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BethRags
It is DEFINITELY his teeth/gums. I was able to wrestle him for a minute and checked - his gums around his molars are terribly red and inflamed! No wonder!!! I wouldn’t want to eat hard food with gums that look that painful. I feel terrible that I didn’t notice sooner. I will definitely be bringing him back. At least for that it’s hopefully a one time expensive fix and then just basic home maintenance like daily teeth brushing after. Which will not be fun since I didn’t introduce it as a kitten so he’s not going to be pleased.
What kind of fountain did you get? There are so many different ones! I am really getting annoyed about how snobby my cats are

neither will eat canned food, they MUST have separate bowls and have the kibble replaced with fresh twice a day, and now Cheeto won’t even deign to drink still water? Ugh! Too bad I love them so much right??? I’ll do whatever they want, I’m their slave and they know it lol.