Dry Food and Teeth

At our last vet checkup, the vet told me that my Mal is starting to get just a wee bit chubby - not a whole lot, but getting there.  I'm inclined to start feeding her just canned food and raw, with no dry food except for when I go out of town.  The vet keeps saying, however, that dry food helps clean cat's teeth and so cats who don't eat some amount of kibble have dental issues.

This just seems bizarre to me.  Is there any truth whatsoever behind those claims?  

The most recent studies reveal there is no evidence that kibble helps with cleaning teeth. Here is Dr. Lisa Pierson's evaluation of the claims that kibble is better for dental health (http://catinfo.org/#Dental_Disease). A good way prevent dental problems is chunks of raw meat and raw bones. Chicken necks are great to get them to chew. Brushing their teeth would be the best thing to do in order to prevent build up. 

Agreed with Franksmom!

It should also be noted that dry food is usually high carb and contributes to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and urinary issues.

I have heard many stories and it is not so. Imagine cleaning your own teeth with pretzels. Does not work. Also, dry foor is VERY BAD for cats. Especially males. I have learned through the years what dry food can do. Major bowels issues (lost my Precious girl from that) Pancreatitis, urinary issues. The list goes on. Cats in the wild (and in general) don't go out and get dry food they get prey. Meat, and that is what they need. Not trying to tell you what to do,but I have learned from 5 cats the damage of dry food. Getting smarter at this but hard to change peoples mind and transition cats. They need moisture too. I only feed canned, and look at the protien and fat content and always add extra water. I am in the process of trying (again cause I wasn't persistant at first) the raw food/homemade diet. I am using Lisa Piersons (as mentioned by other entry) for doing so as it is different then what I was feeding before. But , I can tell you that the HIGH QUALITY canned food I feed has helped. I have 2 girls now and 1 has Tetralogy of Falot, a hole in her heart. She was given 6mos to live at the age of 4 mos.On June 18, 2013 she turned 9 years old. Her cardiologist said that she is his longest living patient with this conditon. I would also like to say that she has had mouth surgery (she contrats esinophilic granulomas) and a cyst from her neck, had her teeth cleaned 2 times and just in Nov, 2012 had back surgery as she ruptured 2 disk in she back and could not walk!! So, through all that she is still going STRONG!!! Has more energy than I know what to do with. She was up walking he next day after her back surgery.
So, I feel that I am doing something right with the nutrition that I have chosen and learned about. Only wished I had been wiser for my other 4 kids. Then maybe thier tragedies would have been prevented.
Sorry to go on, I hope this has helped in some small way for you or others!
Good luck!

MYTH! I don't know why the "dry food cleans teeth" myth keeps going, and why so many VETS spread it!

I clean my girl's teeth with dental rinse daily, but I don't think there's a whole lot you can do to clean teeth besides bring them in for a dental.

You'll get much more benefit by feeding wet food. Even if the dental cleaning myth is true, dry food brings with it so many other illnesses it's not worth it. Much more worth it to feed wet food and get dentals every so often.

Nope not true. Oreo has eaten dry food all his life(untill the past few weeks) and the vet said the other day he has gingivitus, so it definately does not help oral care.

My male cat has been eating dry food all his life. He's 16 now and his teeth and gums look great. My vet said his teeth and gums look great because of genetics. I agree.
 

I agree with the others. That's not true at all, and there are recent studies proving it.

My elder kitty ate nothing but wet for the back half of her life. And the only thing about her body that DIDN'T have problems was her teeth. While I'm sure wet food didn't do much for her teeth, I'm sure dry food didn't either. Nothing about her dentation changed when I switched her, or in the years after.

Hard does not always equal good for the teeth. Raw bone and other chewing supplements are good for the teeth because they're supple and they actually resist being broken. The teeth kind of sheer over and through them.

Dry food just shatters. It doesn't do anything for teeth.

I think your inclination that dry food may be contributing to the weight gain is a good one. Cats don't digest that starchy stuff too well, and it can make them put on weight.

You will never convince a fairly large segment of the population, including vets, that dry food is not good for cats. I had this discussion with the woman at the pet store the other day when I asked for a grain free, high quality wet food for 7-week old Carl. She recommended Wellness, and I'm using that for now and he seems to like it. But when I mentioned that I was feeding only wet, and why, she was appalled and said she'd never feed a cat just wet food. Oh well, I didn't get into it with her -- just not worth it.

you could feed wet food plus Feline Greenies Dental Treats. 

carylinpa said:

But when I mentioned that I was feeding only wet, and why, she was appalled and said she'd never feed a cat just wet food. Oh well, I didn't get into it with her -- just not worth it.

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I feel you! I was at a pet store today looking for high quality wet food- comparing labels and prices- when a lady in the aisle started complaining about how she was caring for her daughter's cat, who had to have a certain kind of wet food. She was saying how her own cats got whatever is cheapest, and looking for sympathy. All I could think of to say was that its a shame most cat's diets are just as full of sh*t as our modern-day, processed diets, as its not doing us much good- so of course I kept my mouth shut. ^^

I must confess though, we do supplement with small amounts of dry food. ^^

detmut said:

you could feed wet food plus Feline Greenies Dental Treats. 

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That's what I was thinking too. It's my goal to brush my cats' teeth eventually- I did that to my chihuahuas growing up, as they had genetically awful teeth and needed the extra support- but we have other training priorities first. (Tolerating anti-allergy wipes, tolerating nail-clipping.)

I don't know much about feline greenies dental treats, having a general disdain for anything marketed as 'good for teeth' - due to all the comments above.  Is my disdain applicable to this product?  Can someone explain the ingredients and texture and why it is  good for

a) Teeth

b) nutrition?

I think I once picked up a packet and put it down thinking it was just kibble?

Ta guys!

Well, the Greenies site definitely doesn't explain why. Seems to me that if they really did something, they'd have a bit more science up there. :dk:

Yeah. And Greenies make me nervous. One of the most frightening recalls ever. *shudders*

For a real dental treat, get some raw chicken wings and feed your cats the smallest part of the raw* wing.  Worth a try, and cheap enough.  If they refuse to eat the raw wing, well, give it humans (cooked)!

* Never ever feed a cat cooked bone. 

Originally Posted by Raintyger  
 

I clean my girl's teeth with dental rinse daily, but I don't think there's a whole lot you can do to clean teeth besides bring them in for a dental.

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How do you use the dental rinse? I bought some chlorhexadine spray, but Prego doesn't like to get anything sprayed into his mouth. I'm thinking of trying to put some on some gauze and rub that on his teeth.

To the OP, I put Prego, who has always been chubby, on an all-wet diet, and now he's quite svelte! Even though I still let him eat as much as he wants.