Are the food bad for human teeth also bad for cats' teeth ?

Cornell university cat veterinarian encyclopedia says that the mechanism of tooth decay of cats and humans are quite different. I wonder if sugar is bad for cats' teeth. My cats loves icecream and come to beg when I'm eating, so I just give them a tiny spoonful, or just put on my finger and let them lick it. I wonder if I should brush their teeth soon after that, and that they shouldn't be fed anything like that when I'm out of town. One of them also likes milk, yogurt etc. I know cats can't digest lactose so I don't give regular milk so much: just a spoonful. Yogurt doesn't have much lactose so she can eat more. I would definitely brush my teeth if i happen to wake up in the middle of night and have a sip of milk. Could anyone please explain me exactly the mechanism of cat tooth decay, and what kind of food are particularly bad ?

Are the food bad for human teeth also bad for cats' teeth ?
If you feed your cats mostly hard food, then don't worry about it...If you feed soft foods mostly, then they won't have the friction on their teeth to clean away the plaque.. :-)
Reply:While I don't know how cat tooth decay works. I would say that according to my vet we are supposed to brush our cats teeth and sugar will decay any teeth, I'm sure, calcium and bone is the same in all of us, the same raw material. I think that the reason our deacy rates are different is the different kinds of bacteria in our mouths and different amounts of bacteria present. I would just brush your cats teeth to be on the safe side I don't think ever in the wild cats would eat Ice cream or anything other than their mothers milk with that amount of sugar in it, do be careful.
Reply:Feed your cat cat food, not people food--a bite is ok, but don't routinely fed people food to cats, as they won't get the needed nutritinal balance..Some cats have more trouble with tooth tartar than others, for no known reason, according to my vet. My 8yr calico female, has had 2 full dental scallings %26amp; 3 teeth removed with another scaling due later this year, while my 15 yr male has had 1 %26amp; is doing well. Just like kids..