Low-carb dental treats -- do they exist?

[Vidya & Boo]

We've been feeding Boo low-carb PureBites treats since his diagnosis, but they're not hard enough to clean his teeth, and without his previous diet of dry food his dental issues are starting to get worse. We've now got him on some supplements to help, and, though he rejected my tooth-brushing attempts, he does enjoy 'playing' with mint dental floss (if he only knew I was really flossing his teeth!) -- but none of these are making up for the beneficial effects of dental-health treats for maintaining his teeth.

Any product suggestions? His BG doesn't seem very reactive to food, but I still wouldn't want to risk anything any higher than medium-carb-ish.

 

[Ry & Scooter]

Dry food helping with dental problems is an absolute myth. Cat's teeth aren't designed to crush and chew dry food. Most cats will actually swallow kibble whole, and you will see whole formed pieces of kibble if they puke it up. And even if they chew it, the pieces just crumble, so only the tip of the tooth really comes in contact with the roughage of the kibble. I have heard gnawing on raw meat and bones may help clean the teeth but my Scooter will only eat clean muscle meat so I can't vouch for it.

From CatInfo:

Dental Disease: Long-standing claims that cats have less dental disease when they are fed dry food versus canned food are grossly overrated, inaccurate, and are not supported by recent studies. This frequently stated (among veterinarians and lay people) myth continues to harm cats by perpetuating the idea that their food bowls need to be filled up with an unhealthy diet in order to keep their teeth clean.

The idea that dry food promotes dental health makes about as much sense as the idea that crunchy cookies would promote dental health in a human.

First, dry food is hard, but brittle, and merely shatters with little to no abrasive effect on the teeth. Second, a cat's jaws and teeth are designed for shearing and tearing meat - not biting down on dry kibble. Third, many cats swallow the majority of their dry food whole.

There are many factors – known and unknown - that contribute to dental disease in the cat such as genetics, viruses, diet, and the fact that cats do not brush their teeth like humans do. There remain many unanswered questions concerning the fact that cats often suffer from poor dental health but one very obvious answer lies in the fact that Man feeds the cat a diet that does not even come close to what they would eat in their natural state.

When cats consume their prey in the wild, they are tearing at flesh, hide, bones, tendons, and ligaments. This is a far cry from the consistency of dry or canned food.

 

[Dyana]

Dental floss can be dangerous for cats. I would not play with dental floss with a cat.

 

[Vidya & Boo]

Well, of course it would be dangerous if he swallowed it . . . :roll:
So far, it's the most effective tool in our dental arsenal.

I'll ask Boo's dad if he can look for some kind of meaty bones for Boo. (As a vegan, even dealing with these cans of catfood are a bit of a trial for me! :shock: )

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

What you are doing with dental floss -- using it as a "toy" -- is hugely dangerous. Boo is attracted to the mint flavor. So was Gabby. I had houseguests who simply threw a piece of floss into the trash. Gabby swallowed it. She ended up with major abdominal surgery involving being cut from sternum to illium with her entire digestive track being opened up and run in order to find that piece of floss and prevent it from either strangling her intestines or poking a hole in her intestines and causing peritonitis. There is no conceivable way you are going to be able to floss Boo's teeth and to use floss as "string" is asking for an emergency surgery and a huge vet bill. But, that's your choice.

The best thing you can do for Boo's teeth is to brush them. Regularly. You may need to use behavioral techniques to habituate him to the process. Another alternative is to give your cat raw chicken gizzards or necks. They require substantial chewing and are far better than dry food. While bone is typically not recommended for cats, neck bones don't splinter.

 

[squeem3]

Teeth brushing is best, just like it is for Humans. Use only pet toothpaste. CET makes two sugar-free pet toothpastes, the poultry one and the seafood one. Here is a video of how to brush a cat's teeth: http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/pet/fhc/brushing_teeth

Some cats will gnaw on raw poultry gizzards and neck bones. You can try these for your cat.

There are dental rinses, gels that you swab on the teeth, and additives for drinking water that aren't as effective as teeth brushing. The water additive is pretty much useless since cats don't drink water very much, especially not if they're eating a canned food diet that has extra water added to it.