My orange boy has always had fairly bad breath, and when I got him I just thought it was from the teething process, but it hasn't gotten better 5 months after he's done teething. A couple weeks ago I was checking out his teeth and I noticed some redness around the gums and wasn't sure if it was normal or not (but my other cat, a brown tabby, very clearly doesn't have redness around his gums).
I got a little worried and panicked myself over the possibilities of gum disease, even though he's only 10.5 months old, and started looking up all sorts of things about cats having to get their teeth pulled and whatnot. So ever since then I've been brushing their teeth daily (used to only do it 1-2 times a week) and giving them giblets to chew on 1-2 times a week. I've also instead of using entirely ground meat for their homemade raw, I've started chopping some of the meat into cubes so they have something more to chew in their food too.
But last night I looked at Colby's teeth again and the gums still seemed reddish. I took photos (as best I could) and sent them into my vet, and this morning they replied that he seems to have a mild case of gingivitis, and that it's a lot more common in orange cats, but Colby should be fine if I just continue to brush his teeth. Anyone else ever heard that orange cats get gingivitis more? And does anyone else on here have any advice about what else I can do to keep his teeth healthy? Photos (sorry about the poor quality) will be attached:
TLDR; Do orange cats really get gingivitis more commonly than other cat colors? Any advice on keeping his teeth clean besides brushing and giving meaty chunks? And based on the photos, is my vet right that it's just a mild case, and I can keep on doing what I normally do?
I got a little worried and panicked myself over the possibilities of gum disease, even though he's only 10.5 months old, and started looking up all sorts of things about cats having to get their teeth pulled and whatnot. So ever since then I've been brushing their teeth daily (used to only do it 1-2 times a week) and giving them giblets to chew on 1-2 times a week. I've also instead of using entirely ground meat for their homemade raw, I've started chopping some of the meat into cubes so they have something more to chew in their food too.
But last night I looked at Colby's teeth again and the gums still seemed reddish. I took photos (as best I could) and sent them into my vet, and this morning they replied that he seems to have a mild case of gingivitis, and that it's a lot more common in orange cats, but Colby should be fine if I just continue to brush his teeth. Anyone else ever heard that orange cats get gingivitis more? And does anyone else on here have any advice about what else I can do to keep his teeth healthy? Photos (sorry about the poor quality) will be attached:
TLDR; Do orange cats really get gingivitis more commonly than other cat colors? Any advice on keeping his teeth clean besides brushing and giving meaty chunks? And based on the photos, is my vet right that it's just a mild case, and I can keep on doing what I normally do?