advice on preventing dental problems in cats please?

[MakeMineACafPow]

Hi, I took my cat for his booster vac's/check up this week, and was surprised by the discolouration of his teath. He is 2 years and 2 months old and was hoping if anyone has any advice on preventing this from getting any worse. I should have asked the vet at the time but it wasn't my usuall vet and for some reason this put me off.

I had been feeding him 1 Felix pouch a day(in the evening) and Whiskers biscuits which he has access to all the time. I knew this wasn't the best for him but didn't think it would cause a noticeable problem so soon.

I have ordered some Iams biscuits to replace the whiskers and also looked at various suppliments that are ment to help with dental health. Has any one used these and if so are they helpful?

Any feed back would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

The very best way to reduce the build up of tartar on cats teeth is to use specific cat toothpaste 2 or 3 times a week. This is of course if your cat will allow it. Practical wet food is bad for teeth as it hangs around them allowing Plaque and tartar to build up. Dry food is not good for teeth just less bad than wet food. There are some cats like some people who get tartar faster than others. Personally I have never cleaned my cats teeth they get wet food at night and dry food in the morning. Beautiful moggy girl is now 14 and has had her teeth cleaned once about 5 years ago. Posh arrogant boy is 5 I have cleaned his teeth once, but only because I was in there removed a tooth he had broken badly.

Thanks for your reply. Perhaps I ought to cut out the wet food then, and stick with a better quality biscuit. I fear for the safety of my ankles though, as he is a bully some what attached to his evening meal! I probably could brush his teeth as usually he is quite tolerant. I shall look into it thanks.

I check the cats teeth when he's asleep. I hadn't thought of brushing them though.

My cat is 13 and has good teeth. My sister had her sister from the same litter and had loads of teeth out. I asked my vet about it as I was worried mime would go the same way, but vet reckoned the difference was that my cat hunted and i fed her dried food, while sis was an indoor cat fed on wet food. My sister switched hers to dry food and occasional raw chicken/ beef to supplement. Don't know if that's true for all, maybe my vet just picked up on those lifestyle differences?

Thats interessting about the hunting Springforward as mine is mainly an indoor cat (his choice, he gets access to go out but he doesn't stay out for long) and to my knowledge he has never caught anything!

Since my earlier post I asked my sister what her vet said about her cat, apparently he said, "not enough mousies"!!! :)

Haha! Not sure how I can get him to go hunting though!