Dental health.

[cybertech]

Hello.

Our fur babies are a 2 year old ginger male short haired domestic (Cheeto), and a 2 year old black female short haired (Pepper). Their diet mainly consists of Carnivora raw food, but we occasionally give them a few pieces of Crave kibble. We will however be switching out the Crave kibble for raw freeze dried treats.

Pepper's tooth and gums are perfect, but Cheetos (the ginger cat) had some tarter build up near the gum line, and slightly red and inflamed gums at the base of his teeth. We took him to the vet to get his teeth professionally cleaned. His teeth and gums look normal now.

The vet recommended Vetradent dental wipes, as well as tooth brushing. Any comments or suggestions about Vetradent, kibble, or brushing would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[cybertech]

I can't edit my post, but I forgot to ask:

My vet claimed orange cats are more prone to dental issues, but I can't find any evidence online to that support that. Any comments on that?

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site!

Do Cat Teeth Wipes Help? Dental health?

This thread might help. The general opinion of members here seems to be that brushing is better than dental wipes or other alternative means of cleaning your cat's teeth. You are very much on top of their dental care at 2 years old!

I could be missing something here, but orange is a color not a breed. It seems that a genetic predisposition to bad teeth in orange males is a big leap of some kind. Ask your vet why he thinks that.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Since your cats already eat raw food, do you think they would eat raw chicken gizzards? Those are great for cleaning their teeth as they are kind of tough and the cats have to chew at them for awhile. Same with raw chicken neck bones. Those are actually better. Or raw chicken wings. Knawing on those bones really help keep their teeth clean. BUT, if they aren't currently eating what we call frankenprey (chunks of raw meat), they might not take to those items. Mine WERE eating largish chunks, but I could never get them to knaw on bones or gizzards, not even the freeze dried gizzards.

Of course, brushing with CET toothpaste for pets is the best. Unfortunately some cats are predispositioned to dental issues, no matter what color they are. One of my black cats has to have teeth pulled every time he goes in for a dental

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

Since your cats already eat raw food, do you think they would eat raw chicken gizzards? Those are great for cleaning their teeth as they are kind of tough and the cats have to chew at them for awhile. Same with raw chicken neck bones. Those are actually better. Or raw chicken wings. Knawing on those bones really help keep their teeth clean. BUT, if they aren't currently eating what we call frankenprey (chunks of raw meat), they might not take to those items. Mine WERE eating largish chunks, but I could never get them to knaw on bones or gizzards, not even the freeze dried gizzards.

Of course, brushing with CET toothpaste for pets is the best. Unfortunately some cats are predispositioned to dental issues, no matter what color they are. One of my black cats has to have teeth pulled every time he goes in for a dental

I give my kitty raw turkey gizzards cut up into smaller pieces, since she doesn't seem to understand gnawing on large pieces of food. I've seen people claim that cats don't chew food if it's in small pieces but I know for sure that my kitty does, because I can hear and see her chomping. She seems to alternate sides too, which is good.

 

[cybertech]

Thank you all for the replies so far

I'm just heading out the door, so I'll reply later tonight.

 

[cybertech]

I've looked into it further, and yes, it seems wipes are unnecessary if you're brushing. I also found this:

When choosing a toothpaste for pets, make sure it is both appropriate for their species, dog vs cat, and is specifically labelled as an enzymatic toothpaste. Without the glucose oxidase, the toothpaste may not be an effective bacteria killer.

Toothpaste can have a downside too. Take a look at the ingredient panel on your pet's toothpaste before you buy it. You may find some undesirable ingredients like artificial colours, preservatives or xylitol. Many of these ingredients can be linked to allergies and digestive issues, so they are best avoided altogether.

I'll definitely look into chicken gizzards, necks, and wings.

Fionasmom,

The vet just said that ginger colored cats are more prone to teeth and gum issues. I assume she meant a hereditary disposition.