brushing your cat's teeth
 

I took my cat to the vet for the first time today. She was adopted a few weeks ago (about 4 years old), and apparently you should take cats to the vet.

It wasn't a bad experience, per se, but I definitely got the impression that that vet was interested in a strong hierarchy and emphasized control. This probably makes sense and is a healthy thing when dealing with a pet, but I lived for too long on the west coast.

He said, and I'm paraphrasing a little but the gist is the same, that he "was going to ask me to do something starting today and then every day until death do you part, and that is to brush her teeth."

Really?

I've never heard of this before. She is missing some teeth. But really?

I've never brushed out cats teeth. Can't imagine trying to do it actually. lol Well, I can imagine it...and the image is not pretty!

Did the vet tell you why you should brush the cats teeth?

Plaque buildup and tartar.

(The listerine recommendation has already been made and moved on from.)

When we had a cat, I think my wife mentioned brushing its teeth one or twice, and we might have even had a special brush, but are you freaking kidding me? How are you going to brush a cat's teeth?

There are kitty treats made to help keep a cat's teeth cleaner but my cats did not care for them. They'd be my first choice. Both of my dogs were adopted as older animals and one has already had to have several teeth pulled, and I had the rest cleaned then. The new kid's breath is bad and I know he's in for the job, too. Once done professionally, clean teeth should be easier to keep that way, for both of you. Not to mention the bucks it'll save!

I would have to tie them down and wear welders gloves. Even then I don't know what I'd do.

Listerine - HA!

Um.

Maybe if you start with a kitten, but your vet wants you to acclimate a 4-year-old adopted cat to having its teeth brushed? Will he supply you with full-body armor as well?

I'd try an electric toothbrush - one of those ultrasonic ones.

Make sure someone is ready with the camera.

Sure. I also give them a bath and blow dry them after, once a week.

Not!

Brushing a cat's teeth? Just when I thought I'd heard everything.

Priceless!

We used to bathe and blow-dry our ferrets. They enjoyed it.

We used to bath and blow dry mum's cat. I don't anymore though. She didn't like it much, and the bathing was mainly to control fleas which we don't have anymore thanks to 'revolution'.

When I was growing up, we had to brush one of our cat's teeth for about a week, because she had some special mouth disease. It was NOT fun.

I say let the rest of the teeth fall out. She can still eat canned cat food.

If they eat dry food, they have fewer dental issues.

Actually, dry food is one of the main causes of dental issues in cats.

Dry food particles stick to their teeth and create areas for bacteria to colonize, damage teeth and irritate gums. Canned food is a bit better, mostly because it doesn't stick to the teeth as badly, but the available commercial foods and products (treats) we use really do not make much difference for a cat's oral health.
Dry food/treats shatter at the tips of the teeth, they do not scrape any accumulated matter off the teeth when they shatter, so that usually only adds to the problem of buildup.

The very best thing? Meat/bones.
Their diet in the wild is small prey which they chew, gnaw and crunch through. I bet, if you would give your cat a raw chicken wing to chew/gnaw on at least once a week, the act of the carnassial teeth shearing the flesh away from the larger bones and even crunching through the smaller bones, will do much more for scraping along and cleaning the teeth of buildup from commercial dry foods.

http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php

And don't forget to floss.

we were told that one of our cats in th UK needed his teeth brushing. Right. he's now 16, I think MIL has had the vet knock him out and do his teeth a couple of times. he still has most of them. note, the vet used GENERAL ANAESTHESIA.

Chicken necks are alleged to help with feline dental hygiene.

The thought of brushing a cat's teeth ... come on! It is hard enough giving them a pill. You can try it if you want, but please film it for us, and expect blood transfusions and limb reattachment afterwards!

I try, and have tried different things, but don't do it consistently.

I love my cats, but I'm not feeding them raw freaking meat.

I don't need Wild Kingdom going on in my living room.

We were advised to give our dog raw chicken necks. Haven't done it because they are fuzzy-butted dogs and I'd rather brush the toothy end clean instead of the other. :headshake
[brag] I am a champion at pilling cats [/brag] but our cat is old and it's not worth it to upset her. I'll do the dogs' teeth once the big chunks of yuck are off.

I'm with you, so far. I know it is the best thing for them, but I haven't tried it. We tore the carpet out and installed wood floors...but I still haven't got up the nerve to give my cats raw chicken.
I mean, come on! Raw chicken juices on a kitchen counter or cutting board are cause for heebie-jeebies and massive amounts of Clorox Wipes. I'm not sure I have enough Clorox Wipes for the kitchen, living room and hallway floors. That's a lot of ground to cover with a wipe. Oh, and if they drag it under or ON TOP of furniture, I think I'd faint. Well, I'd freak out first, then I'd hyperventilate because of the cleaning nightmare that would present, then I'd faint from lack of oxygen.
I don't need a trip to the ER for a head injury because I fed my cats raw food and they drug it around the house.

Don't your cats usually eat in a particular area?

We give ours raw chicken and fish and meat fairly often which they usually chew up somewhere in the near vacinity of their bowl which we put the food in to begin with.

It's not much to clean up.

I voted no, but I don't own a cat either.

My cats are fed in the kitchen on the linoleum. Tile whenever we get around to changing it out. I've got EIGHT to watch, though...usually they are very good about feeding next to each other when I put the canned food on two plates. The two who don't like each other go to seperate plates and everybody else doesn't care who they eat next to.
I'll have to give it a try. I've got a swiffer. I can be brave... (and it is good to know it isn't that much to clean up, thanks...)
hh

No way...Tajjy would drag it away because she likes to pretend that she's afraid of Gaines (though I've seen her sneak a swipe at him from time to time.) There would be bones everywhere.

You're not supposed to give dogs chicken bones because they splinter...do cats know this? ;)

I've never had a vet say my cats teeth need to be brushed. My Yorkie on the other hand had a history bad teeth and we were supposed to brush them. She would fight tooth and nail lol to keep us from doing that. She now has no teeth and it doesn't slow her down. Her favorite treat is pizzia crusts.

Considering that poor teeth can shorten a cat's life considerably, it's worth it to pay some attention to it. You can have them professionally cleaned every couple of years--the vet has to anesthetize them to do it, though.

Taj will be seventeen years old in April. I've never done the teeth thing. She's really spry and lively.

Yeh and we as the owners are expected to do it to them with the drugs. HA :headshake

Yeah. I have a couple "chainsaws" that I have to keep a box of bandaids handy when I have to medicate them...and the vet wants me to purposely stick my fingers in their mouth? Um, I'd rather let the vet do that.
I also had a cat who lost all but her canine teeth and she did just fine on canned food twice a day and dry food to snack on whenever she wished. She maintained her weight just fine, the fat little butterball.

Cooked chicken bones splinter. Raw ones do not.
The small pieces a cat can gnaw off a chicken wing pass through the digestive tract just fine. Bones (raw) get sort of goo-ey and soft as the digestive juices work on them. The larger bones, the cat just gnaws along the bone to get the meat off.

OK...that makes sense.

But they'll still drag bones all over the house. :)

I know. That [dragging the food around] is what makes me cringe and not try it...