Brushing teeth?

[Kirsten]

During the last weeks, I read several articles in cat magazines about brushing cat's teeth.
Has anyone here any experiences with this? I'm thinking about trying it with my Luna, but I don't think she would let me do that! LOL She's 10 months. I'm feeding her Whiskas Dentabits to clean her teeth, but the articles are saying this wouldn't be enough.
What do you think of it? How many members here are are brushing their kitties teeth and what do the cats think of it?

Kirsten

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http://www.KirstenScheffel.de

[Pam]

Although my cats allow me to look at their teeth, I don't think they would sit still for a brushing. When we go to the vets, though, part of his exam is to check their teeth and then he does a little scraping with his "tartar control gadget" and they let him!!! I think they are so nervous they would submit to anything he does. I bet they would even let him bathe them! Anyone else have cats that are timid at the vets?

[bookitty1231]

My cats are bad enough when I have to bathe them, I've never atempted to brush their teeth. The vet is an experience in itself. The girls Cruella and Lianna did well the last time they went but they really didn't know what was going on. Wylie is another story. He was very sick when we found him and had to go to the vet once a month for about 4 months. The first time he was great but he'd never been so he wasn't sure what was happening after that he knows and hates it. He cries the whole way there as if begging me to turn around. The vet holds him and cuddles him and he just shivers. Last time when it was all over he actually ran back into his carrier. Imagine that a cat who can't wait to get back in the carrier, now that's funny.

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"As we all know, cats now rule the world."
--John R.F. Breen

[Troy]

One of my cats Joe is a bit of a smooch. In general he loves people, he has never scratched or nipped anyone. He was attacked quite nastily once by another cat and developed an infected bite in his side. The local vet was going to have to give him an anaesthetic in order to cut open the wound and clean it, while he was under the vet suggested a tartar scrape of his teeth. It turned out that before they operated they decided to see how sensitive Joe was - they ended up performing all of the operation without a general anaesthetic or minor pain killers.

Not only did the vet say that Joe was the gentlest cat they had seen but he also saved me AUD $250 becase he didn't have a general...bless him.

[D_J]

Hi there! Yes my vet did tell me to brush my cats teeth but,:O I can't get him to let me do it! So, I stopped trying....Jazz is just too cool I tried the little brush you can buy in a kit, no good, he just pushed it away and bit it. (over and over again:eek and then I tried the finger brush....well, that didn't go over any better My friend Larry says he never heard of anything so dumb as trying to brush a cats teeth, but what can I say, he grew up on a farm so you know where he is coming from

[D_J]

oops! I didn't mean to offend any farmers out there But I think growing up on a farm made my friend a little less sensitive about animals....but he does have 2 cats, and would never brush their teeth

[Kirsten]

Well, I think I'll give it a try and buy a little brush today, but I won't force Luna to do it if she doesn't like it! I'll let you know what happens.

About being timid at the vet... My Luna isn't! When I went to the vet with her for the first time, she was friendly and curios. After a few experiences with injections and anesthesia, she hates to go there and she already scratched the vet very bad...

Kirsten

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http://www.KirstenScheffel.de

[Kirsten]

Here's a little update:
I've bought the tooth brush meanwhile and offered it Luna as a toy, and she liked it. Immediately she started chewing the brush, so I tried to brush her teeth a bit. And she even seems to like it, at least for a while! LOL, I never expected this, on the other hand, I often see her chewing wood, maybe this is some kind of teeth brushing for her?

Kirsten

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http://www.KirstenScheffel.de

[Troy]

Chewing bones is also very good for cats teeth. I feed my cats chicken, raw of course, twice a week. I usually use wings or drumsticks as they have a good amount of bone in them and keep the "boys" amused for ages.

This doesn't mean they don't need a vet excursion to get the tartar removed but it does slow down the build-up and keep their gums healthy.

[4 feline house]

Troy-

Even tho some of the folks who have read some of my more controversial posts might disagree with me, I am really not the kind of person who tells someone else how to take care of their cat unless they have asked for my opinion, so forgive me if I seem to be minding your business, but I feel compelled to say that fowl bones are quite dangerous for cats (and dogs) because they splinter easily and are therefore likely to get caught in a cat's teeth, or worse, throat and cause injury and even death. Please reconsider giving your cats fowl bones.

[This message has been edited by 4 feline house (edited February 19, 2001).]

[Troy]

4 feline house,

Thanks for your concern, and I'm not trying to sound like a "smart-arse" but only cooked fowl bones splinter in a way that is dangerous for cats. I have always fed my/our families cats chicken bones and in 30+ years and 20+ cats have never had a problem.

Cats evolved with a natural diet that is primarily made up of rodents and birds.

By the way, just out of curiosity, have you or anyone you've known ever lost a feline from choking on un-cooked fowl bones? It's just that I have often heard of the dangers but have never actually heard of anyone whose lost a feline this way...

"...forgive me if I seem to be minding your business..."
Don't apologise. I would rather be called an idiot and correct anything I was doing wrong than jeopardise the health and saftey of my cats. Thanks again.

[Pam]

Troy,
Raw chicken? I would be afraid to feed anything raw. These days there are "safe handling" warning labels on most of the meat I buy so that meats are cooked to an acceptable internal temperature. The fear is salmonella and other food-borne bacteria which I think for some reason seems to be on the arise. This has led to an over-abundance of anti-bacterial soaps on the market (for use in the kitchen especially) which are supposed to be able to keep you one step ahead of these nasty things that may be lurking in our meats. Ever have a kitty get sick from raw meat? Just curious.

[This message has been edited by Pam (edited February 20, 2001).]

[Helen]

My vet advised me recently to brush Sadie's teeth - but I haven't dared yet tell Sadie about this! Her reaction to this shocking affront to her dignity will, I know, ensure that the result will be a failure. I'm trying to improve things by giving her some dried food which is said to be good for teeth and gums, so I'm vainly hoping that things might improve. I know I'll end up doing as the vet says, and suffering in the process.

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Helen

[Troy]

Pam,

My cats regularly get a variety of raw meat, mainly beef, lamb, pork, and chicken. I have never suspected an illness caused by raw meat. Cat's quite often barf if they are fed meat directly from the fridge due to it's temperature.

In regards to bacteria only chicken contains the dangerous salmonella. It permutes the muscle tissue and can only be killed by cooking the chicken thoroughly. Bacteria on pork also permutes the muscle tissue but none of this bacteria is harmful to humans (or other animals). Bacteria on lamb and beef is only superficial and is destroyed when cooked, even if only the outside is seared.
Despite all this none of these bacteria poses a real threat to kitty because their constitution is designed to cope with these bacteria. I don't believe it is a real problem for felines and in fact most vets here (and the UK) have always suggested raw chicken wings (and other meats) to promote good health in cats - in moderation.

...of course if you're talking about humans thats an entirely different kettle of fish. We aren't nearly as hardy as our feline friends.

"...This has led to an over-abundance of anti-bacterial soaps on the market (for use in the kitchen especially)..."

Excuse my ignorance, but I hope you don't mean you wash your meat with soap?

I guess I should also point out that my original recommendation was that felines be fed some foods that are not "soft" to give their teeth, gums, and jaws a decent work-out. Eating tinned and soft foods all the time is ultimately bad for the felines oral health.

[Pam]

Troy you made me laugh out loud. No, I didn't mean I wash my meat. Some of the ads for these soaps tell you to be sure and wash with an anti-bacterial soap after you handle chicken especially. (I usually handle my chicken in the kitchen ) The fear is that you would maybe begin to make a salad or something and your "salmonella laden" hands would contaminate your salad. I'm glad your kitties have suffered no ill effects. There does seem to be much more of a concern these days about this sort of thing than in years past. Eggs are scary things too. Soft boiled eggs are a thing of the past.