do you use cat toothpaste?

[incywincyspideragain]

vet says our cats gums are bad (we only just got her at end of Nov) and suggested toothpaste every day on her paws, gave us a couple of samples to start using - does anyone do this and do you find it makes a difference? been told she'll lose her teeth soon anyway, only about 18 months old at moment.
should we give it to kittens too? they are 5 months and teeth look fine.

I tried with Seniorboy but it was too late in his life for him to accept it. Others may have had some success with younger cats.

What is their diet like? I've heard alot of wet food can make gum/teeth problems worse. Our vet says gums/dental problems can really vary from cat to cat, our boy has had to had his teeth professionally cleaned twice. We use this green stuff, kind of looks like green sawdust! got it from the vet, you sprinkle it on their food. Haven't been using it long enough to notice any effects at the moment, but his breath doesnt smell so cat foody now.

diet is felix kitten food, wet pouches - we give them all the same with some dry out during the day, not heard of wet food affecting teeth before, reluctant to give them only dry food as that feels unnatural (can't think of better word!)
we put some paste on her paws today and she licked it off fine but vet said every day from now on as gums inflamed - something to do with a virus they can catch and it destroys their teeth (she was stray until the summer), I'm trying to work out if its worth the cost...

I use toothpaste on my cats, they are of breeds known to have gum problems.
I have an applicator that looks like a bristly thimble and it gets rubbed onto their teeth, it's fish flavoured and I have such trouble getting it actually onto the teeth of one he loves to try and lick the brush.

Has the vet said if it is calcivirus? That is the only virus I can think of which causes tooth loss in young cats.

the vet didn't say what the virus was, just we couldn't do anything about it except relieve the symptoms with tooth paste until such a time they got really bad and they fell out or had to be removed. does that sound like calcivirus?

I had some the vet gave me last time I went as my cat had a bit of plaque on her back teeth, she was quite good about letting me rub it on (sometimes....sometimes she clamped her mouth shut!) and licked it off her paws too. Can't really see that it's made much difference but will check at next check up. Vet has never mentioned tooth cleaning before, just this particular vet at the practice, but apparently all dogs & cats should have their teeth cleaned routinely?

Might be worth trying for some hard food, Bonbon. (Helps to shift plaque apparently.) A raw chicken leg or thigh (free range organic so that they don't splinter) is supposed to be good.

I only say this latter from hearing about it because Seniorboy has so few teeth that he can only handle glop - others may have direct experience. Seniorboy is a case in point for tooth cleaning. His teeth were a disaster area when he came to me at 13 and he required a full GA dental at 16.

My vet said that she is seeing more and more dental problems in really young animals. Even The Lodger had to have a GA procedure including treatment for plaque (which I saw) while he was with me - and he was only 3 and used to eating Gawd knows raw what on the streets. His main dental problems, the reason for the GA, were likely due to poor infant nutrition which caused some inadequate tooth development but still ...3 years old.

It's worth trying with cat and kittens if they will let you

I would also look into foods a lot more - some brands contain added sugars and a lot of cereal/fillers versus others that are meat only - for the same reasons as you wouldn't feed babies lots of added sugars

Wet/dry is often debated but I feed mine a mix of mostly wet with a little dry (in a food maze or ball)

I look for foods that are grain free and no added sugars - the same with treats - and buy most of it from zooplus - a lot of German etc brands such as Grau grain free, Animonda, hermann's organic

I also buy the higher meat content versions of Hi life available in pets at home or from amazon

ours are on felix (wet) and purely kittified chicken complete (dry) maybe I need to put more dry out to help....
Where the brands you mention wet or dry? any wet recommendations?

I'll get the toothpaste a try, no chance getting it in her mouth so will stick with putting it on paws for now, thanks

If you're happy to buy on line then try zooplus for Grau, animonda, bozita, ferringa, cosma, hermann's - these are all wet foods - complete "pâté"style in the main .... Tho bozita tetra pals are chunks in gravy or jelly

Pet supermarket also sells bozita

If not on line, p@home and jollye's sell some good stuff.... Hi life, natures menu, purely, Lily's kitchen are wet foods too

For dry, applaws, acana, taste of the wild, orijen are all 80% meat, grain free - mostly available on line but applaws is on pet shops too...

Mine love the taste of the wild with venison

Oh and amazon do sell some of these too.....

Thanks Cozie, she does eat a little dry food during the day from a ball(which is why I was surprised at the plaque), but I'll maybe get her a chicken leg now & again.