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Brushing a cat's teeth
Orogogus
San DiegoRegistered User regular
San DiegoRegistered User regular
Obligatory:
A while back there was a cat food thread where someone opined that people who don't brush their cat's teeth were horrible pet owners, or something to that effect. I do brush my cat's teeth, but I'm not sure I'm doing it right. The cat doesn't cooperate, see. She doesn't bite or scratch, but she squirms and licks away the toothpaste.
The end result is that I think I might be doing a fair job on the outer face of the teeth, but not so much on the inside face. And her breath is pretty bad. I could try to get my landlord to help and make this a 2 person job, but holding my cat's jaw open sounds like a bit of a fight.
Does anyone have any tips on effective oral hygiene for a cat who wants nothing to do with it?
A while back there was a cat food thread where someone opined that people who don't brush their cat's teeth were horrible pet owners, or something to that effect. I do brush my cat's teeth, but I'm not sure I'm doing it right. The cat doesn't cooperate, see. She doesn't bite or scratch, but she squirms and licks away the toothpaste.
The end result is that I think I might be doing a fair job on the outer face of the teeth, but not so much on the inside face. And her breath is pretty bad. I could try to get my landlord to help and make this a 2 person job, but holding my cat's jaw open sounds like a bit of a fight.
Does anyone have any tips on effective oral hygiene for a cat who wants nothing to do with it?
Orogogus on
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A cursory google turned up a bunch of instructional videos, but I have to admit, is this just one of those things that overzealous pet owners do?
That's why some people advocate raw food for cats, because the coarse, ground-up bone in the raw food does an even better job of cleaning their teeth. You can also give your cat a raw chicken wing. No guarantees that your cat will be at all interested in raw meat if they're used to kibble, though.
Greenies work well because they are very coarse and do not readily pulverize, so cats will chew and chew and they'll help get their teeth clean.
But yeah, you only need to clean your cat's teeth if they're dirty. Cats will normally have questionable breath (it'll smell like cat food and cat butt) and you can check their gumline to see if they have too much buildup (just lift their lips while they're sleeping). Obviously if their breath smells rotten you might have a problem.
My one cat who loves raw meat and will strip a chicken wing in about 3 minutes has perfect teeth. My kibble-lover has some buildup. Try out greenies and see if it helps their buildup. Also, try NOT using toothpaste -- cats hate mint smells -- and you probably don't even need it.
Also, anything involving man-handling a cat is usually a two person gig.
Like any other trained behavior it's best to keep sessions very short initially, end on a positive note, and provide a lot of praise. Just do one or two teeth at first (the canines are a good place to start) and gradually increase the area you cover as your cat accepts the brushing.
It's a hassle but it will significantly increase your cat's chances at living a long healthy life. Bacteria from dental disease is often carried down in the gut and can contribute to heart and kidney disease.
I have no advice here, but goddamnit my cat loves to sit her ass on my Xbox too.
For my cat it's pizza boxes. While we're trying to eat out of them.
Our vet has mentioned brushing the cat's teeth before. We've done it once or twice, but it was enough of a hassle that we just stopped. Her breath doesn't smell above and beyond the ordinary, and the vet hasn't said anything about improving tooth care, so we're probably fine.
She eats weight control kibble, fwiw.
Oh boy do they not like that. If we so much as pick up the bottle they hide.
But it could not be helped
What my vet gives me instead are CETchews and dental treats, which help clean the animal's teeth when it chews on them. My cats really like the CETchews - one of them even chewed open the plastic bag they were in to get to them >_<.
I wouldn't worry about the bad breath, unless your cat has trouble eating, or its gums are inflamed. Considering everything they use their mouths for, it's a wonder they don't smell worse.
I've also used Feline Greenies, but I don't know if they have any effect. It's been long enough that I can't even remember if the cats ate them at all.
This will be the last of this in this thread plz.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Animals in the wild don't live as long as housepets. It's something along the lines of a 3-5 year lifespan vs. 12-18 for a housecat. Do we humans need our teeth brushed? Sure. Would we notice poor things happening to our teeth if we only lived to be 20? Mmm, somewhat but not as much. It is a fact that buildup of plaque in the mouth can poison the blood and lead to kidney problems, even outright failure. This usually happens around 5 or so years in some cats.
Cornell School of Veterinary Science: http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/Brushing-Your-Cats-Teeth/Brushing-And-Your-Cats-Health
Anyway, I've found stuff at local petstores. Most of it is geared towards dogs but will work for cats. One thing I have now is a little fingertip tool that you put on your index finger and brush.
Here are some steps to make it easier. First, don't go straight to the brushing. This'll take at least a week of prep work, maybe two:
Every day, approach your cat and calmly pet it then touch along its gumlines. It'll not like that at first, give it a treat and go away. Do it until your cat just lets it happen, which will take 5-10 days.
Now take a little of the special pet toothpaste and put it on your finger, let the cat smell it or even lick it. Do this for a few days.
Finally, you can try brushing your cats teeth. Let them smell and lick the toothpaste before you start. It'll smell and taste good to them. Then you'll want to put one hand on their neck and use the hand brushing thumb to open their mouth and have at it.
This strategy will make nail clipping and brushing a lot easier too if your cat hates those.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Very true. You could burrito them for teeth brushing too, but I like trying the nice slow way first. Lots of treats everytime they let you pester their gums.
For people who can't do this, they recommend 1 year treatments at the vet. They have to knock them out though so it's kind of a deal. I have one kitten that has been very resistant and a new three year old boy who I can tell will let me brush his teeth pretty easily.
He doesn't however have a problem with my finger, so I usually start with tuna juice then switch to the toothpaste and massage it into his teeth and gums. Its not a fight, it doesn't stress out him or me and he gets his teeth done.
Like trimming claws. Two of my cats don't mind ('cause they know they get treats afterward) but holy hell the third puts up a fight.
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The trick is convincing my cats of this.
I'm going to try OnTheLastCastle's approach . . . I just bought some salmon flavored toothpaste at the vet's, which hopefully will be a bigger hit than "malt".
They'll let me trim their claws, but that's because I've never screwed up and they were trimmed since they were babies.
we give our cats greenies as treats. never tried brushing their teeth but they don't really have bad teeth.
Dry food in no way helps your cats teeth. That is a straight up myth promoted, surprise, by dry food sellers. However, greenies may help. I'm not quite clear on that.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=doesdryfoodcleantheteeth