Cat teeth problem (Oral hygiene)?

denrin

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Messages
65
Purraise
1
Location
Vancouver, BC
So approximately 2 years ago, we discovered that one of our cats teeth were rotten. We took him to the vet, he ended up having a whole bunch of teeth removed, and we were told to switch his diet to dry only. (Dental formula). He has been eating that for two years, and not getting any skinnier. He has cat breath, but not the same bad breath that he used to have, with the bad teeth. This evening, my wife was cuddling the cat and she touched one of the front canine, and it moved. We suspect something is wrong again, we will take him to the vet tomorrow, but are just curious if anyone else has had significant prolems with their cats teeth.

We have another cat that has been on the same diet, and hasn't developed any problems.

The cat with the teeth problems tempermant hasn't changed, nor does it look like he's eating any less (maybe just on the other side of his mouth).

Thanks for any help.
 

txcatmom

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Messages
760
Purraise
30
Oral disease is pretty common in cats.  I have two cats who showed signs of bad teeth and gums at 1 yr of age and one who eats the same things and is fine.  It can have to do with genetics and viruses the cat has dormant in their system.  I've been reading a lot about it lately because we took in a foster cat who needs some serious dental surgery.  If you google feline gingivitis/stomatitis you can learn more than you may want to know.  Good luck.  I hope the kitty gets the teeth fixed up soon.  It can be quite painful from what I've read and cats are good at hiding pain. 
 

mrblanche

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
12,578
Purraise
119
Location
Texas
Genetics probably have more to do with dental health than does diet, but regular vet care can help. 
 
 

emilymaywilcha

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,338
Purraise
29
Location
Gainesville, Florida
The vet was wrong about feeding dry food only. What really helps teeth is raw bones, according to the people who feed them. Some cats can't eat raw bones, but those who do get a better dental benefit than cats on calcium supplements if you can believe people who give them to their cats. I never do because my cat eats wet and dry cat foods from pet stores but have no reason to believe the raw feeders are wrong when they see the benefit in their own cats.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

denrin

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Messages
65
Purraise
1
Location
Vancouver, BC
Well in the end it cost 1000$ + our cat had to go under get a few teeth pulled. The vet didn't really know why the teeth were loose or had issues, as the vet said the other side of our cats mouth was fine. And as for the food our vet didn't say anything about wet/dry issues. The dry that we have is a 'dental' formula so its larger pieces that require the cat to bite them and essentially the 'nuggets' would 'clean' the teeth.

My dog is a raw food eater, but my cats aren't... I'm ot to sure if I'm keen on my cat walking around with a raw chicken bone in its mouth... (She's done that with KFC that we left unattended one time lol)....
 
Top