Wet food and teeth

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Douglas_my ginger cat

Douglas_my ginger cat

Member Since 2020
Hi, when I first took Douglas to the vet after adopting him 2 years ago, he suggested that I move to dry food only so that it helped with plague on teeth and to keep teeth healthy. (I suppose its the thinking that when a cat eats dry food, it can help remove plague as they chew it?!)

Since his diagnosis, I moved him only to wet food (low carb) and I know dry food is discouraged here to the high carb content so was just wondering if anyone did anything additional to help with keeping teeth healthy? Before anyone suggests, I think it would turn into a blood bath if I tried to actually brush Douglas's teeth o_O

Any way just curious and interested in other members views
 
I have heard here that some let their cats chew on raw chicken wings. I have not tried this as its just too darn hot here to have raw food out any length of time but were it not an issue I would go for the raw.
 
Haha they still teach that huh! Do pretzel sticks clean our teeth too? :D Have you ever noticed dry cat food puke ... the pieces are usually whole. They don't chew them, so there's no way they clean teeth.
Dry food DOES produce less plaque than wet ... but they both produce plaque.

Ahh shoot I was going to buy some chicken livers today to try out, I heard they help with naturally cleaning too. I forgot. :arghh:

I use PlaqueOff powder, you can find it on Amazon. It's a supplement you can use, as long as kitty doesn't have any thyroid issues (it has lots of iodine in it). I've heard the cat-version (comes with brewer's yeast) lowers BG but can't confirm it. I buy the dog/cat version and feed it to everyone. They've been taking it since March. I haven't really noticed a difference on my tom, but he's 13 so I guess that's 13 years of tartar to get off. My dachshund I can't comment on because she had a dental in March so she's got her sparkling whites, but my mutt I've DEFINITELY noticed an improvement, he's 13 too.
 
Sigh... yes, vets do seem to have got the idea that dry food is good for teeth. The thinking is that the dryness sort of brushes off plaque. It doesn’t really work although the stickiness of wet food does cause dental problems, there’s no doubt. It’s a real headache.

I could never imagine brushing a cat’s teeth - if you’re going to do so it’s best to start as a young kitten so they get used to it. Failing that, it’s regular dentals/cleaning under anaesthetic, chicken wings, or one of the products like Plaque Off. I took my civvie Sapphire for a dental in January this year and it wasn’t the most fun experience for either of us. The vet suggested Plaque Off and I did look into it but wasn't convinced... these things are personal choice of course.

I believe raw chicken wings are probably the best bet and these should be fine.
 
I have a three months puppy, and this food is really suitable for my puppy? I know this discussion is about cats, but still I am excited about my puppy. He did not eat anything properly. And if anyone suggest me what type of food matches with my puppy. I must tell he loves dry food.
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One thing I try to do regularly (ie, as often as the cat lets me) is run my fingers over their back teeth. I get a decent amount of tartar off this way. Not as effective as brushing, but more feasible to do.

(edit: Do NOT attempt this with a cat with stomatitis, it will be way too painful and you're likely to get bit!)
 
THH said:
One thing I try to do regularly (ie, as often as the cat lets me) is run my fingers over their back teeth. I get a decent amount of tartar off this way. Not as effective as brushing, but more feasible to do.
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Oh I don't know about me sticking my fingers into Douglas' mouth...part of me thinks he will see this as an opportunity to bite down and blame me for having my fingers there in the first place :Do_O

One thing I do always tell myself now is that if I get a kitten further down the line then I will be trimming its nails, brushing their teeth from a young age so they become use to it.
 
I have given raw chicken necks (about 1 inch pieces) and wing tips raw. You only want to give the small bones. The bones were a bit much phosphorus when Neko got CKD, so I moved to chicken gizzards. You can lightly boil them first. I general I found the raw diet wasn't as "sticky on the teeth" as canned.

For cleaning teeth - on a civvie that I didn't get until she was older, I use a damp baby face cloth and go in from the side of the mouth. I don't do the insides of the teeth.
 
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