Am I hurting him? :(

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gummifuzz

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Hello everyone.

I have a red tabby cat named Toby. I adopted him when he was five years old. At that time, he was very overweight and just by changing his food (previous owners feeding him Meow Mix I think), I got him to lose some weight. A few months after I adopted him, I took him to the vet and everything seemed fine except for his teeth, which were pretty bad even then. I lost my job soon after and was unable to afford any dental work.

However, recently, I've decided to try and brush every one of my cat's teeth on a daily basis. My other two cats I've had since they were babies and are both still pretty young (2 years) so they barely tolerate my brushing and the dental spray. (But their gums and breath already look and smell better after a week and a half of this dental attention!) Toby though, has never liked his mouth touched and has almost always had foul breath. The past few days I've been lightly brushing his teeth, but he fights me so badly that I'm afraid I'm hurting him. So I've just decided to leave him alone and only use the dental spray.

Should I keep brushing until I can afford to get a dental procedure done? Or should I hold off? Thank for your help.
 
allenkm

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I think you should hold off, the brushing and spray can cause pain in damaged teeth. Please see the .vet asap. Some communities have assistance for low Income pet owners
 
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gummifuzz

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allenkm said:
I think you should hold off, the brushing and spray can cause pain in damaged teeth. Please see the .vet asap. Some communities have assistance for low Income pet owners
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Should I try feeding him raw meat chunks? Could that help his teeth without hurting him?
 
allenkm

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Not sure about this, but once teeth start rotting you can't turn the process around, only slow it. I would suggest wet food or raw as being easier to chew.
 
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gummifuzz

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allenkm said:
Not sure about this, but once teeth start rotting you can't turn the process around, only slow it. I would suggest wet food or raw as being easier to chew.
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Okay, thank you. :)
 
mrsgreenjeens

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How bad ARE his teeth?  You said they were pretty bad, but I didn't see anything that really indicated just how bad.  And how long ago was it that you took him in for that check up when he needed to have a dental?

I don't think it would hurt at all to have him something he can chew on!  If it hurts him, he won't chew on it.  If it doesn't hurt him, and he likes it, he'll eat it and it might prevent FUTHER tartar build-up until you can get him in.  If he likes raw, you can even try giving him a RAW chicken wing, because RAW bones are great for their teeth.   (never, ever give them cooked bones though).

Do his gums look inflamed?  If so, then it probably hurts to brush his teeth.  If not, then he probably just doesn't like it because it's new to him.  You can gradually get him used to it first by just rubbing the sides of his mouth with your finger, then slip your finger inside his lips and just rub his teeth and gums with your finger till he gets used to that.  Then just put a little cat toothpaste on your finger so he gets used to the taste of it, then put some toothpaste on the brush and let him nibble at that, then gradually start in on the brushing, just a little at a time.  There are some videos on-line from Cornell that are great "how tos".
 
tinybash

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Try seaweed. We get it in the local pet store and you just mix a small amount of dried seaweed with his dinner. There's also a paste for removing plaque and you just need to wipe a wee bit on his paw for him to lick off if he doesn't take it off your finger. Vet is your ultimate goal though. Good luck.
 
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gummifuzz

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mrsgreenjeens said:
 
How bad ARE his teeth?  You said they were pretty bad, but I didn't see anything that really indicated just how bad.  And how long ago was it that you took him in for that check up when he needed to have a dental?

I don't think it would hurt at all to have him something he can chew on!  If it hurts him, he won't chew on it.  If it doesn't hurt him, and he likes it, he'll eat it and it might prevent FUTHER tartar build-up until you can get him in.  If he likes raw, you can even try giving him a RAW chicken wing, because RAW bones are great for their teeth.   (never, ever give them cooked bones though).

Do his gums look inflamed?  If so, then it probably hurts to brush his teeth.  If not, then he probably just doesn't like it because it's new to him.  You can gradually get him used to it first by just rubbing the sides of his mouth with your finger, then slip your finger inside his lips and just rub his teeth and gums with your finger till he gets used to that.  Then just put a little cat toothpaste on your finger so he gets used to the taste of it, then put some toothpaste on the brush and let him nibble at that, then gradually start in on the brushing, just a little at a time.  There are some videos on-line from Cornell that are great "how tos".
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Well, he's got a lot of tartar for sure. His gums really don't look THAT bad, but he doesn't really let me look too closely.  I know this sounds weird, but I have been studying with great interest photos and descriptions of various states of feline gum disease and while he's definitely got some early stages of periodontal, it's not as advanced (of course, this is based on what I can see).

I've been giving him a few sprays of Peridex instead of brushing. That alone doesn't seem to hurt him. He'll crunch down on dry food like no one's business. He doesn't drool and his breath is vastly improved. Obviously a vet dental visit is in his future but that's not possible at the moment. I checked out the Cornell videos and they were really interesting, thank you!
 
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