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- Dec 10, 2015
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Does anyone know any dental treats for kittens (under a year old)? my baby kittens breath smells really bad .. I thought it was because of her food but even when she doesn't eat it smells.
Do you have an recommendation one what toothpastes/toothbrushes are the best?You ought to get her used to brushing. I've brushed my cats' teeth since they were six weeks old and they're quite good about it now. My vet absolutely flips out over their teeth every time she sees them. She claims that brushing is one of the very best things you can do for your cat.
I agree with all of this... except that one of our cats really does love having her teeth brushed! She loves the toothpaste -- we also use CET, either seafood or poultry flavor -- so having her teeth brushed is like a treat. Her sister's pretty good about it, too.Are her gums red and inflamed? So you see abrasions or sores in her mouth? If so, you should really take her to the vet. I would regardless, just to be certain.
There are special made toothbrushes for cats; however, I just use the smallest child's brush I can find. As for toothpaste, I use Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Cat Poultry Flavor Toothpaste. Amazon and Chewy both carry it.
Keep in mind your cat isn't going to love having her teeth brushed, but she WILL get used to it and learn to tolerate it. My vet claims that this is on par with the type of food you feed in terms of prophylactic prevention of illness. Good luck and Welcome to the Cat Site!!!
Yes, the gingivitis and the smelly mouth could be connected, particularly in a cat so young. You might ask the vet about the bartonella bacterium, which is the same bacterium that causes cat scratch fever. Some vets believe it can cause mouth issues like gingivitis: our cats were tested for it then treated with azithromycin, which, along with daily brushing, has made a huge difference for them. (This all happened when they weren't even yet two years old. Our vet has also told us mouth issues are more common in certain types of cats, like Siamese and mixes, which is what our two are.) Not all vets buy into the bartonella theory but our vet's a cat specialist who says she sees improvement in lots of cats she treats for bartonella... and it sure seemed to help ours. Here's an article from Dr. Becker about bartonella. There are some other good ones, just ask if you want me to dig those up, too! Bartonella testing and treatment aren't super-cheap but they're definitely a lot cheaper and less nerve-wracking than annual tooth cleanings. Bonus for humans: no worrying about cat scratch fever.We took her to the vet for her spay today, by 11am I got a call from the vet saying that they need to postponed the surgery be she had lost some weight. But also because it looks like she has some gingivitis, they gave me some antibiotics, I'm guessing this might be a reason for her smelly mouth.