Tooth problems

**Barbara** · 09-25-2002, 09:32 AM

We did not notice Filou had a tartar problem until he lost one of his teeth at the age of 4 (sorry he never told us and we had never experienced that with a cat). Now his and Tigris' teeth are yearly checked and have been cleaned 2 times. They need to be anesthesized then so it is quite a procedure. Sometimes I think it is the breed. I have a friend whose Abyssinian lost 3 teeth at an age of 2 years.
The next question is what food they should eat. I feed wet food during day time and dry food in the evening. Just dry food w.ould be better for the teeth but how about the water supply. Both of them do not drink very much although they have fresh water and even a cat fountain.
I would be glad to hear about your experiences.
P.S. I know that there is cat toothpaste and toothbrushes. I have asked Filou about it and he said "No way"

**Edwina's Secretary** · 09-25-2002, 09:46 AM

Edwina only gets dry food -- plus her turkey treat of course. She also gets one "tartar control" treat each day.

She has never had wet cat food. She gets her teeth cleaned every two to three years and hasn't lost one yet!

**Logan** · 09-25-2002, 10:17 AM

My Mimi is 13 years old. She has eaten dry food, only, for most of her life, and has had one cleaning in all of those years. I have noted in the last year or so that she really doesn't like the dry food or it is too hard for her, so I do supplement with canned now.

At the young age of your cat, I would definitely lean more towards the dry food, plus tartar control treats, and have wet food as a treat only on occassion.

Best of luck!

Logan

**margaret** · 09-25-2002, 10:22 AM

Barbara:

My cats (1 tabby, 1 calico) both have "breath of death"

and I know it's because their teeth and gums are not in good shape. I remember when I first adopted Miko and her breath smelled so sweet! Now it's...well...stinky. I feed my cats wet food and I also leave a small amount of dry food out for them every day. I know the wet food is the reason for their bad teeth/gums.

Cats get a lot of their water from wet food -- if that's all they eat -- and so you may not ever see Filou drink from his water fountain or fresh water bowl. However, if you switch him to dry food only, you will then be sure to see him drinking. I used to only give my cats dry food, and I would see them drink from their water bowl, but now that they eat mostly wet food I almost never see them drink (but of course I give them fresh water every day just in case).

*Sigh* I really need to take both my kitties in to the vet for a teeth cleaning/check-up. Like Filou, I know my cats would say "NO WAY" to toothpaste and brushing, but I've never really tried it.

**Tubby & Peanut's Mom** · 09-25-2002, 04:42 PM

Tubby and Peanut have not had any wet food since I've had them, and that is 16 years for Tubby and almost 14 years for Peanut. Tubby has horrible breath, but has all his teeth. Peanut lost one tooth, but I think it was more because Tubby has a hard head and had nothing to do with the food she's been eating.

(No, really. Tubby shows up with a big gouge out of his head, and I notice Peanut is missing a tooth, logical deduction = Tubby has a hard head

)

I see them both drink water out of the sink, the toilet, their water fountain and their newly acquired glass on the floor in the bedroom. They are both happy and as healthy as a 14 & 16 year old can be, and the only problem is Tubby has bad breath.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is dry food is the way to go in my book, and two senior cats with all their teeth are my....substantiasion (couldn't think of the right word there

)

Oh, and the vet says Tubby's teeth have a little build up of plaque, but it wasn't that bad and he would not recommend a cleaning at this time.

**AmberLee** · 09-25-2002, 06:47 PM

...Ssshhhh ... Are any cats around? Rats, how to do this then? Okay, Cassy gets his FISH-flavored toothpaste DESSERT when he's been a very, very, good boy. He's okay with his malt flavored dessert, but really flips for fish. We haven't tried the chicken or beef yet, I'm trying to stick with known favorites. Just a hint...

Good luck.

**krazyaboutkatz** · 09-25-2002, 11:16 PM

I used to feed my cats Storm and Pepper both wet and dry food. Pepper has always preffered dry food though and his teeth are in very good shape. Storm had to have his teeth cleaned in Jan. of this year. He loved wet food too much. He's 6 years old almost 7 and still has all of his teeth. When I got Sunny I decided to wean them off of the wet food. They now only get dry food and have plenty of water to drink. Sunny may need to have his teeth cleaned soon because the vet recommended it the last time he had a check up. He's only 2 and he's half aby and half tabby. They also get a few treats during the week.

**neko1** · 09-26-2002, 05:46 AM

Wet food will NOT help the situation. Dry food is best. There are plenty of dry foods on the market such as science diet oral care that are supposed to help with the teeth. My cats have never had a cleaning and have not lost any teeth. My abyssinian is 2 and his teeth still look white and he has not lost any teeth.

**jenluckenbach** · 09-26-2002, 06:49 AM

I have a cat that I got when she was just about 1 year old. She would eat only wet food. When it came time for her next yearly check up,she already had bad teeth AT 2 YEARS OLD !!!! I was shocked. Needless to say, "dry food or nothing" I said. Well I could not get her to eat dry until I took the time to mix about a tablespoon of wet in with her twice daily meal of dry food. Well she is 6 now and no more teeth problems.
Also, some dry foods will make them more thirsty so they'll drink better. The food my cats are on is for the prevention of urinary tract infections and it makes the cats thirsty (because water consumption is a way to prevent the blockages from occuring). Your vet could tell you which ones will help in this matter (drinking that is)

**sasvermont** · 09-26-2002, 08:13 AM

You may want to do a search on the web for information about raw meat diets for cats. I have switched mine to raw meats and my goal is to have them eating lots of chicken necks. It takes months to switch them over, but my breeder raves about the huge improvement in dental problems. You might want to check it out.

Each cat is so different. Just like humans, the tartar buildup has to do with their stomach acids/mouth acids. If you change what it happening in the stomach, their mouth changes.

Food for thought....just raw...hehehehehehe!

**I_love_cats** · 09-27-2002, 10:41 PM

I feed my three cats wet food and dry food, i try feed them hard food in the morning and before we go to bed and they always have fresh water. I try to brushed my Joey teeth once a day, he my oldest cat and I did notice that he had some tarter build up and i don't want no problems with my cats. I do give them tarter control treats.

**Barbara** · 09-29-2002, 03:01 PM

Ok: now Filou and Tigris have already spent 2 evenings and nights on dry food -which they love in general. On one hand I have seen that Filou's leftovers in the cat loo were harder than usual -ok, we'll see.
But one funny thing: As he is a very very spoiled kitty, he somtimes wakes us up in the night (it is very difficult to wake me

so he wakes my husband (LOL) and tells him he's hungry. He can say phrases like this in a very explicit way. He goes downstair but the bowl is full and Filou says: this is just dry food but its nice that you came with me. I'm afraid to go down in the dark