What dental products do you use for your cats?

[Anne]

Do you have any specific home dental care routine for your cat? Do you brush his/her teeth? Rinse? Provide dental chews?

dentalproductssurvey.jpg

• Anne
• Feb 2, 2013

Any specific products that you can recommend?

I'd love to make a list of the most recommended dental care products TCS members use, so please post to this thread mentioning what you've tried, liked and use.

Thank you!

 

[Winchester]

I don't know if this will help, but here goes......

We have little linen pads that we use to clean the teeth of the three youngest cats: Mollipop, Tabby, and Muffin. They don't like it and they're not happy about it. Molli fights as badly as she does when we clip claws. Tabby puts up with it, but she's not amused either. Muffin gives us a struggle, but she's not at all used to it as my mother never tried to clean her teeth. We use the C.E.T. toothpaste in chicken. Doesn't matter. They still fight it. It takes both of us....one to hold the cat and the other to wipe the teeth. It's not easy. (The vet told us to start them right away when they were kittens and they wouldn't fight it so much. She lied.)

The best thing for us is the Hills Dental t/d dry food. We use it as a treat for all of the cats when we give them their night treat and in the morning before I leave for work, they each get another treat of it. I read somewhere that most cats don't bother to chew dry kibble.....it's small kibble and they can easily just pick it up and swallow it. The Hills food is quite large and the cats MUST chew it; there's no other recourse. For this reason, it's supposed to help with their teeth. We buy a small bag every month at the vet. Since it's not really used for their main diet (they get that now instead of regular treats), a small bag will see us through for a month.

The cats usually get a dental every other year if needed.....their vet says that's fine for them as their teeth aren't that bad. Molli will be 3 years old next Friday; she was just in for her physical and her vet is pleased with her teeth right now and there are no problems. (ETA: By "dental" I mean that if there are tooth issues, that cat will go under anesthesia and their teeth will be cleaned.)

(The geriatric cats have more dental issues, which I guess would be normal.)

 

[Anne]

Perfect - thank you, Pam!

 

[catclan]

I use the CET poultry flavor toothpaste, too. Smoke and Fire let us brush their teeth with the glove-style finger applicators without much fuss. They've never had any extractions or serious oral problems, just tartar and early stage gingivitis once or twice in 8 years. Cleaning at the vet's took care of that. New addition Taxi fights all care and grooming like a trapped weasel, and we are lucky to get anything like toothpaste in his mouth. He's a senior cat, so he will be going in to the vet twice a year for checkups anyway. I like to think his teeth can't get too bad in 6 months?

 

[callista]

Christy gets her teeth brushed with a Q-tip. Seriously. Just to get the plaque off. She refuses to let me use a toothbrush. She doesn't even scratch me or anything; she just wiggles and mews so pitifully that I can't possibly make her submit to it.

Tiny has never needed it. He doesn't like to eat anything but dry food, so I guess he naturally keeps his own teeth.

 

[flintmccullough]

There-is-no-such-thing,as-a-dental-food,that-removes-plauque,its-just-a-marketng-ploy,for-the-average-joe-smith-consumer,who-believes,there-is-some-magic-formula,in-the-food,lol.

Think-about-it.

Plaque-is-plauque,weather-it-is-humans,cats-or-dogs,its-caused-by-the-same-thing.

Teeth-are-teeth,weather-they-are-human,cat-or-dog,its-just-teeth.

If-we-were-to-follow-the-reasoning,of-the-pet-food-companies,eating-crunchy-food,removes-plaque,then-wouldn't-it-follow-for-humans?If-we-ate-hard-crunchy-things,would-it-remove-plaque?

No,it-does-not,we-have-to-brush-our-teeth-and-floss.Ask-your-dentist,if-you-can-skip-brushing-your-teeth,and-just-eat-hard-crunchy-things.Who-is-so-sure,I-am-wrong,they-want-to-call-their-dentist,and-ask,LOL.

Then-put-the-anser-in-here.

Look-at-Hills-Dental,I-picked-the-first-one-I-came-to,when-searching-for-dental-food.

The-marketing-pitch-says.The-ingredients-are.So-what-exactly,is-the-"special-natural-vegtable-fiber-alignment"-that-helps-clean-teeth??

Don't-see-any-difference-in-these-ingredients,than-in-the-average-Hills-foods,lol.

And,this-is-my-3-cents,Texas-is-bigger,so-we-get-3-cents,instead-of-2-cents,LOL.

Ingredients:

Chicken by-product meal, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate, and citric acid), corn meal, powdered cellulose, chicken liver flavor, vegetable oil, dl-methionine, taurine, taurine, preserved with BHT and BHA, beta carotene, minerals [potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, salt, calcium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], vitamins [choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid (a source of vitamin C), niacin, thiamine, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement]. 

Hill's Science Diet Oral Care Adult Cat Food

Provides complete nutrition, cleans teeth, and freshens breath with every bite.
Good nutrition is only part of your cat's good health. Proper dental care is also important. But it's not easy to brush your cat's teeth. Science Diet Oral Care has been specifically designed to provide your cat with superior everyday nutrition while cleaning teeth and freshening breath with every bite.

The unique shaped, larger sized kibble has been specially formulated with natural vegetable fibers. As your cat bites into the tasty kibble, it works like a toothbrush to help scrub plaque from the tooth's surface where bacteria and germs start. Science Diet Oral Care provides your cat with improved daily oral hygiene in a great tasting food--leading to a cleaner, fresher, healthy mouth and healthy cat.

Science Diet Oral Care has been clinically proven to:

• Reduce plaque and tartar buildup by more than 40%*.
• Reduce stains by 50%* for whiter teeth.
• Help clean teeth and freshen breath.

Poor oral health in a pet may lead to overall health problems. In fact, more than 70% of all cats will need dental care during their lifetime. Feeding Science Diet Oral Care daily and visiting your veterinarian for professional veterinary cleanings once a year are important steps in maintaining your cat's dental care and overall health.
Balanced Nutrition with Great Taste

• High Fiber: Special natural vegetable fiber alignment helps clean teeth and freshens breath.
• Essential Fatty Acids: Omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids help maintain proper function of nervous and immune systems as well as promote healthy skin and coat.
• High Quality Protein: Helps maintain strong bones and muscles with all 11 essential amino acids, including taurine, to help ensure optimal heart and eye health.
• Digestible Carbohydrates: Supply abundant energy for adult cats.
• 25 Vitamins and Minerals: Provide an ideal balance of vitamins and minerals for adult cats.

Science Diet is the Veterinarian's #1 Choice.
More veterinarians feed Science Diet to their own pets than any other brand. Feel confident you are feeding the best:

• Science Diet has been fed to millions of cats and is subject to one of the most stringent testing programs in the industry.
• Each Science Diet formula provides customized nutrition for your cat--addressing age, activity level, and special needs.
• All Science Diet formulas contain at least 50 different nutrients from high quality ingredients.

 

[callista]

Well, all I know is that Tiny's teeth always seem to be white, clean and gunk-free. If I cleaned his teeth they wouldn't get any cleaner.

 

[whaler]

i use Healthy Mouth http://www.healthymouth.com/ for pretty girl. she is predisposed to dental issues and being that she is a former feral there is no way that i can brush her teeth so one of my vets recommended this product. she (the vet) feels that it has delivered the best results out of the all of the similar products available and it does not contain any questionable ingredients - i have been tempted to use it on myself :lol3:

it is a little bit of a pain in the neck since i use a water fountain as i need to clean the fountain every couple of days. it also gets a bit expensive due to the amount used in the fountain - about 1/3 gal.

 

[just mike]

I have a pretty simple dental regime for the cats which works for me. They get 5 feline Greenies each night. We make a game of hide and seek. The cats love the game and they love the Greenies. Since Greenies SmartBites have come out, I've incorporated those into the game. My cats have a dental check every 6 months during check ups. If a dental cleaning is indicated, I will have it done by the vet.

 

[Anne]

Thanks for all the replies! I'll be moving the thread around a bit to get more responses.

 

[johnnyaway]

Never used anything like that & always had healthy cats, no dental problems ever.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[lisa hartley]

Hi, I use plaque off in their food. It was recommended by my vet. I have tried the toothpaste and that just ended up over everything when they shake their paws first even before licking it. Plaque off is seaweed based and has an enzyme which helps to break the bond of the plaque so breaks it down.

 

[chardonel]

Our cats including our current one has good oral health with having plenty of water available and eating only dry cat food.  I really think the dry cat food is best for teeth as far as a cat's diet goes.  And of course plenty of fresh water. 

 

[otto]

Dental health is largely genetic. Dry food does not clean teeth. That would be like us eating croutons to clean our teeth. The premise behind the "dental" kibble is that it shatters in a different way from regular kibble, causing the plane of the kibble to "scrape" the tooth. I am extremely skeptical about this process, in addition, the kibble has horrible species inappropriate ingredients, which is typical of Hills and other large pet food companies who market these "specialty" products.

I used to use c.e.t. enzymatic paste but two of my cats developed a sensitivity to the sorbitol (first ingredient) in the product, so I stopped using it. Now I feed gizzards and wings raw to help with dental health, I don't clean them at all.

However, when I did use the c.e.t. I simply applied it with my finger. c.e.t. is an enzymatic paste, meaning it breaks down bacteria. Contact with the teeth is all that is needed, not scrubbing or abrasiveness. When I stopped using the c.e.t. I asked my vet about using gauze, she thought that would be too rough on the gums and enamel. I never really saw any from using the c.e.t. anyway, and saw no difference after stopping it either.

Anyway when I did use the c.e.t. paste I trained my cats to accept it in a slow manner, using a step by step process over a period of several weeks. I will share the training process I used for any one interested.

Here was the final result, all cats accepted this process:

Queen Eva is the star here :heart3: (if you put your sound on you can hear her little chirps)

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[Anne]

Otto, I agree that dental health, like many other health aspects in both felines and humans, is largely genetic. I do believe that we can influence and delay tooth decay and gingivitis with proper dental care in cats, in the same way we do with humans. Granted, I'm not sure the extent of the effect is similar, but then again, I'm not sure it's not. 

I totally agree about the effect, of lack of, of feeding dry kibble. Definitely something I want to run an article about. If anyone cares to write one, based on solid research and resources, I'd love to post it here on the site.

 

[smitten4kittens]

Otto, Queen Eva is a precious little cutie!  I want to hug her.

 I love her hiding in the pillowcase chirping away happily.

More videos please.

 

[sugarcatmom]

My 3 youngsters floss their own teeth on my Yucca tree:

Carrot yucca.jpg

• sugarcatmom
• Feb 3, 2013

My senior citizen gets Biotene Drinking Water Additive   in his water twice a day. He's the only one that drinks enough water for it to make a difference (he has CKD and diabetes). 

Everyone eats a primarily raw diet, with some canned left out for snacking. 

 

[Anne]

My senior citizen gets Biotene Drinking Water Additive   in his water twice a day. He's the only one that drinks enough water for it to make a difference (he has CKD and diabetes). 

Everyone eats a primarily raw diet, with some canned left out for snacking. 

Great picture! I might be using this one.

By the way, if any of the brushers out there have pictures to share, please do.

I found this interesting article on the Winn Foundation website -

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Health/Dental_Care_Marcia_King_08.pdf

It suggests that practicing oral hygiene for cats does help keep plaque and tartar at bay.

 

[raintyger]

Poppy gets her teeth and gums swabbed off with a Q-Tip and C.E.T. oral rinse nightly. I don't know how much good it does for the tooth surface, but I do get little pieces of food on the Q-Tip. Poppy has had loose front teeth since age 1 (we started with the oral rinse then) and just lost one of them at age 9.5 when she had her recent dental. The vet said it wasn't really an extraction, as the tooth came out on its own during the cleaning.
 

 

[Anne]

Moving this "traveling thread" into Care & Grooming for a few days