Advice on tartar control?

When I took Brady to the vet this week, she mentioned that he could use a teeth cleaning (but didn't do it) and picked off a couple of chunks of tartar that were on his molars. He is an ex-feral who tolerates being cuddled for about 20 seconds and I don't feel comfortable trying to brush his teeth or even hold his mouth open to get a look. Is there something I can give him to help clean his teeth naturally? I know with dogs giving them raw bones makes a huge difference in their dental hygiene but that doesn't seem like an option for kitties.

I know that there are a lot of treats out there available that say they help with tartar control, but I'm really not sure just how effective they actually are.

There are a couple of conventional options you could discuss with your vet. Does your cat eat dry food, and if so, did your vet recommend a prescription dental food? There are prescription foods that have been shown to be helpful in the prevention of tartar buildup.

If brushing his teeth is a no-go, you could also try at least getting him to lap up a little cat toothpaste. My cats, who are picky eaters, like the taste and seem to look forward to their daily dose, even though they (understandably) don't like my putting my fingers in their mouths. My only concern there is whether it's better to actually brush (I've heard some people say that the enzymes in the paste are enough in and of themselves to combat plaque, but I'm not sure my vet would agree). Who knows, if he likes the toothpaste enough, he may eventually tolerate a little brushing over time.

Try giving the toothpaste alone ... truely NO brushing is needed to be effective, this came from Several vets and when asked not one has rebutteled it ...

many additional detrifrices avail... plague off and denta treat are both one I am familiar with ... one is a seaweed with EU studys

I am going through this right now with my fosters. Archie has periodontal disease and I am trying to stave off a dental and antibiotics!

Enzymatic Pet toothpaste comes in a lot of flavors - beef, chicken, fish, malt, vanilla-mint.

I am using malt right now b/c that is what I could find. The brand is Petrodex. The other brand recommended here is CET.

I started out by giving each cat a little dab of enzymatic cat toothpaste. I also am trying otto's suggestion about rubbing their lips.. which they seem to like. And I have begun incorporating the lip-rubbing with tooth rubbing with paste. So far - I am making some headway ... especially with Archie and Jake.

On sharky's suggestion I tried the Wysong Dentatreat powder. Though it smells really cheesy - because it has cheese enzymes in it - my guys wouldn't eat it. I gave the bottle to our rescue director, who has beagles... She said - they will eat ANYTHING! So I hope her dogs liked it. I am sure they did.

So now I am trying Plaque Off ( just started in the last several days) ... which is expensive but not so much when you realize how little you use every day and what it is compared to a dental cleaning. I sprinkle it on the guys' food and mix it in a little bit. So far, so good - they are eating their food with the additive there. There is a US patent pending on the product, which is made in Sweden.

They are also getting CET (made by Virbac) dental chews/treats. I have the fish variety and they smell yucky. That said - Ghost eats one every day... Rex and Tex will eat them about half the time and Archie - occasionally. The others won't touch them.

I have been mucking around with this now for over a month and I do see and smell a slight improvement... things have been added in over time... starting with toothpaste and moving from there, so we shall see.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

He does like dry food, as a matter of fact I have a hard time finding a wet food that he will deign to eat. I had been giving him soft treats but for now I've stopped. The crunchy treats that are advertised as being for tartar control will help prevent tartar buildup but won't do much about tartar that is already there. I also tried prying open his mouth last night and got a five second window to at least look at his molars so maybe I can make some progress there.

Our local small pet supply store convinced me to get a product called Dental Fresh that supposedly gets rid of tartar. You add some to the water and the pets drink it. For now my two dogs and Brady are all getting it since they drink out of the same bowls.

I also have a little finger toothbrush that turned out to be useless for the dogs so I might try putting a dab of toothpaste on it and seeing if Brady will let me brush his morals. I figure even if it's only for a moment it can't hurt and might help.