Dental diets for diabetics

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Mila and Pancakes

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My Panckes is going in for a dental this month even though he had one back in August. Vet says his teeth are in bad shape again. Vet spoke about putting him on a precription dental diet for a few days too. I don't think I like that idea because my cat's a diabetic who already had a ketone scare. Does anyone here have any suggestions in terms of food that may help with teeth or anthing else that may help kitty's teeth not go bad so fast?

Thanks for any feedback...

Mila and Pancakes
 
No dry food will help keep teeth clean. It's a myth that dry food scrapes food particles and stuff off teeth. Think of yourself eating hard pretzles in an attempt to get your own teeth clean - it doesn't do anything. Only toothbrushing and dental cleanings/check ups will keep teeth clean. Prescription dental diets are way too high in carbs to be fed to a diabetic cat.

Give dental rinses, gels, and toothpastes a try. Regular tootbrushing is best. Here is a video that shows you who to do it: http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/pet/f ... hing_teeth Use a pet toothpaste that doesn't contain any sugar and a small pet toothbrush or finger brush or even a piece of gauze. CET has two toothpastes that you can use, a poultry one and a seafood one http://www.virbacvet.com/cet/products/c ... thbrushes/ Your vet should sell it. Or you can buy it from various places online.

Rinses and gels don't work as well but they're better than nothing. There are additivies you can put into the drinking water as well but since cats don't drink very often this method won't do much.

You can also try giving your cat a raw poultry neck bone to gnaw on. This is what cats do in the wild for dental health.
 
Definitely do NOT give any dry food, nor any of the dry treats that they might try to get you to use. The only possible treat is the enzymatic ones I think made by CET. My Squeak has bad teeth, partly due to genetics and partly because I just cannot get into the regular habit of brushing his teeth (which he hates).
 
Vicky & Gandalf said:
My vet has 2 of my cats on Clindamycin pulse therapy, which means a pill during 5 days once monthly. It helps with oral bacteria and I swear by it. I feed wet food only.
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Hi Vicky,

I assume that you are already chasing these pills with food or water but for others....Clindamycin tabs have caused deaths (including 2 of my consulting clients' cats...) in cats from erosive esophagitis as discussed in my Pilling Cats and Dogs article at catinfo.org.....when they have been pilled with no high volume food or water chaser.

Also, as an fyi for anyone reading this, antibiotic pulse therapy, in general, is now frowned upon by the boarded dentists on VIN. I am speaking in general here as I do with all of my posts. Vicky's decision to use clindamycin for her cats is obviously between her and her vet.

Regarding brushing...I can't say enough good things about brushing. My sweet Robbie used to need dentals every 6 months until I started brushing his teeth in January of 2010. His teeth still look great one year after starting nightly brushing and his breath is also great...considering that it used to smell like his butt within days after a dental....pretty rank.
 
Well...it goes like this....

He is the tall (ok..well...more like short...), dark, and handsome man that sleeps with me every night...cuddled in my arms. Therefore, we have a pretty intimate relationship and I am very familiar with his 'smells'. :-D

But seriously...If Robbie was ever playing with me and got his spit on my hands...I would have to go wash them. Now, he has kissy sweet breath!
 
Thank you very much everyone. The video on how to brush a cats teeth was great. Hopefully my Pancakes will accept brushing his teeth like the kitty in the video.
I have one other question if anyone knows....my vet also spoke about putting my kitty on antirobe(?) for a week every 1 to 3 months. Does anyone know anything about this medicine interms of diabtic cats?

Mila
 
Mila,

I hope I'm not misquoting here...but I consulted with Dr. P about my kitty, Sue, who has/had terrible teeth. His old vet put him on antirobe antibiotic and Dr. P isn't a fan of overmedicating cats with antibiotics. I think brushing his teeth would be a much better option.
 
Jenny and Sue said:
I hope I'm not misquoting here...but Dr. P isn't a fan of overmedicating cats with antibiotics. I think brushing his teeth would be a much better option.
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You did not misquoting at all and that is an understatement given my frustration with rampant misuse/abuse of antibiotics.

I just spent some time on the VIN Dentistry board with multiple board certified dentists chiming in on this subject with the consensus being that in 99% of cases where pulse antibiotics are being used....it is deemed to be useless/unnecessary "quackery". This issue is a very hot button of theirs and I don't blame them.

Their main complaint is that it is being used when diseased teeth are still present in the mouth. NOTHING is going to be a substitute for a thorough dental with needed cleaning/extractions. Also, pulse antibiotics will not prevent plaque formation.

It was mentioned on the board that ABs are often used when owners are either too afraid of general anesthesia, in general, or the patient is considered too debilitated for surgery. In these cases, they are still very much against the use of pulse antibiotics stating that it is not sound medical practice. To me, this is pretty obvious. You can't expect to throw antibiotics at a diseased mouth with diseased teeth that need to be in the trash can..... and consider yourself to be helping the patient. That would be like pouring a bottle of antibiotics over a painful sliver and expecting it to help....without removing the sliver.

We all want 'quick fixes' but, as with many things in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. We all really need to think long and hard before we use any drug in any living creature - including antibiotics which are often seen as only 'good' things when there are plenty of 'bad' things associated with them.
 
I'm so glad this forum is available. It really is a wealth of information. Thank you again for steering me in the right direction with my Pancakes.

Mila
 
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