Wet diet how to keep teeth healthy?

Hi I have a 4 week old kitten his name is Stefan Pilgrim ,Stefan for short i'm going to start him on a only wet diet and not ever letting him have dry is it true if the cat is on a wet diet only there teeth get bad? how do I prevent his teeth from going bad basically keeping them healthy? I know he is just a baby now but I want to know so when is older etc.

Neither wet nor dry diets have a large impact on a cat's dental health. That dry food cleans pets' teeth is largely a myth. Maintenance and genetics will play a big part in keeping healthy teeth, so since he's just a baby, get him used to you brushing his teeth. Some people also use chewy raw meats (when he's older, of course) to get their cats chewing and having the meat close around the outer edge of teeth too, but I don't know how much evidence there is to support its efficacy.

TCS also has this article on user recommendations too. From what I've personally heard, treats/chews like Greenies aren't very effective because they can still be broken and swallowed without much chewing, and water additives don't have a big impact either.. especially since cats don't drink a lot of water on their own anyway.

I have two cats on an all wet diet. I brush their teeth every day. My 8yo male does not have good teeth, despite my daily brushing. He just had a dental last June and could definitely use another in the next couple of months.

My 3yo female has beautiful teeth. I'm not sure if that's because she is just young still or she just has great genetics. Pinkdagger is correct in the above post. Tarter accumulation on teeth has nothing to do with wet or dry food. Cats need a good brushing.

I'm transitioning them to raw right now. They are eating commercial ground.  I'm hoping that once I work up to frankenprey (which is basically a balanced diet of chunks of meat, organs and bone), the chewing action combined with the brushing will help me out a little more so I don't have to keep doing these expensive dentals!

I figured the dry was a myth thing anyway it was just a curious question and I was planing on doing the brushing on him anyway besides just brushing and going out and buying raw is there like a toy or a treat that cats can have that will help keeping the teeth good? like how dogs have bones etc for example don't know if that helps dogs out or not who knows

Not really. The way cats and dogs use their teeth is a bit different.. dogs are more likely and have an innate urge to gnaw and chew, whereas cats tend to tear and swallow prey (so it's pretty common for cats to not even chew dry food, or give it one chomp and swallow it - not much opportunity for the food to rub on teeth to begin with). You can get stuff like a cat Kong with chicken paste to spread inside, but chances are your cats won't end up using it like a dog does. Young cats will try mouthing on things as they get older to try new things with their teeth, but I don't think it's common for adult cats to need or use actual chew toys.

I'm a creative person so I think of ways that might help a cat out with out spending thousands on something that would work once :/ and I know dogs and cats are different on the chewing think I was using dogs and bones to give example of what I was getting at.

Unfortunately, I'm not really familiar with any workarounds for dental health - even for humans, haha. Brushing frequently will do a sufficient job (at least the best out of the products marketed for dental hygiene available for cats), but it also depends on the cat. If you're concerned or want to bounce some ideas outside of this thread/these forums, when it's time to take your kitties to the vet, you can always ask the vet or techs for their input. A lot of people in vet offices have their own way of doing things for their pets at home that may be off the beaten path too.

If you go to a pet store like Petco or Petsmart and go down the cat toy isle you can find Cat Dental Toys. I bought my kitties something called a Fresh Breath Mint Stick. You can Google it to see what it looks like. The concept of the toy was that it is textured so when the cats chew on it, it is abrasive and helps clean the teeth. It smelled like mint to entice the cats to want to chew it. 

There are other "cat dental toys" too with the same concept. Unfortunately, my cats didn't chew them. Just played with it for a bit and then became uninterested, rendering them useless! But your cat might go for it! Worth a shot

When I take Stefan Pilgrim in to get neutered and have shots done I was going to ask ways to prevent dental issues and if they try to pin hills or some crazy diet i'm going to give them a crazy look like nope not doing it lol I hate it when vets tell me what to feed my cats after they say the cat is healthy there like YOU HAVE TO FEED HILLS OR IAMS ITS THE ONLY THING CATS CAN EAT oh really? if so then why are all your patient's that eat hills or iams etc are sick? sorry I started to rant lol any way whatever suggestions they have for dental for stefan and for the other cats I will look into what other people say about it for before I jump into it I don't want to hurt my cats but I will do the brushing thing I need to get a kitty tooth brush and kitty toothpaste can cats share toothbrushes or no?

I don't let mine share toothbrushes, just in case...

Dental threats (Dentabites and such) and some dry food in addition to wet food for years didn't help my old cat at all. Although he has some flossing by usual cotton thread, before his teeth went bad. Dental surgery was a must, a lot of extractions. CND $1500.

Dental diet (Hill's t/d prescription diet) for 1.5 yrs for another cat, with mild at beginning dental problem, didn't help either. Now he is sheduled for extractions as well. CND ~$1000, fewer teeth to extract...

I also belive that this is a matter of genetical predisposition and maybe brushing (Dr Lisa Pierson had good results with this, using very particular brush and procedure, described at catinfo.org). No personal experience with brushing, all available locally per brushes are too big for cats, and both my cats wouldn't allow me to come even close to manhandling their sensitive areas. And I plan to follow her procedure after my cat heals completely after dental surgery.

Have the same belief about usefullness of raw or semi-raw homade diet (same source). Started to implement but now had to put it on hold, until cat completely heals after extractions.

Mewlittle said:

 
When I take Stefan Pilgrim in to get neutered and have shots done I was going to ask ways to prevent dental issues and if they try to pin hills or some crazy diet i'm going to give them a crazy look like nope not doing it lol I hate it when vets tell me what to feed my cats after they say the cat is healthy there like YOU HAVE TO FEED HILLS OR IAMS ITS THE ONLY THING CATS CAN EAT oh really? if so then why are all your patient's that eat hills or iams etc are sick? sorry I started to rant lol any way whatever suggestions they have for dental for stefan and for the other cats I will look into what other people say about it for before I jump into it I don't want to hurt my cats but I will do the brushing thing I need to get a kitty tooth brush and kitty toothpaste can cats share toothbrushes or no?

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I wouldn't feed a cat Hill's "Oral Care" food anyway, even if a vet recommended it. I was reading Amazon reviews on it a while back, and one reviewer stated that his cat tried swallowing the pieces whole (which is how cats tend to eat dry kibble anyway), and almost choked to death when the kibbles got stuck in his throat. Apparently, that food is made up of larger than normal kibbles which are "supposed" to encourage chewing! Hill's has a "nutrition consultant" whose task it is to read and respond to the lowest ratings/reviews, and she uses pre-written responses, so her her response to this reviewer didn't even address his cat's near-fatality!

There is nothing "scientific" about Science Diet, from the ingredients to the so-called thought process behind the formulations of some of their foods. Cats' biological and nutritional needs are all too obviously not taken into consideration.

And you make a great point - if the "normal" formulations are good enough, than why the need for all of the "prescription" diets? They shouldn't be necessary.

Brushing at least 3 times a week is the gold standard for home dental care. Another option if you can't brush is a chlorihexidine mouth rinse which keeps the bacteria at bay. I use a product called Dentahex.