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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:It is a fallacy to think that dry food cleans your cat's teeth. That would be like saying, "I don't have to brush my teeth b/c I eat crackers all the time and the crackers clean my teeth." Silly.

That is an old school train of thought which most vets now disagree wtih.

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.

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

^^5lbs bag

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.

These are all good points. Although cleanings may not be necessary -- if there is tooth decay, the teeth should be pulled.