How to brush your cat’s teeth | Dr. Justine Lee
You love your cat, and you’d do anything for him or her. You brush him regularly, tend to his diet, and make sure he has lots of comfortable places to sleep. You probably even play with him and give him spots to exercise. But when’s the last time you paid close attention to your cat’s dental health?
Strong and healthy teeth are one of the factors that can help your cat lead the longest, healthiest life possible. But you might be nervous about fussing with your cat’s mouth—if he’s like most felines, he doesn’t like it.
That’s why starting young, if you can, will help your cat to get used the routine—opening his mouth, looking for any worrisome spots. As an attentive cat owner, you’ll be able to notice any distressing signs quickly, such as trouble eating or a very messy food bowl.
Relying on your veterinarian can be a great help. Your checkups and your pet professional’s checkups will be a great way to identify any potential problems that including drooling or bad breath. You can also integrate some good-for- their teeth toys or treats. And you can tackle brushing your cat’s teeth, too. There are steps you can take to make this less stressful for you and your cat. Use this easy-to- understand, easy-to- follow graphic to get started on the path to better feline dental health. For more information, check it out here!
Is brushing your cat’s teeth really necessary? I’d think if you make an effort to feed them a diet that at least isn’t completely horrible, you don’t need to worry about brushing their teeth. But maybe I’m wrong!
Great question – it’s hard b/c some cats don’t even chew their dry food and just swallow it, so the “scraping of tartar” from chewing never happens. Ideally, yes. In reality, I can’t even brush my own cat’s teeth. But you get kudos if you do! When in doubt, my general recommendation is your cat likely needs an exam to check out their teeth every few years in the least!