These are all good points. Although cleanings may not be necessary -- if there is tooth decay, the teeth should be pulled. |
We feed our cat this:
![]() It is dry food technically, but the pieces are moist (rubbery, chewing gum wad consistency). It is pricey:$25.00 for a alb bag. But it lasts @1 month for a 2 year old 15lbs cat. We always make sure she has fresh water nearby. Wonder how she'll fare down the line with kidney problems--as there is no way I'd go the dialysis or crazy $$ injections, etc., for a god-damned cat. |
^^5lbs bag |
We had 3 cats who lived to 17-18 years old. Gave one insulin shots twice daily, another sub-Q fluid daily.... but never had their teeth cleaned. They all lived to their ripe old age with bigger health issues than teeth.
Now we have 2 young cats, and we never brush their teeth or get cleaning jobs at the vet. They are on wet food with little carb fillers - much better for their kidneys than dry food. |
It always warms my heart to hear stories from other high-maintenance pet parents! On topic, we had 2 cats, both ate the same food and one just had lousy teeth. Bad luck. He needed annual cleanings from age 8 and had a lot of teeth pulled. Our other cat never had a cleaning. She could have used it in the past year or so, but she was too old and frail and had larger issues than gingivitis, so we just let it go. I definitely think owners can be pushed into unnecessary services, so a vet whose judgement you trust is key. But it's tough, since most people don't need to establish a particularly close relationship unless they have a pet with a chronic condition. |
not completely ... we feed primarily wet food but also a few pieces of Royal Canin T/D (large size so it makes them chew a lot) and neither of our 9 yr old cats have had to have a cleaning or had signif. tartar issues, etc., in years. Our vet clearly thinks that T/D (say 10 pcs of kibble/day per cat) help. We don't brush either, they don't like it. genetics can matter, too. |
We had two cats -- one lived to 16, the other is 17 and still kicking -- never brushed their teeth. They had a tooth cleaning done once and they were so traumatized we never did it again. However, my sister's 6-year-old cat got a tooth pulled and was a much better-tempered creature afterwords.
I will say that watching my cousin clean his dog's teeth was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. |
Whatever. I am not brushing my geriatric dachshund's teeth. Vets these days try to give such a guilt trip, but who has time for holding their pet down for a daily brush? Your cat will hate you. |