Do you clean your cats teeth ?

[Sunnyday321]

When our car was a kitten we bought one of those finger type brushes but our cat would not take to it ( 3 person job in two person house !)
She is now 8 and whilst her teeth are ok , I wonder if I should be cleaning them ?
She does get treats which are supposed to be doing the job .
Do you clean your cats and if you do, what with and how ?

Cat not car ! ! !

They would not let me in a million years

Not a chance!! I'd like to keep my eyes thanks

Hell no. I take her in every other year for a dental at the vets. My last cat Buns would have left me scarred for life, this one would never speak to me again, if I could even get her mouth open.

He's only got one so no
Vet sends me a dental reminder for him and I'm "want your fang checked?"

@PawsQueen

He's only got one so no Vet sends me a dental reminder for him and I'm "want your fang checked?"

Adorable!

Our vet recommended a dental cat food after she had to have a couple of teeth removed. We mix this 50/50 with regular kibble. She hasn’t needed any more removing and is 12 now

No way on earth, lol. I value my life

I didn’t but we should try to get them to let us when you consider how much teeth can hurt.

I’ve seen YouTube videos where they work on this.

I'm glad I'm not the only cat mum not to do it 😸😸😸

I do but we have an understanding lol. A vet check up showed signs of gingivitis and he gave a four step process on how to get her used to it with each step taking as long as weeks or months!

1. massage the sides of her mouth (she actually likes this).
2. progress to sticking fingers in her mouth and rubbing her teeth and gums for a couple seconds .
3. Wrap gauze around your fingers so she gets used to a rough texture.
4. Move to using a toothbrush or finger brush!

I tried steps 3 & 4 once, she was having none of that! She was okay with my fingers so I just stuck to that and she likes the toothpaste. I did get an idea from here to use tuna as a reward. Every night at 8 pm she screeches for her tuna but knows there a catch- teeth sorted first! I have a way of holding her that keeps her head steady and she can’t wriggle away. She is brilliant most days but sometimes my fingers get a little unhappy nibble . Worth it if is it means she doesn’t loose any teeth!

Fuck no. Even though my fingers fail me a lot I rather like them.
Catnip sticks seem to do a good job on their teeth and give me a good night sleep

I once got given some toothpaste by the vet for my cat. She was pretty good about actually having it applied. But for some bizarre reason, it was vanilla flavoured and clearly tasted horrible by her behaviour. So I gave up. She'd have been ok with a meat or fish flavour!

@Coffee4Queen

I do but we have an understanding lol. A vet check up showed signs of gingivitis and he gave a four step process on how to get her used to it with each step taking as long as weeks or months!

1. massage the sides of her mouth (she actually likes this).
2. progress to sticking fingers in her mouth and rubbing her teeth and gums for a couple seconds .
3. Wrap gauze around your fingers so she gets used to a rough texture.
4. Move to using a toothbrush or finger brush!

I tried steps 3 & 4 once, she was having none of that! She was okay with my fingers so I just stuck to that and she likes the toothpaste. I did get an idea from here to use tuna as a reward. Every night at 8 pm she screeches for her tuna but knows there a catch- teeth sorted first! I have a way of holding her that keeps her head steady and she can’t wriggle away. She is brilliant most days but sometimes my fingers get a little unhappy nibble . Worth it if is it means she doesn’t loose any teeth!

Step 5 - report to A&E and seek urgent medical attention (for yourself, not the cat).

I swear I don’t have a death wish.

MoonCatcher I’ve been doing it for about 9 months and no blood has been shed (says while furiously knocking on wood!)