Dental Health Routines

Hey everyone! Just curious about how everyone keeps their cats teeth sparkly? I've been brushing every second or third day, but my guy squirms and it's hard to get to the back teeth. The front he's alright with me brushing but as soon as the brush goes towards the back he's not a happy camper. And I don't want to over stress him.

I heard some people offer chicken necks during the week? How does this work if I wanted to look into it? Just throw them in the bowl? How often? How many?

Any other ideas?

Also, kitty's breath is not so fresh. It's kind of stinky. He's in good health and his teeth are fine. He's only 7 months. No digestion issues. Eating canned only. I rotate Ziwipeaks, Instinct and Halo. I don't feed any treats or junk food. Admittedly, he doesn't drink much water since I got him off dry about a month ago. I got a water fountain for him but he doesn't care for it. Any reason he might be having smelly breath?

I brush my cats' teeth

Raw chicken necks and gizzards are great for dental health... if your cat will gnaw on them. Some cats, especially those who only eat commercial dry and canned foods, won't touch raw bones and such because they don't recognize it as food and omethng to gnaw on. My cats are raw fed and they won't even touch necks and such You can give it a try with your cat. Offer a small raw chicken neck boen or gizzard and see what happens. If your cat likes it, you can offer it a few times a week. Some cats like to drag bones out of the bowl and across the floor so you may want to confine your cat to the bathroom during bone time. Bathrooms are easy to clean and sanitize.

Bad breath can indicate dental issue. You may want to have the vet or a dental vet take a look at your cat's teeth.

There are no dental issues. He was at the vets recently. He's just 7 months old and his teeth are clean.

The only thing I could think of is he lost a few teeth maybe 2-3 weeks ago? Teething time based on what I read. He was side chewing after that.

I used to brush my cats teeth but since they are on a balanced, raw diet I don't do it any longer.

The benefits that they get from chewing on large pieces of meat, gizzards and even bone-in meats keeps their teeth looking great. (Much to the dismay of my Traditional Vet ) He doesn't like that I feed raw but my cats like him better than the Holistic Vet so I bring them to the T-Vet to keep them comfortable.

Kudos to you for getting the kitty off dry food!  

I would recommend feeding him something to chew on to keep his teeth cleaned two times a week. Rotating between chicken necks and gizzards. In my opinion, it would be fine to feed one-half a neck once a week and 2 gizzards once a week.

Example: 1/2 chicken neck every Sunday

                 2 Gizzards every Wednesday

This way, you don't throw off the balance of his canned diet.

Thank you! I'll look into that. It would be so great if I didn't have to struggle with brushing his teeth and he could just keep them clean on his own. Would that be enough, or would I still have to brush in between those gizzard and neck treats?

Abby2932 said:

I used to brush my cats teeth but since they are on a balanced, raw diet I don't do it any longer.

The benefits that they get from chewing on large pieces of meat, gizzards and even bone-in meats keeps their teeth looking great. (Much to the dismay of my Traditional Vet :lol3: ) He doesn't like that I feed raw but my cats like him better than the Holistic Vet so I bring them to the T-Vet to keep them comfortable.

Kudos to you for getting the kitty off dry food!  

I would recommend feeding him something to chew on to keep his teeth cleaned two times a week. Rotating between chicken necks and gizzards. In my opinion, it would be fine to feed one-half a neck once a week and 2 gizzards once a week.

Example: 1/2 chicken neck every Sunday
                 2 Gizzards every Wednesday

This way, you don't throw off the balance of his canned diet.

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I called a local pet food store and they sell necks but no gizzards. We don't eat a lot of meat in my house so I apologize for sounding ignorant. But where do I get gizzards from? Or are just chicken necks ok?

yogakitty said:

I called a local pet food store and they sell necks but no gizzards. We don't eat a lot of meat in my house so I apologize for sounding ignorant. But where do I get gizzards from? Or are just chicken necks ok?

Click to expand...

Many grocery stores have chicken gizzards in the meat section. Ethnic grocery stores in particular tend to have what most people consider "offal". Or ask a butcher shop.

Yea, you can find gizzard at Wal-Mart and many other grocery stores. They are usually frozen. Just ask someone in the meat department and they can show you where they are

And I just thaw, wash and feed like that?