Do it yourself dental care for your cat....? Drooling?

My cat has a canine tooth that has a lot of yellowish/brown plaque at the top, and her gum is red. It has been this way for quite awhile. I think it has been bothering her and I cant afford a teeth cleaning from the vet.





I had a collar on her about a year ago and somehow she got the metal loop that held her nametag on caught in her teeth and I didnt discover her perdicament until the next morning. She lost her tiny front teeth from this.





Does anyone have any tips on do it yourself dental care for pets? Should I buy some dental tools like a scraper? I have tried brushing her teeth with pet toothpaste, but it didnt do much.





She and my other cat also drool when they are being petted. I read somewhere that some cats sometimes do this when they are happy, does anyone know anything about that? Could it be because her tooth is hurting her? The other cats teeth are fine.

Do it yourself dental care for your cat....? Drooling?
If there is a lot of tarter on her teeth, no matter what you do, you can not remove it. The best you can do at this point, without getting the vet involved, is to "manage" the buildup of new tarter. This can be done with cat toothpaste, liek you are talking about. I would NOT, repeat NOT, purchase a "scraper" and attempt to scrape the tarter off. This is dangerous and can cause them a LOT of pain.





Your best bet is to at least get it checked out by a vet to see if the tooth/gum is infected. If this is the case, they will probably prescribe/send you home with an antibiotic, which should help, if it is an infection. Otherwise, the doctor can give you a better feel as to what is going on. If you don't have the money, save up- it really is needed! Go without coffee for a week- you'll save some money there!
Reply:sounds like she is fine- if she only does it when being petted. my cat does the same thing and i worried also but it is fat and healthy so.....
Reply:the drooling is normal shes just confy and happy.and about the tooth thing i dont know what to tell you except take her to the vet because if it was you wouldnt to go to the dentist plus its just crool to leave her like that.
Reply:get yourself put to sleep and leave the cat to someone who will look after it
Reply:If her gum is red she might have a gum infection and should go to the Vet. Try taking a cotton ball with a small amount of peroxide on it and cleaning around the gum. As for drooling, this is normal in cats when they are relaxed or sleeping, if it's not excessive
Reply:Any dental care should be done by a veterinarian. Uncleaned teeth not only can lead to obvious problems with the teeth and gums, but an infection can also create problems with the heart and kidneys. At this point, since it sounds like gingivitis, she'll need a dental cleaning soon.





You can ask the vet to put you on a payment plan for the cleaning, some will do that. Or you'll have to charge it. Just like in humans, dental pain isn't any fun.





She can be drooling because she's content or drooling because she's in pain.....it's hard to tell.
Reply:Please, please, please....don't attempt to do your own dental work! It sounds like it's infected, and if she seems to be in pain, I would get her looked at. It's really not that expensive for dental work, and is really worth it in the end for your kitty! But if that's still too much money for you, perhaps they could just put her on an antibiotic to reduce the inflammation from the infection? I'm sure if you just bring her in to the vet to get looked at, they can offer you many acceptable options that are within price range.





Best of luck...I hope she gets the help she needs to feel better!