Your supposed to brush your cats teeth?

I have had my cat for 7 years (sense she was a month old) and the other day at work me and a co-worker were talking and i asked why her arms were scrached (i honestly thought maybe a dispute between her and her bf because i know her and her bf have been haveing problems) and she said she got them brushing her cats teeth, i was like wtf!?!?! and i thought she was kidding. I honestly never knew you were suppost to brush your cats teeth...How should you do it? and how often? I looked at my cats teeth when i got home that night and they looked white and healthy (no cracks, werent yellow, and her gums werent inflamed)

Your supposed to brush your cats teeth?
LOL - yes, you should brush your cat's teeth.





In the wild, cats' teeth are cleaned naturally by their diet of muscle meat which they have to rip and shred through and bones.





Domestic cats who are fed a whole prey diet (raw meat, bones and organs) are likely to be in excellent dental health as well, as are those on other diets who are given chicken necks to chew on. Chicken necks are well known as a method for cleaning teeth naturally.





The rest of us SHOULD brush our cats' teeth, but many don't. I'm ashamed to say I'm one of them - I've just failed to do it.





That's the very best thing (outside of the whole prey diet/chicken neck thing) for your cat's teeth. Failing that, there are other things you can do but they won't be as effective.





There are various products which you can add to your cat's food or water (C.E.T. Dental makes very good ones, and Wysong has a powdered product called Dentatreat). There are dental treats as well (C.E.T. Dental). There's an homeopathic remedy (I think that's what it is) that claims to soften tartar (fragaria which I am currently trying on myself). The only dental treat out there that may actually provide some benefit is from C.E.T. Dental. That's because they have a chewy/crunchy outside that the cats must shred.





The one thing that doesn't clean cat teeth is dry food. Never has, never will. Nor will those crunchy treats - for one thing they're sure to have sugar in them. And we all know how good sugar is for the teeth!





And sometimes it's luck of the draw - like humans, some cats are more prone to tartar than others.
Reply:vets can have them cleaned-i do it to my dogs.
Reply:I can't possibly imagine brushing my cat's teeth. It would probably take three people to hold him down long enough to do it! I think it's something you would have to start when they are kittens so they are used to it.
Reply:reminds me of a paper I read once about giving a cat a worm pill, I've never heard of brushing a cats teeth, but they do have bad breath! I would look into getting one of those bee keeper outfits before attempting that! Do it CAREFULLY!!!!!!
Reply:It is not nessesary to brush your cat's teeth. I had my cat for many years and it's teeth is still white and healthy.
Reply:Are you serious??? Your coworker is a freak. Dry cat food (and dog food for that matter) is designed to clean their teeth. As they bite into the hard food the food scraps away the plaque.
Reply:when I get my cat to the vet for a check up, he checks teh cat's teeth, and he sometimes cleans them, after giving the cat tranquilliser (but this must be done by a vet). There are products to brush teh teeth of cats and dogs, but if you don't want your arms to look like your co-worker's, better ask the vet to have a look next time you meet.
Reply:yea, hard food does that. Maybe she feeds her cat soft food so she has to or something?
Reply:Your friend is doing the right thing by brushing her cat's teeth. You suppose to with baking soda. You can also take them to the Vet to get their check-ups to make sure that everything is OK.Cats will scratch and go crazy because I know mines get hairballs and when I put the medicine on their paws, they won't stay still. Well I wish you and your cat the best of luck.
Reply:In theory, this is a great thing to do to maintain your cat's dental health. In practice, however... :-)





Hard food should help with keeping the tartar off, but some cats are just predisposed to having more buildup than others (just like humans). If you would attempt to brush, they sell little cat toothbrushes and animal-safe toothpaste at pet stores. Don't use human toothpaste, the fluoride is bad for them to swallow.





Get your cat used to the toothpaste by letting her taste some off your finger. My cats love the taste of the stuff. Getting her used to a brush takes a little while, start by letter her sniff it and rub her face on it. Then do just what you did to look at her teeth, and do a quick swipe of one side with the brush. Don't try to do the whole mouth at first. Just repeat the process, give her lots of affection while you're doing it, treats if she's a treat-y kind of girl, and do your best.





Yearly check-ups at the vet are the best way to make sure nothing's going on in your cat's mouth. I personally have seen many a cat with severe dental disease (I mean really nasty, ulcers in the mouth, exposed roots, the works) who's owner only brought them to the doctor because they suddenly stopped eating. Ya think? By that time, it's a major problem (and a major expense).
Reply:I don't think you have to brush your cat's teeth, but it's a good idea to. You should start out when they are kittens and start by putting gauze on your finger and rubbing in on their teeth, then slowling moving to using a cat toothbrush and toothpaste that you can buy in the store especially for cats. If you want/need to brush an older cat's teeth you might want to inlist the help of at least one friend to restrain the cat!

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