What’s your (cat) dental routine?

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Margie and Jackson

Margie and Jackson

Member Since 2019
My diabetic cat Jackson had his teeth cleaned at the shelter before I adopted him, but his gums never stopped looking red. The vet says it’s “mild stomatitis” which is a horrible disease meaning the whole mouth and throat are inflamed. Don’t google if you’re sensitive! Anyway, it’s just his gums, but I’m wondering what I can do to help him improve.

I’ve been rubbing his teeth with a piece of gauze covered with a chlorhexidine gluconate dental rinse, and that seems to have helped, but he hates it. I’ve also started brushing my other cats’ teeth, to avoid this sort of thing with them. I’m using a cat toothpaste with sorbitol and zinc. They are all more accepting of this over the past couple weeks.

I’m wondering what other people do. Is there any chemical that is anti-plaque and bacteria beside the clorhexidine? Anyone see a downside to using this until his gums start looking good? Should I try to see a specialist dental vet?
 
I think it is a bigger concern here than I ever knew. I had never taken a cat for a dental before Idjit, and that was because my daughter took hers and explained why. Many members take their cats for yearly dental exam to prevent and/or treat infection, which can really affect BG. I have read many posts about brushing, brushing techniques, supplies etc. I attempt better dental health for Idjit by giving him raw gizzards, hearts and chicken wings to gnaw on.

It could be that you are not getting responses because it's a holiday weekend and many people are out enjoying family events, etc.
 
When you have time, maybe you can tell me a little bit about how the raw chicken works for you.
Tiki cat has a rough texture to encourage dental health, I think. One of my cats has a hard time accepting the texture of that, let alone raw meat. I imagine it’s a process to get them to eat it.
 
I got the idea from @Bron and Sheba as she described her routine and that her cats had excellent dental health. I chickened out after the first chicken wing (eeeek, chewed up bone!), and only offered the gizzards & hearts. But now, I have begun offering the chicken wing pieces again. Idjit is a champion eater and always liked the gizzards, hearts and he likes the wings very much too. Sometimes he leaves a little bit of bone, but this morning there wasn't a morsel left behind. I do cut off and dispose of the smallest wing section, although I might not need to, separate the two main pieces and offer one piece at a time on a towel on the kitchen floor. Sometimes if the piece has a lot of skin, I take some off. I have read that this practice should be started right after a cleaning, to help remove plaque and prevent tartar buildup. So far, Idjit's dentals are good, just removal of tartar and plaque (crossing paws this continues). He just thinks he's getting more really good edibles and is being served as royalty deserves.

Some cats recognize raw meat as food, some don't. All you can do is offer and see what happens. I just make sure that raw chicken parts don't stay in the fridge very long after thawing, as it decays pretty quickly.
 
To be honest, I'm not proactive enough in taking care of my cats' teeth. If their check-ups indicate the need to clean them, I have it done. Two of my five cats had one tooth removed, and both of them are older girls at 13 and 14 (soon to be 14 and 15). However, I have a 12 year old who also has stomatitis and all of his teeth have been removed. For Marley, it was the best thing I could have done for him. He was in so much pain that his cheese was beginning to slide off of his cracker. He was acting insane, I believe from the infection.

I've recently switched all of my cats to raw food, and I do believe it was Lou (@Idjit's mom) who got me started on it! I use EZ Complete Raw, and I've had great success with all five of my cats liking it. However, I use a grinder and I use the blade that makes it as small as possible. With Marley having no teeth, I really can't give him too much more than a pate. And even with grinding it small, I still mix in a little bit of water and make it soupy. He absolutely loves that raw food! I do think about sometimes being more proactive in brushing their teeth, but all of them are old and I'm not sure how accepting they would be at this point. And I'm not sure if raw food, ground as small as I have been grinding it, will help at all to keep their teeth clean. I think it's great that you're doing what you can to keep Jackson's teeth clean.
 
Idjit's mom said:
I got the idea from @Bron and Sheba as she described her routine and that her cats had excellent dental health. I chickened out after the first chicken wing (eeeek, chewed up bone!), and only offered the gizzards & hearts. But now, I have begun offering the chicken wing pieces again. Idjit is a champion eater and always liked the gizzards, hearts and he likes the wings very much too. Sometimes he leaves a little bit of bone, but this morning there wasn't a morsel left behind. I do cut off and dispose of the smallest wing section, although I might not need to, separate the two main pieces and offer one piece at a time on a towel on the kitchen floor. Sometimes if the piece has a lot of skin, I take some off. I have read that this practice should be started right after a cleaning, to help remove plaque and prevent tartar buildup. So far, Idjit's dentals are good, just removal of tartar and plaque (crossing paws this continues). He just thinks he's getting more really good edibles and is being served as royalty deserves.

Some cats recognize raw meat as food, some don't. All you can do is offer and see what happens. I just make sure that raw chicken parts don't stay in the fridge very long after thawing, as it decays pretty quickly.
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I assume you just buy this at the grocery store? I’m actually a vegetarian, so considering this is coming a long way for me. Haha! I worry about the meat being clean and fresh enough, though I’ve read that cats aren’t as susceptible to food poisoning as people.
 
Daddy Jack's Mommy said:
To be honest, I'm not proactive enough in taking care of my cats' teeth. If their check-ups indicate the need to clean them, I have it done. Two of my five cats had one tooth removed, and both of them are older girls at 13 and 14 (soon to be 14 and 15). However, I have a 12 year old who also has stomatitis and all of his teeth have been removed. For Marley, it was the best thing I could have done for him. He was in so much pain that his cheese was beginning to slide off of his cracker. He was acting insane, I believe from the infection.

I've recently switched all of my cats to raw food, and I do believe it was Lou (@Idjit's mom) who got me started on it! I use EZ Complete Raw, and I've had great success with all five of my cats liking it. However, I use a grinder and I use the blade that makes it as small as possible. With Marley having no teeth, I really can't give him too much more than a pate. And even with grinding it small, I still mix in a little bit of water and make it soupy. He absolutely loves that raw food! I do think about sometimes being more proactive in brushing their teeth, but all of them are old and I'm not sure how accepting they would be at this point. And I'm not sure if raw food, ground as small as I have been grinding it, will help at all to keep their teeth clean. I think it's great that you're doing what you can to keep Jackson's teeth clean.
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Wow, you had to get the teeth removed. I have read that is about all the vets can do, but somewhere I came across a reference to the chlorhexidine gluconate. I think if Jackson really had stomatitis he wouldn’t let me rub his gums with anything, but I don’t know how that condition advances over time.
 
I do buy fresh chicken breasts and thighs, plus chuck roast when on sale, at the grocery store, (cat only gets part of it) in addition to frozen turkey breast and thighs at a butcher shop for Idjit's raw diet. Husband was charged with finding the chicken wings and gizzards a couple of days ago and went over to Safeway. It was a huge package of wings, so I spent quite a bit of time cutting up and using my Food Saver vacuum sealer making small packages of wings plus gizzards. Of course ran out of sealer bag material and had to resort to foil packaging for the last bit. The meat is clean and fresh, human food grade and we have not had any problems to date. I have also read that cats aren't as susceptible to bacteria in meat, but I don't have documentation to back that up. I also buy packages of gizzards, and if your kitties decide they don't like them, then maybe a neighbors dog could have them cooked?
Since you are vegetarian, that might be the most cost effective way to see if they will or won't eat the meat pieces. Sometimes, if I only have a frozen gizzard or two, I put in a bowl with a little water to thaw in microwave, and it warms enough to cook the outside layer. He gobbles that too!
 
As @Idjit's mom said I give one of my cats chicken wings, and chicken carcasses cut up into pieces every other day. The other cat lost all her back teeth at 9 months because they all budded and produced double back teeth that trapped all the food and infected the gums. Her gums are fine now but she can’t eat bones and she is too fiery to attempt to clean her remaining teeth. I clean Harry’s teeth every night. He didn’t like it at first but accepts it now as routine. His gums and teeth are lovely.
Clover eats raw still and I just cut it up small and add egg shell powder for the calcium.
I also cut some of the fatty skin off the wing Lou but other than that I leave the wing intact. Harry sometimes leaves a small piece of the biggest bone too.
I think as long as what you are using to rub the teeth and gums with says it’s for cats it should be fine.
 
Well, I’ll have to give it a try. It’s got to be an improvement on the chlorhexidine, which alters the taste of food and can color teeth brown! I may also see a dental vet specialist. It could be more frequent cleanings will help Jackson keep his teeth.
 
Margie and Jackson said:
Wow, you had to get the teeth removed. I have read that is about all the vets can do, but somewhere I came across a reference to the chlorhexidine gluconate. I think if Jackson really had stomatitis he wouldn’t let me rub his gums with anything, but I don’t know how that condition advances over time.
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There are probably levels of severity with stomatitis, so it's possible that Jackson's isn't severe. Marley was such a mess that we had most of his teeth removed when he was only 4 years old, and the rest removed when he was 10. That was two years ago. And now he's the happiest little boy.
 
https://www.avdc.org/careforcats.html

Just wanted to post some links about dental care, in case anyone is interested.

https://www.chewy.com/vetoquinol-dentahex-oral-hygiene/dp/109592

This is what I’ve been using. I’d recommend finding something NOT mint flavored. The cats really hate the flavor. It is reducing gum redness. Hopefully I’ll be able to make his gums healthy enough to use a brush and cat toothpaste. Now, I’m rubbing his gums with some gauze wetted with the dental rinse. The directions call for spraying it into his mouth, which is awful and causes a lot of foaming at the mouth. I began to imagine someone spraying me with Listerine, and I came up with the gauze method.
 
I take my girls to a wonderful dental specialist. He recommended a supplement called 1-TDC which I get from Amazon. He also recommended PetSmile toothpaste. You just have to get it on the teeth, you do not have to brush the teeth. Mia hates anything being done to her mouth, so I did not have success, but I gave it to my sister, and after using it for her cat a few times, he became used to it and even seems to like it.
 
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