Cats And Their Dental Care!
​Dental care is often overlooked in cats, but it's crucial for their overall health and well-being. Just like humans, cats can suffer from dental issues that, if left untreated, can lead to serious health problems. Here's a comprehensive guide to understanding and managing your cat's dental needs, including the consequences of neglecting oral hygiene.
Why it matters...?
Cats, especially as they age, are prone to dental problems such as tartar buildup, gingivitis, and periodontal disease. These issues can cause pain, discomfort, and even affect their ability to eat. Poor dental health can also lead to more severe conditions such as infections that spread to other organs, impacting their overall health.
Steps to Maintain Your Cat's Dental Health
Regular Brushing
Ideally, start brushing your cat's teeth when they are young to get them used to the process. Use a toothpaste formulated for cats, and aim for brushing several times a week.
Slow is fast!
When introducing a new care task, not rushing into getting it done is actually one of the best things you can do for your kitty. Going slow, is actually the quickest way to achieving the goal of brushing teeth.
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Consider going introducing the paste first, outside of the brush....try applying it to a treat first. Using a treat with a small smear of tooth paste can help associate the taste and smell with something yummy and delicious!
Diet and Dental Chews
Feeding your cat a balanced diet that supports dental health is a crucial step in dental care. Whether you feed raw, kibble or wet food, ensuring food is balanced will help support essential amino acids, minerals and vitamins your feline friend needs to have a healthy mouth. Did you know some cat foods are specifically designed to reduce tartar and plaque buildup?
Here at Sweet Whiskers we don't endorse a specific brand of food currently, as we know there are many options, many budgets, and many business practices out there regarding food manufacturing. However, that said we do endorse certain nutritional standards that food must meet, as well as preferred ingredients to work with so that we can give pet parents the information needed to make informed choices.
Chew Time Can Be Fun Time!
Dental treats and chews can be a fun way to also help clean teeth and freshen breath. Just please be sure to supervise chew time and pick appropriately sized items.
​When looking at foods for our feline friends in general we look at high protein content with quality meats not fillers. Low carb ratios to ensure kitty remains healthy with blood sugars and weights long term, and preferably a high moisture content to support healthy kidney function. Although, we don't mind kibble being served as a rehydrated pate as well. See our DIY instruction video for rehydrating kibble here.
Annual Vet Check Up
Regular veterinary visits should include a thorough dental examination. Your vet may recommend professional dental cleanings under anesthesia to remove plaque and tartar buildup.
While dental cleanings may start at any age, we most commonly see cats starting to need professional intervention care around 2-3 years old.
Monitoring
Watch for signs such as bad breath, drooling, difficulty eating, pawing at the mouth, or bleeding gums. These can indicate dental issues that need attention.
A professional groomer should be able to observe dental abnormalities and changes over time at your regular grooming appointments. However, they should only be bringing those findings to your attention and refer to your vet for care.
In our salon our Certified Master Feline Groomer takes the opportunity to check mouths as a routine part of a grooming service. This is included in our grooming reports. You can see a sample grooming report here.
While we have oral products we can use in the salon to help loosen plaque and tartar, and can recommend many to owners for daily use... we do not offer any services related to an ''anesthesia free dental cleaning'' as that is highly controversial and comes with possible risks.
To learn more about anesthesia free dental cleaning risks refer to the American Veterinary Dental Colleges stance on this practice, which you can read here.
This mouth belongs to Finn, a cat who was recovered from a hoarding case. The owner had no idea the mouth was this bad, this was found during a general dental inspection at his first grooming appointment.
Want specifics?
Check out our article giving you the break down on specific
product recommendations
for dental health here.
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