I am sorry you haven't had success with the food so far. If you can get the Royal Canin then you are probably best starting with that. I looked at Zooplus and Pet Planet which is another company I have used in the past and neither ship to your location.
With regard to feeding part prescription diet part other foods, my understanding is that the prescription diet has to be the main food and anything else fed has to be a very small percentage, like feeding snacks which is why I use the Thrive freeze dried ones as it is mostly low protein that bothers me. A small sardine in water would be another example. I've been advised that i you feed more of another food the effectiveness of the dental food will be reduced and defeat the purpose.
If you don't have success sourcing the dental prescription food you might want to take a look at the Raw and Home Cooked forum in Nutrition as many members here who have cats with dental problems feel raw feeding has helped. If you are interested in going down that route I am sure others in that forum will be more than happy to support and advise you on what to do. I have not done this as Mouse;s immune system is a bit compromised with feline herpes and my vets are not too keen on me going that route. Also, my attempts with the home cooking were a disaster! LoL - Mouse did NOT appreciate my efforts. :-(
For the brushing: I started with just letting him lick the paste off my finger and moved on to rubbing gums with my finger, and then introduced the finger brush with treats before and after. Mouse is pretty good with most things and lets me do what ever I have to without much fuss though so I have had an easy time of it so far. I do try to use the brush about once a week still - his gums are much better now than when he was one or two years old. I figure it is better to have him happy with the routine and not to run away or get distressed than to brush - the enzymes will still help a lot and if your cat gets upset and starts to run off you probably won't even get that far! If Mouse has a day where he doesn't even fancy licking my finger to get the paste I do pretty much what you do and smear a bit on for him to lick but I put it around his lips so it doesn't get trampled on my floor!
Lulu is a cute name - hi to you both from me and Mouse.
With regard to feeding part prescription diet part other foods, my understanding is that the prescription diet has to be the main food and anything else fed has to be a very small percentage, like feeding snacks which is why I use the Thrive freeze dried ones as it is mostly low protein that bothers me. A small sardine in water would be another example. I've been advised that i you feed more of another food the effectiveness of the dental food will be reduced and defeat the purpose.
If you don't have success sourcing the dental prescription food you might want to take a look at the Raw and Home Cooked forum in Nutrition as many members here who have cats with dental problems feel raw feeding has helped. If you are interested in going down that route I am sure others in that forum will be more than happy to support and advise you on what to do. I have not done this as Mouse;s immune system is a bit compromised with feline herpes and my vets are not too keen on me going that route. Also, my attempts with the home cooking were a disaster! LoL - Mouse did NOT appreciate my efforts. :-(
For the brushing: I started with just letting him lick the paste off my finger and moved on to rubbing gums with my finger, and then introduced the finger brush with treats before and after. Mouse is pretty good with most things and lets me do what ever I have to without much fuss though so I have had an easy time of it so far. I do try to use the brush about once a week still - his gums are much better now than when he was one or two years old. I figure it is better to have him happy with the routine and not to run away or get distressed than to brush - the enzymes will still help a lot and if your cat gets upset and starts to run off you probably won't even get that far! If Mouse has a day where he doesn't even fancy licking my finger to get the paste I do pretty much what you do and smear a bit on for him to lick but I put it around his lips so it doesn't get trampled on my floor!
Lulu is a cute name - hi to you both from me and Mouse.
even when I give him his treat, he tries to lick it instead of the usual wild chewing.
