Potato starch in a treat designed to help with dental issues is a real surprise to me, because it can be worse than sugar in terms of providing a breeding ground in the mouth for bacteria that cause dental issues.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Dental Decisions - Help Pls!
- Thread starter himawari
- Start Date
How is it worse than sugar? Potato starch, for the most part is made of polysaccharides, right? Which is less bioavailable for bacteria than sucrose. I get that the glycemic index is high, but that's only after it's been digested. Or is that not right?
It sticks to the teeth more.
You've never made glue for kiddies art projects out of starch and water?
Polysaccharides don't stick to teeth a significant amount more than simple sugars (monosaccharides) though. And it takes a while to break them down before the bacteria can get at them. Honestly, it doesn't seem like it would be worse than normal monosaccharides. I'm guessing the potato starch is in the formula for body/texture. It would be pretty crumbly without it.
I mean, yeah, if the cat has tooth problems, maybe not the BEST thing in the world, but hardly anything is at that point. Brush the cat's teeth, feed it chewable meats like giblets, small meat chunks, heart chunks, etc. But all treats will most likely have polysaccharides in some amount. They're great binders and help form the shapes/size people want to give their pets.
