Posted on 09/28/2008 7:42:05 PM PDT by martin_fierro
So earlier today we had a most illuminating thread on the travails of bathing one's cat.
Now I'd like to hear from cat owners' experiences with brushing their cats' teeth:
We have a cute little kitteh or two here whose breath is beginning to represent The Crypt. And I've heard that remedial dental work on cats can be $pendy as all get-out.
ROTFLOL! Nice!
Cracking up laughing. You're posting from your abacus again, aren't you?
Never, ever give a cat or a dog bones. Vets will tell you that they can too easily get pieces lodged in their intestines and die from infections.
Same as giving a bath!
Drop in toilet, slam lid, flush, wait 5 minutes, open lid, run and slam door behind you!
Cooked bones are dangerous; raw bones of the right size are not. When cooked they become very hard and brittle, shatter into sharp shards and don’t digest easily. Raw bones are softer, get gnawed into flakes rather than shards, are very digestible and provide marrow and tons of calcium.
That’s why coyotes, wolves and bob cats don’t drop dead all over the country with impacted intenstines from consuming bones- and they consume a lot of raw bones.
I’d always understood never to give them fowl bones which are fractious, and splinter easily, thus catching in their throats and as you stated intestines etc.
I say this having had 30 dogs over the past 30 years without a one having difficulties with the beef shank bones we’ve given them many times.
Don’t know why, but stray/dumped dogs seem to just know where we are. We are down to three right now.
Same with cats. Currently 16 (all fixed I might add) we claim plus a couple more (I suppose not fixed) that come and go from somewhere.
Ahhhhhhhhh country living! At least the Skunks don’t come around anymore.
Nah, I borrowed a Compy 386 from Strong Bad.
For some reason caroling baby possums just crack me up.
Does he ever!
You’d think he hasn’t been fed in weeks. Every time.
That’s the one.
In nearly 40 years of cat ownership, I have never brushed my cats’ teeth. They never had any serious dental problems and I still have all my fingers.
Overall, One cat made it to 20, two to 18, two died young of illnesses unrelated to dental hygiene. All the cats had their teeth.
Stick to dry food and put a little Vick’s Vapor Rub under your nose when the cat breathes on you. The dry food will keep their teeth clean and the Vicks will keep you from noticing the cats’ breath.
ping to #38.
Thank you! I had trouble falling asleep last night after seeing the picture.
I had a cat with both missing teeth and bad gums. Turns out it was a symptom of Chronic Renal Failure. Pay attention to your cat’s teeth—it can be an important sign of their overall health! My vet and I do an oral exam of my new kitty every six months now.
There will be blood, yours.
Pay the vet, it’s not worth the suffering.
My cats don’t like it, but one of them gets an inflamed gum from time to time and a few days of attention are required. (Then she’s good to go again.)
What I find works best is to use a dampened q-tip with a little cat toothpaste on it. No need to go crazy with it, best to catch them when they’re curled up, give them plenty of petting and get a few tooth-scrubs in—gently and discreetly enough for them not to actually get up and run off. Then give them some treats and leave them to their napping.
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