give each medication at the time on the label, and finish the course. Do not skip a dose because he seems better, do not add one, and do not double the next one after a missed dose: call us, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed.
- If an anti-inflammatory is among the medications you were given, give it as the label says. If he is not eating, hold the dose and call us before giving it, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed.
- Never give another anti-inflammatory, human or veterinary, on top of one he may have received at the clinic or that you were given: two at once raises the risk of an ulcer.
- If you were shown at discharge how to give him a medication, do exactly what you were shown, without forcing his mouth open.
- If you cannot get it into him, do not force a mouth that has just had surgery, and do not put your fingers to the back of his mouth: call us, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed. Your veterinarian will tell you whether there is another way to give it. Our guide Administer oral medications helps on other days; this week, the golden rule is not to force.
- All his medication is stored out of reach of children and other pets: flavored veterinary tablets taste good, and a dog may empty the bottle. Give it away from the other pets in the house: what relieves a dog can kill a cat. Whatever is left of an opioid-family pain reliever, if there is one, goes back to a pharmacy.
If he is diabetic
If he is diabetic and on insulin: do not inject the dose if he has not eaten or has eaten less than half his usual portion, because an injection on an empty stomach can cause severe hypoglycemia. Call us before the next injection, even if it is due in an hour, and do not decide on your own to give the dose or to skip it: if we are closed, call a 24/7 emergency centre that same evening.
One exception, and it matters
If he is on a prescribed anti-inflammatory and he loses his appetite, is flat and listless, vomits, has diarrhea, passes black, tarry stools, or drinks and urinates much more than usual, do not give the next dose. Those are possible signs of a digestive ulcer or of kidney injury, and faced with them we would rather the dose was skipped before we have even spoken. Call us, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed. Black stools or vomited blood mean you go: to us during our hours, calling on the way, otherwise to the nearest 24/7 emergency centre (section 1).
Already gave him something?
No blame: it is the reflex of someone trying to help. But do not give any more, and call us now rather than tomorrow, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed, with the packaging in hand. Tell us what, how much, and at what time. The animal poison control lines are on our emergency page.
Eating and drinking with a mouth that is healing
A mouth after surgery needs soft food, served often and without hurry. In a cat, eating is not a detail: not eating quickly becomes an illness of its own, because a cat's liver copes very badly with going without food.
The first evening
- Do not offer food the moment you get home: let him settle and wake up fully.
- Then offer a small portion of soft food, and fresh water in small amounts at first.
- If he vomits, take the food away and try again a little later. If he vomits again, stop offering food and call us, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed; if he vomits again and again or vomits blood, go: to us during our hours, otherwise to the nearest 24/7 emergency centre (section 1).
- Give him time. After extractions, many pets eat slowly, drop a little food or leave some in the bowl for the first few days.
What soft means
- Wet food, or his usual kibble soaked in lukewarm water until it mashes with a fork.
- His usual food, softened, rather than something new: a pet in pain can take a dislike to whatever he is offered at that moment.
- If he turns up his nose at anything soft and only asks for his dry kibble, do not leave him without food, and do not go back to hard kibble on your own either: call us, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed, to find out what to offer him.
- No broth, no soup, no baby food: several contain onion or garlic, which are toxic to cats and to dogs.
- How long: until your veterinarian tells you to go back to kibble. The date is in the instructions you get at discharge; copy it onto the fridge sheet (section 5).
Cats
- Warm his wet food to barely lukewarm, around body temperature: that releases the smell. Always test it on your wrist first, since microwaves create hot spots.
- Serve it on a flat plate or in a wide bowl, somewhere quiet, away from the litter box and away from the other cats.
- Small portions, more often. Take away what he does not eat, and try again a little later.
- Do not force-feed him and do not syringe food into him: he could inhale it, and he would learn to link food with feeling unwell.
The cat marker
This is the marker we publish and the one we use: in an adult cat, never let more than 24 to 48 hours pass without eating. It is not a budget of time you are entitled to spend: it is the line not to reach. And a cat recovering from mouth surgery is on medication: he is one of the cats who do not have that margin. His first real meal is the small soft portion on the first evening. If he refuses it completely, or comes to the bowl and walks away without swallowing anything, call without waiting for us to open: that evening we are closed, and a 24/7 emergency centre answers; someone will tell you whether it is now, today, or an appointment. On the days after, every meal counts the same way: a refused meal means a call, to us during our hours, to a 24/7 emergency centre outside them. If he will not eat and will not drink either, that is more urgent, not less. If he is on an anti-inflammatory, do not give the dose while he is not eating (section 3).
A cat who eats poorly after extractions may be in pain. That is a reason to call, us or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed, not a reason to wait: his pain needs to be reassessed. Our page My cat stopped eating explains why a cat cannot wait.
Dogs
- A reduced appetite that same evening and through the 24 hours that follow is expected. Beyond that, or with lethargy, call us; outside our hours, a 24/7 emergency centre answers.
- No hard treat as a reward while he heals: a bite of his soft food does the job.
- In a greyhound or a related sighthound breed, bleeding that starts again on the second or third day, or bruises that spread, are not a normal ooze: call us right away, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed; if the blood is flowing, go: to us during our hours, otherwise to the nearest 24/7 emergency centre.
Drinking
- Fresh water available, never forced.
- Soft food brings water with it: he may drink a little less from the bowl, and that is expected if he is eating. If he stops drinking altogether, call us the same day, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed.
More than one pet at home
Feed him separately, and keep the other pets' kibble, bones and toys out of his reach until your veterinarian gives the go-ahead.
The mouth, stage by stage
There is no day-by-day calendar: every mouth heals at its own pace, depending on how many teeth came out and what was needed. Here are the main stages, and what is expected at each.
Everything expected that evening (a numb mouth, nothing hard or hot, pink saliva, drowsiness, very wide pupils in a cat) is described in section 2.
This is when the mouth is most sensitive, and the prescribed medication is there for exactly that. In a cat who lost several teeth, the discomfort can last a few days before it eases, even when well treated. Appetite comes back little by little. The pink saliva fades.
The gum closes over gradually: in a dog, often in about two weeks; in a cat it is often still red at two weeks without that being a problem, and full healing takes several weeks. The stitches dissolve: nobody has to remove them, they come apart on their own over a few weeks. You may see a bit of thread fall out, or stitches still there after the soft food has ended: that is expected. But if you can see, without lifting the lip, a hole or an open gum where the stitches were, or food getting stuck there, call us the same day, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed. Throughout this stage: soft food, nothing to chew, no brushing.
Your veterinarian tells you, at the recheck if one is planned, whether you can go back to kibble, toys and brushing, and how quickly. Without that go-ahead, nothing changes.
The fridge sheet
Fill in the blanks from the instructions you get at discharge, then keep the sheet where the whole household can see it.
Toys, bones and brushing
Two different rules. While he heals, you protect the stitches. For good, you protect the teeth he still has.
While he heals, until the go-ahead
- Nothing to chew: no bones, no hard treats, no chew toys, no ice cubes.
- No tug-of-war, and no ball or toy carried in the mouth.
- No rough play. In a small dog whose lower jaw had lost a lot of bone around a diseased tooth, the bone stays fragile: a fracture can happen after a minor bump, or even while eating. A mouth that will not close or a crooked jaw means you go: to us during our hours, calling on the way, otherwise to the nearest 24/7 emergency centre (section 1).
- No brushing: gum that has had surgery is not brushed until it has healed, and your veterinarian will tell you when to start again.
- A protective cone is not part of the plan by default after extractions. If your veterinarian decides one is needed, you will get it here along with how long to keep it on; our guide Assemble and use an Elizabethan collar explains how to wear it well.
For life: what breaks the teeth he still has
- Bones, cooked or raw, antlers, hooves, nylon or hard plastic bones, very hard treats, ice cubes, rocks and sticks can fracture a tooth.
- The thumbnail test: if your thumbnail leaves no mark in the toy or treat, it is too hard for his teeth.
- For playing ball, choose a soft, smooth ball, big enough that it cannot be swallowed.
Brushing, after the go-ahead
- As soon as your veterinarian allows it, brushing starts again: every day, ideally, on the outer surface of the teeth, along the gum line. Our guide Brush your pet's teeth shows you how.
- Never human toothpaste: it can contain xylitol, which is toxic to dogs, and its foaming agents and fluoride are not meant to be swallowed, by cats either. Only a toothpaste made for pets.
- In a cat with gingivostomatitis (severe, very painful inflammation of the whole mouth), brushing is often too painful: talk it over with your veterinarian before you try.
- After healing, ask us which products with the VOHC seal (chews, diets and water additives with a proven effect on plaque or tartar) suit his mouth: they help, but they never replace brushing.
The recheck visit
A recheck visit after dental treatment is part of what we do. Your veterinarian will tell you whether one is planned for your pet, and when.
What we look at
- The gum: has it closed where the teeth came out?
- Pain and appetite: is he eating well, and how?
- What you noticed at home.
What helps us
Write down what he eats and how, the color of his saliva, the medication given and when. A short video of him eating is often worth more than a long description.
A cat's lip, after an upper canine
After an upper canine is removed, the upper lip often catches on the lower canine on the same side, especially in the weeks that follow. A small hairless patch on the lip is not a concern: show it to your veterinarian at the next visit. A lip that is red, swollen or hurt, or a cat who keeps rubbing his mouth: call us the same day; outside our hours, a 24/7 emergency centre answers.
Cats who need longer follow-up
Gingivostomatitis. In a cat who had surgery for gingivostomatitis, improvement is judged over several weeks, sometimes a few months, from one recheck to the next. Most of these cats start eating again, groom themselves again and become sociable, often more than they were before. Some of them keep an inflammation that needs medical treatment afterwards: that is not a failure of your care, and the rechecks are there precisely to adjust it.
Tooth resorption. The tooth is eaten away from within, usually at the gum line. It progresses, and nothing yet prevents it: in a cat who has had it, other teeth will probably be affected over time. Follow-up dental X-rays find them early; your veterinarian will tell you whether and when to repeat them.
Both conditions are explained in My pet has bad breath.
Life with fewer teeth
Dogs and cats live well with fewer teeth, and even with none. A diseased tooth hurts; once it is out, many pets eat more easily, play more and become more sociable again.
Kibble, after the go-ahead
- Most dogs and cats swallow their kibble without really crunching it. Even with no teeth, many go back to it once the mouth has healed, as long as the kibble is not too big for them.
- Others prefer to stay on wet food or soaked kibble, and that is fine.
The tongue and drooling
- After the lower canines are removed, the tip of the tongue may stick out a little, especially at rest. On its own, with no wound and no other sign, it is not a problem; if it looks dry, we may suggest moistening it. A tongue that is hurt or swollen, or bleeding a little: call us, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed. If it is bleeding and it does not stop, go now: to us during our hours, calling on the way, otherwise to the nearest 24/7 emergency centre.
- The pink saliva of the first days goes away as he heals. Drooling that comes back, increases or lasts after healing is not a normal after-effect: it is often a sign of pain. Call us; if we are closed, a 24/7 emergency centre will tell you whether it can wait until we open.
The teeth he still has
Removing the diseased teeth deals with the pain and infection in those teeth. On the ones that remain, plaque starts forming again in less than a day, in him as in you, and the disease can progress there if nothing is done at home. Daily brushing after the go-ahead (section 6) and a regular look at the mouth, on the schedule your veterinarian suggests, are what protect what is left.
A dog without his canines
Without his canines, a dog may drop his ball or toy more often. A bigger, softer toy is easier to hold; it is not a sign of pain.
FAQ
My cat has no teeth left. Can he still eat kibble?
My cat has not eaten since the extraction. How long before I call?
How long until the mouth heals, and how long on soft food?
He is drooling, and his saliva is pink. Is that normal?
He has been sneezing since the extraction. Is that normal?
His mouth is still bleeding. What can I do?
Can I give him a human painkiller, or a home remedy?
When can he have his toys, bones and treats back?
Will his tongue hang out now that he has fewer teeth?
He came home without an antibiotic. Was that missed?
Also worth reading
What to remember
The discharge instructions come first. Soft food, nothing to chew and no brushing until your veterinarian gives the go-ahead. Nothing in his mouth but what you were given: no home medications. A cat who completely refuses a meal: you call, us during our hours, a 24/7 emergency centre outside them. Bleeding that flows, trouble breathing, a pet bumping into things: you go, to us during our hours, calling on the way, otherwise to the nearest 24/7 emergency centre, weekends included.
Updated October 16, 2026
A question about his recovery?
Call us during our opening hours, or a 24/7 emergency centre if we are closed: describing the situation on the phone commits you to nothing. And for anything else, book an appointment.