Which food is the lesser of two evils??

My cat went for his dental (got in early) and his vet said his teeth were actually in pretty good shape-- no extractions!
I am wanting to use something that will keep his teeth in good condition. Raw is out of the question right now. Brushing his teeth is DEFINITELY out of the question- he will kill me.
I'm looking at kibble and even though I am not wanting him on kibble (especially not this kind) I will be giving him a small amount *sigh*
These are the two I'm considering-

http://www.royalcanin.ca/index.php/...on/Veterinary-Therapeutic-Formulas/Dental-Dry

And--

http://www.royalcanin.ca/index.php/...Diets/Care-Health-Nutrition/Oral-Sensitive-30

I know kibble is not ideal and I would be using it in VERY small amounts. If anyone has any other suggestions I am open to hearing them but I am wondering which of these two formulas looks better.

Personally, I'd skip the kibble and go for annual dentals.

Did you ask the vet how much kibble needs to be fed to provide dental benefit? One of our kitties had to have a tooth removed at age 1 - she just has bad genes that way. She's 10 now and had 3 or 4 extractions. Because of her plaque build-up issues, she gets dentals every six months, as does our FIV+ kitty that has gum/tooth issues. At some point along the way, Hill's Pet came out with their t/d kibble. But the vet said that for it to do anything, it has to be fed full time. So before you provide any dental kibble, make sure that the "very small amount" will provide the benefit you seek.

LDG said:

Personally, I'd skip the kibble and go for annual dentals.
Did you ask the vet how much kibble needs to be fed to provide dental benefit? One of our kitties had to have a tooth removed at age 1 - she just has bad genes that way. She's 10 now and had 3 or 4 extractions. Because of her plaque build-up issues, she gets dentals every six months, as does our FIV+ kitty that has gum/tooth issues. At some point along the way, Hill's Pet came out with their t/d kibble. But the vet said that for it to do anything, it has to be fed full time. So before you provide any dental kibble, make sure that the "very small amount" will provide the benefit you seek.

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I don't like the idea of that many dentals because A. I don't like the idea of them scraping a layer of enamel off of my cats teeth annually (I believe it can be counter productive and just make the teeth more susceptible to plaque build up, just an opinion)..... I will only do if it is necessary. Even my vet said I didn't even need to do a dental this time, his teeth are excellent. B. I have two kids, a husband, a mortgage and we are a medium income family... dentals for my cat aren't first priority.
I will definitely ask my vet how much kibble will be effective to keep his teeth clean.
Which would you say is the better one of the two?

lt's much different in the States, dentals don't cost that much. Tanner's last dental and one extraction cost me $1200, so we up here tend to look for other options  . lf you live near the US border, you would save a lot of money by seeing a vet down there.

l don't/won't feed kibble but don't want to pay for any more dental work, so l do clean their teeth. lt was worth a try, and they don't mind it all that much.

Andrya said:

lt's much different in the States, dentals don't cost that much. Tanner's last dental and one extraction cost me $1200, so we up here tend to look for other options :lol3: . lf you live near the US border, you would save a lot of money by seeing a vet down there.
l don't/won't feed kibble but don't want to pay for any more dental work, so l do clean their teeth. lt was worth a try, and they don't mind it all that much.

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EXACTLY. When I hear "wow, my cats dental was so pricey... $300", I WISH. It's like minimum $800 (without extractions) here! What we get in human health care in Canada we make up for with pet health care lol (no complaints).
I would love to be able to brush my boys teeth but he goes INSANE when I attempt to. Can you teach a cat to accept a toothbrush/paste?? Dogs are so much easier *sigh

lt takes a while, and l haven't perfected it yet, l'm just hoping that it helps. You can buy a little cat brush and meat-flavoured toothpaste in a starter kit. l watched a video that said to just let them eat the toothpaste at first till they started enjoying it, then over weeks start moving the brush. l only do the outsides of the teeth and only as long as they'll let me, but it's better than nothing.

Andrya said:

lt takes a while, and l haven't perfected it yet, l'm just hoping that it helps. You can buy a little cat brush and meat-flavoured toothpaste in a starter kit. l watched a video that said to just let them eat the toothpaste at first till they started enjoying it, then over weeks start moving the brush. l only do the outsides of the teeth and only as long as they'll let me, but it's better than nothing.

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I'll have to get him a small brush. All I have is the large dog brushes. What about the plaque sprays?? Have you ever tried those?

I don't think cats like to have stuff sprayed near their faces! :lol3: I wouldn't want to try a spray. I used to try to brush my cats' teeth. . .the only one who was OK with it was Scotty, and he just chewed on the brush. He liked the toothpaste.

There's a liquid you can put in their water that supposedly works pretty good, at least for dogs. I don't know if it's OK for cats and I forget what it's called :tongue2:, but I'll see if I can find it. . .

Willowy said:

I don't think cats like to have stuff sprayed near their faces! :lol3: I wouldn't want to try a spray. I used to try to brush my cats' teeth. . .the only one who was OK with it was Scotty, and he just chewed on the brush. He liked the toothpaste.
There's a liquid you can put in their water that supposedly works pretty good, at least for dogs. I don't know if it's OK for cats and I forget what it's called :tongue2:, but I'll see if I can find it. . .

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Couldn't you just spray it on your fingers or the tooth brush and rub it on? I've heard of the liquid in water but on an all wet diet my cat rarely drinks out of the bowl anymore... It might be useful for my dog!

You probably could. And I saw some brands in an applicator bottle, you just kind of squirt it on. As long as it doesn't make that spray sound the cat might be OK with it. I thought about cats on canned food not drinking out of the bowl right after I posted that, even though I haven't refilled the water bowl in 3 days. . .LOL. Silly me :tongue2:.

bluebo said:

Couldn't you just spray it on your fingers or the tooth brush and rub it on? 

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In that case, you might as well use something like Biotene's Veterinary Maintenance Gel. You just need to apply it along the gum-line with a Q-tip or your finger. 

A yearly dental is optimal but many suggest every 3 years. In my case, it took 14 years to get my girls their first dental. 

As far as the Royal Canin kibble, the Dental Dry has corn and rice (cheap fillers) as the first two ingredients. The Oral Sensitive has as it's first ingredient, Chicken Meal. I vote for the Oral Sensitive if you must choose one. Personally, I think many of the 'specialty' foods are just marketing. You may get the same results kibble offers with a high quality food such as Wellness Core which lists turkey and chicken as it's first two ingredients.

I'm not wanting to put him on ANY dry food but as I had stated before there is just no way I'm going to give him annual dentals, not because I don't care about him but because I honestly can't afford up and over 1000 dollars to do it every year. More like-- I refuse to.
I may try raw meaty bones again and see if he will chomp a chicken wing down but he can be a fussy little tyke.
You may be right about "dental formulas" just being a marketing tool. If i were to put him on half kibble it would most likely be wellness core or Evo. I know a lot of members on this board don't believe that cats teeth benefit at all from kibble but all that I can say is that he didnt get stinky breath and reddish gums until I put him on an entirely canned diet... not sure what that means but I know what it may imply.
I'm going to try the raw chicken wings/necks first.... I would really hate for him to have to be on kibble again.
I'll also look into that gel! Can you purchase that at any vet clinic?

Maybe try Greenies treats? They aren't meant to be fed as a sole diet like the kibbles are but they are supposed to have dental benefits. And my cats love them.

I use poultry flavored CET brand pet toothpaste on my cats. I don't use a brush since the toothpaste is an enzyme formula, which means it breaks down gunk by simply being placed on the tooth. Both of my cats love it, and using my finger is easier than trying to shove a toothbrush into their mouths. When I unscrew the cap, my cats come running up, jockeying for position to be the first one to get their toothpaste.

bluebo said:

I'll also look into that gel! Can you purchase that at any vet clinic?

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You might have to ask them to order it in, but it's probably cheaper to get it online. Cattyvet ships to Canada and their shipping rate is reasonable.

rad65 said:

I use poultry flavored CET brand pet toothpaste on my cats. I don't use a brush since the toothpaste is an enzyme formula, which means it breaks down gunk by simply being placed on the tooth. Both of my cats love it, and using my finger is easier than trying to shove a toothbrush into their mouths. When I unscrew the cap, my cats come running up, jockeying for position to be the first one to get their toothpaste.

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I do have the enzymatic toothpaste for both cats and dogs (purchased from my vet) and just started last night in rubbing it on his teeth and gums. It's better then nothing!
He hates it but he tolerates it.
I think I am going to just keep him on all wet. We have had so much success with it and I don't want to ruin it. Thanks everyone for your responses.

HOLY MOLY that is expensive! No wonder you want to find alternatives!!!!

bluebo, does he like to be brushed? That's how I got Spooky to enjoy having her teeth brushed. Buy some baby toothbrushes. Brush his cheeks with one of them, and just slowly start including his mouth, slipping the brush in there. Use another one with something he likes on it - like chicken baby food or his wet food or something, and rub it on his front teeth or side teeth - when he realizes there's something yummy on there, he should stop fighting it.

It's a process. FYI, Spooky hates all the toothpaste, so I use none. The vet says the brushing itself will help. Basically the opposite of the enzymatic toothpaste without the brush.

You could try CET dental treats.........my vet ordered them in for me, since I don't order things off the net, but you can get them online too. They're about 14.99 for a bag. Matt liked them, but his teeth are sore sometimes so he can't eat them anymore. I brush his instead until he goes in.

Do dental treats work? i want to use them if they do. my cat is on kibble witch i heard is better for her teeth but not that great for overall health. she is a bit overweight. i got her that way and want to to get her to lose some weight. what is a good food i could but her on?