Thread: Teeth Cleaning

Anyone regularly cleaning their cat's teeth to prevent plaque and tartar build up, for gum health? I was thinking of using the gauze method on my kitten, wrapping white gauze around the finger and wetting it with filtered water, then rubbing his teeth.

I don't like the idea at all of putting my cat under anesthesia just for a cleaning. One woman told me that her cat had died from being put under for that, and she regretted it terribly.

I also feed mainly dry, and just treats of canned or other food. I believe that in itself is beneficial to the cat's oral health.

When we adopted one of our cats, her teeth were in terrible shape. One of her first trips to the vet was to get one of her front teeth pulled We weren't able to successfully get her to let us brush her teeth, but she was an adult cat. I think it's probably something you really need to train them on as a kitten. Caring for their cat's teeth is something people definitely overlook, though. We only fed Abby dry food, she actually hated canned food and refused to eat it. Even though we weren't able to clean her teeth well, we still had the vet look at them from time to time, and she didn't really have any dental problems after that. She'd go after junk food a lot, though - I kind of wonder if maybe someone who had her before us was feeding her sweets.

I think that if I adopt a kitten I'll definitely work on training it to let me clean its teeth, I'm curious about how successful the gauze method actually is.

I'll let you know how he takes to it, haven't tried it yet, I'm sure he will squirm.

I think the gauze on the finger trick is a perfect idea. Some cats get things called "FORL"s no matter what you do. It stands for Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesion. They basically look like big holes in the teeth near the gumline. I don't think their cause is fully understood. I am still a firm believer in teeth cleanings. But if you are really diligent, maybe your cat won't need one. Bad oral health contributes to heart and kidney disease. I wrote an article about pet oral health recently. http://annstaub.hubpages.com/hub/The...-Teeth-Healthy