Do I Have To Clean My Cats Teeth?
Added by
Dennise, 11 Mar 2009 12:11 My friend was telling me that on a recent visit to the vets with her cat, the vet advised her to clean her cats teeth at least once per week.
The puss had to have about five teeth removed as they were rotted completely, and my friend bought a toothbrush and fish flavoured toothpaste to use after the gums have healed on her precious friend.
I have never heard of this before and we dont clean our cats teeth, does anyone else?
Best
Dennise
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Re: Do I Have To Clean My Cats Teeth?
Added by
Sallyanne, 11 Mar 2009 12:17 You are not alone Dennise, not many people thing of cleaning their cats teeth. This usually results in the cat having to have major oral surgery to remove most if not all of their teeth in their middle years.
Another associated problem with not cleaning the teeth on a regular basis, is that the bacteria formed on the teeth, travels down into the alimentary canal and digestive system of the cat, possibly causing systemic infections.
We actually had this problem with my aunts cat. She did not even think to clean Tibbs teeth, but eventually the poor cat suffered hugely, not only with major extractions of all of his teeth, but with a very nasty case of gastric poisoning caused by the bacteria. It was the gastric upset which made my aunt realise (after the vet had examined the cat) that the problem was coming from the decayed teeth.
If your cat is a couple of years old, and not too set in his ways, you may still be able to clean them for him without too much upset or stress to the cat, but if he is much older, then he could be extremely distressed if you start doing something to him which he has never experienced before.
The best way of handling it is to start cleaning their teeth as a regular part of grooming them, when they are still kittens. In this way they grow up being used to having their teeth cleaned and will not be stressed by the whole operation.
Good luck
Sallyanne from Sevenoaks
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