Recommendation for dental health products?

I've been giving Shanoah all wet food but the only issue is that her breath stinks pretty bad.  That's honestly a rude awakening in the morning when she's laying next to my head. 

I hear that bad breath is a sign of tartar and plaque build up which can lead to dental problems and possibly bad overall health.  

I have been giving her Greenie's chicken dental treats between meals but I'm skeptical if these actually do anything.  I haven't really been checking her breath because I don't actually want to, I'm more skeptical about them actually cleaning tarter and plaque.

I've seen dental water solution but since Shanoah eats wed food she barely drinks water anyway.  I've also seen actual cat toothpaste and brushing.

Are there any recommendations for freshening up her breath and cleaning up tartar and plaque?  I would prefer something she can eat or I can put in the food.

A dental cleaning will help remove the current plaque and tartar and address any other dental issues that your cat may have. Once that's done and your cat's breath is smelling much better, you can start on a home regimine.

Teeth brushing is best since you are manually scrubbing the plaque, food particles, etc off the teeth. It's not that hard to brush a cat's teeth but for some cats it make take awhile to get them used to having their teeth brushed. Give it a try anyways. Pet stores sell pet toothpaste and toothbrushes. I use CET poultry flavored toothpaste and the mini cat toothbrush. Here's a good video of how to brush a cat's teeth: http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/pet-owners/cat-teeth

You can also try dental treats. The Greenies don't work, IMO. I suggest the large CET dental treats for cats. A cat really has to gnaw and chew on tthe treat to break it up into easy to swallow pieces.

Some people give their cats chunks of raw meat and gizzards and raw bones to gnaw on for dental health. Some cats will not touch raw meat, though.

Other than dental treats and raw, there aren't any other things you can give your cat to eat for dental health.

On one hand, cat breath is cat breath and it'll never smell like tulips so your mornings have a limited range for improvement.

If you're wary about actually looking in her mouth, ask the vet to do it next time you're in (they may do it automatically as part of a physical, some vets you may need to prod). I haven't heard enough praise about water additives or dental "chews" to recommend them, but brushing can at least give you a hands on idea of how her teeth are and it gives you more control to help her with it. Many people teach their cats to accept tooth brushing even as adults, and tasty toothpastes make it much easier. CET makes one that a lot of people use, but I couldn't find it here so I use Nylabone, which my cat likes.

Some people feed raw with bones so the bones can rub up against their teeth as they chew the meat off, but this is only if you're comfortable feeding some raw as a treat or potentially as part of her diet. It's not for everyone, and like with most tactics I don't think it's been proven that raw helps the condition of cats' teeth (based largely on genetics).

Thanks for the recommendations!  I do see CET Oral Hygiene kits at places like 1-800-Pet Meds and I think I'm going to try it.  I'm not sure if Petco has anything good since I don't see anything online but I'll have to stop by the store tomorrow.  

Shanoah is the kind of the cat that doesn't care about getting touched in the paws, legs, or belly, unlike a lot of cats that I've met, so I think she'll get use to and allow me to brush her teeth.  Is there any type of brushing schedule that you both go by?  once a day? couple times a week?

Try this link: https://www.veritasdvm.com/veritas/courses/pfz11_byct/index.htm and choose an option from the left bar. There are 4 videos total about at dental health.

Daily brushing would be ideal (I do it for my Aby) but most cats will only tolerate once or twice a week. Any brushing is better than no brushing at all, IMO. Remember to give your cat a treat afterwards  

Thank you for the link!

I went by Petco today and they didn't really have anything that looked good in regards to tooth paste.  I heard the Petco brand stuff smells bad and the cats don't like it so I'm going to avoid it.  I'll have to get the CET stuff from somewhere.

Our cats love the CET seafood toothpaste and I've seen lots of positive comments on the chicken flavor, too. I try to brush their teeth -- or at least give them some toothpaste -- once a day. Allegedly, the enzymatic formula helps prevent buildup on the teeth. 

As for scheduling, I've already found, the hard way, that if I miss a few days I have to reintroduce the whole procedure. I only started on all this a month or so ago and am still not doing a lot of actual brushing, but the cats are getting used to it, slowly but surely. They love the little brush and the toothpaste itself is such a treat for them that I just give them another little dab after the "brushing". That's plenty to make them happy!

LisaHE said:

 
Our cats love the CET seafood toothpaste and I've seen lots of positive comments on the chicken flavor, too. I try to brush their teeth -- or at least give them some toothpaste -- once a day. Allegedly, the enzymatic formula helps prevent buildup on the teeth. 

As for scheduling, I've already found, the hard way, that if I miss a few days I have to reintroduce the whole procedure. I only started on all this a month or so ago and am still not doing a lot of actual brushing, but the cats are getting used to it, slowly but surely. They love the little brush and the toothpaste itself is such a treat for them that I just give them another little dab after the "brushing". That's plenty to make them happy!

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I'll have to go with the chicken, I'm still paranoid about seafood in cat food and such 

I'm hoping it won't be a problem with Shanoah though, even it if takes a little while to get her use to it.  But she is one of those cats that cares little about where she gets touched so I don't think brushing will be a problem.

FelineEmpathy said:

 
I'll have to go with the chicken, I'm still paranoid about seafood in cat food and such 

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It's just seafood flavor and the toothpaste doesn't even smell the slightest bit like fish to me! I don't feed our cats much seafood, either, so figured it might taste like a treat to them. And they really do love it.

pinkdagger said:

 
On one hand, cat breath is cat breath and it'll never smell like tulips so your mornings have a limited range for improvement.

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It could be worse. Sophie wakes me up by sticking her butt in my face. 

I never thought until reading this thread that BOTH ends of a cat are not a bed of roses!!!     I started giving my cats Oratene drinking water additive a few years ago that I found on Amazon and I have to say I think it helps. After 100's of dollars in teeth cleaning bills I tried this and haven't had another bill! My soon to be 14 year old had his teeth checked the last visit and they commented how white they were! I've tried others. but they could smell it and refused to drink, this one I have no problems with Good luck!

I'm about to start all 3 kitties on the transition to commercial raw so once they get on that and are doing well with it, I want to start giving them raw chicken necks and wings for treats and to help keep their teeth clean. I agree about the Greenies dental treats. They do like them but they do nothing for their teeth. They barely chew them at all. 

  At Speedy's first checkup, her vet said that she did have some mild gum issues so he prescribed the Hill's dry food for oral health.  This was two years ago.  Since then, her issues have not gotten any worse and he said they may have improved a little.  I also found a non-prescription Hill's Oral Care at Petsmart that he said was just as good and more economical.  I do have to say that her breath actually never smells bad at all.  I never notice a bad odor.  Maybe she is just lucky in this regard or maybe it is the Hills.  It is funny however, that I just bought her a toothbrush kit with toothpaste for cats tonight at Petsmart!.  I started to brush (or attempt to) her teeth when I first adopted her but she always squirms to get away so I gave up.  I am giving it another try.  I think I just need patience.  When she starts to squirm, I think I am going to hurt her head so I let her go.

I thought I would mention this dry food and I' m glad also for the recommendations of the previous posters.  Best of luck!

I just purchased Pro Den Plaque off 2 weeks ago on line

I have been feeding my 3 cats Nurto choice chicken with brown rice

dry food and their evening meal I split one can of wet food among them

I put each ones portion on their own paper plate and then add one half

tiny scoop of this dry dental powder on top of the wet food.

I hold each ones plate until they have finished eating their

own portion of food and added dental powder that clears

up and helps prevent plaque buildup.

The only cat to not use it on is one with thyroid issues..

mine do not have that issue.

I read the reviews on this product from those who use it and

I was very impressed.. I think it goes a long way because it does

not take much for each cat once a day.

You might read the reviews on some of the site that sell it..

Do not know if they allow me to say who I bought mine from online

they can tell me if they do..

There is another dental powder that is sold online and may try it

Many said how happy they were and also that senior cats and those with health

conditions could not be put to sleep to have their teeth cleaned...

there is a risk for some...

This would work best for me because I can not use those that you add to the water dish

as I change the water too often and you  never know which cat consumed more

and then the waste of it being poured out when you change the water and clean the dish daily

hope this helps

SheriT