Dental Care

I have been asking many cat owners that I know how they care for their cats' teeth, and so far it seems like the most common care is simply tartar control treats. I too believed this to be sufficient care since my cats eat mostly dry food. My cats are now nearly 8 years old, and the more I know about feline dental care, the more concerned I am getting about how the shape of their teeth may dramatically affect their future health. I plan to bring my cats to the vets in the near future for dental cleanings if the vet believes they need it, and then I will begin a dental regimine.

Anyway, I am wondering what kind of dental regimines you all may have your cats on, how well it works and how you implimented it. Did you begin this as kittens or are you like me, and did not realize the signifigance until later on.

Any helpful comments will be appreciated.

Hi Lynn

I started my brushing about 1x a week when I first got her when she was 3 months old. . .then when she was about 4 years old, I started brushing every day. It's nice to be able to clean her teeth -- if there is anything going on "in there" I will know it. Another side benefit is that it is very easy to pill her because she is used to me fiddling in her mouth.

I'm going to copy and paste what I responded on an earlier thread:

"I've been brushing my kitty's teeth for over a decade and she only needed to have her teeth professionally cleaned 1x in her life.


A few tips:

Start very slowly. Every day while you pet kitty, just rub the side of her mouth once. Then continue petting her.

Every day put your finger in a little longer and further alongside her gumline til she is used to that. This is just to get her used to getting touched there.

Once she is used to you touching her gums, she will be ready for the brush. Get an Oral B baby toothbrush -- has Sesame St characters on it . Then get her used to the feel of the brush by introducing it slowly as you did with your finger -- no toothpaste yet.

Once she is used to the brush get some kitty toothpaste at the pet store -- the Petrodent tastes malty, my cat thinks it tastes yummy -- then start using the brush with toothpaste.

Always end these sessions with praise and love and a treat.

At any time your kitty begins to show signs of being uncomfortable, stop before it turns into a struggle. Accomplish the one thing you want to do dentalwise for the day then give a treat. You don't want to turn this into a battle -- nor do you want kitty to think that if she wiggles long enough, she can get away with anything.

My 11 year old Russian Blue now she looks forward to it and begs to have them brushed -- NOT because she thinks having a big ol brush in her mouth is nice but she knows she gets a treat!"

I regularly give my kitties the tartar control treats and I feed them only dry food. I also just bought this stuff called pet kiss plaque and tartar control. It's a liquid you add to your cat's water that's supposed to help loosen plaque and prevent tartar. I'm not sure on how well it works but they don't seem to notice it so we'll see how it goes.
I would have tried starting my cats on a brushing regimine but 3 of them I got as adults and Xavier the baby out of the group is waaay too much of a spite fire to even try. The oldest Mitzi, she's 14 and her teeth look great! I do pick off a little tartar off her teeth when I can just how the vet showed me and it seems to help keep her teeth in good condition at her age.

I do appreciate your reply! I still plan to arrange to bring both of my cats in to find out if they will need an appt. for a dental cleaning, but it is so nice to know that there are things that I can do to keep their teeth healthy so that I can prevent any future need to bring them into the the vet's for cleaning procedures.

Lynn

I also brush Rascal three times a week. I have just barely started doing this and although he dosen't really like it, he does let me. I let him taste the toothpaste to get used to it. I began doing this after his adult jaws came out and he started having bad breath from his mouth.

Try Science Diet Oral care - the pieces are as big as olives and the littles ones really have to chew.

My vet recommended it when my kidden went in for his shots at age 8. I waitied till the next time he went in for shots at age 9, and the vet has to sedate the cat to do this. The hardest thing I had to do was decide if they should give him pain killers if needed, to do some certain tests before they put him under to make sure it was safe, and that sort of thing. What I thought would be a $60 teeth cleaning turned into a $175 bill, but I couldn't help it, I had to make sure he wasn't in any jeapordy or pain. Be sure to ask your vet about any "extra charges."

Has anyone else tried anything similar to what BadHabit is adding to her water? I would be interested to hear from members who have tried it. Seems like a simple solution, if it works.