Cat with bad teeth

Zapperzy

Buntys always had bad teeth, she had a dental in 2011 and 2012, had to have extractions in 2012. She's going on 9 in may now and her breath is bad again, drooling at times and there's a lot of plaque on her teeth. I'v tried plaque off and she won't eat it mixed with her food, tried a variety of toothpastes and the only one she'l occasionally take is a fish flavoured enzymatic one licking it out of the tube. Brushing is a no go. Dry food doesn't do anything for her. And I'm afraid to put her under for another dental again, I was present for her other two dentals as I was working in the practice at the time and she was sure to receive first class monitoring while under Also putting her under a full GA every year isin't really a long term solution she might survive it this year but if she needed another in a year or two's time her odds are only going down.

It's not affecting her eating and doesn't seem to be painful but I'm not sure what to do with her, her teeth just seem to get so bad so quickly.

SillyMangoX

Do you ever give her raw chicken wings? Cream was the same, he had awful teeth and 2 dentals in 3 years (and like you I was there to watch, they made me leave the room for induction because I was nearly crying :pac: but I got to do the descale and polish!) and now I give him a chicken wing once every 2 weeks. He doesn't eat the bone but crunches the cartillage which I figure keeps his teeth squeaky clean! His gums still get inflamed every now and again but he doesn't have that real bad build up and it doesn't progress into gingivitis anymore. Could be worth a shot!

Zapperzy

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Do you ever give her raw chicken wings? Cream was the same, he had awful teeth and 2 dentals in 3 years (and like you I was there to watch, they made me leave the room for induction because I was nearly crying :pac: but I got to do the descale and polish!) and now I give him a chicken wing once every 2 weeks. He doesn't eat the bone but crunches the cartillage which I figure keeps his teeth squeaky clean! His gums still get inflamed every now and again but he doesn't have that real bad build up and it doesn't progress into gingivitis anymore. Could be worth a shot!

Never seemed to have any interest in raw chicken wings, I'v one defrosting for charlie tomorrow so I might cut the tip off and try her with it again but she's so fussy. Had her eating quail before but I'v to order it from the butcher and some days she'd eat it others she wouldn't, think il give it a go again even though there's so much chopping up to do with them!

I descaled and polished her the second time around but left the extractions to the vet, she'd a big molar at the back to come out that had to be split, needless to say I was quite nervous with the saw in her mouth :eek:

Anyone have any experience with dental rinses? http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-dental-care-dental-rinses-c-11_834

Pumpkinseeds

Zapperzy wrote: »

Never seemed to have any interest in raw chicken wings, I'v one defrosting for charlie tomorrow so I might cut the tip off and try her with it again but she's so fussy. Had her eating quail before but I'v to order it from the butcher and some days she'd eat it others she wouldn't, think il give it a go again even though there's so much chopping up to do with them!

I descaled and polished her the second time around but left the extractions to the vet, she'd a big molar at the back to come out that had to be split, needless to say I was quite nervous with the saw in her mouth :eek:

Anyone have any experience with dental rinses? http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-dental-care-dental-rinses-c-11_834

Lidl often have packs of frozen quail. Jazzy loves chicken wings, so long as they're small but sometimes the supermarket ones are too big for him, he loves the odd raw pork rib as well. He hasn't had any for a while and I've got him booked in for Monday to have his teeth done. He had 2 out last year.

Zapperzy

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Lidl often have packs of frozen quail. Jazzy loves chicken wings, so long as they're small but sometimes the supermarket ones are too big for him, he loves the odd raw pork rib as well. He hasn't had any for a while and I've got him booked in for Monday to have his teeth done. He had 2 out last year.

I didn't know that, I must have a look in lidl. I'm dreading the butcher someday asking me what I'm cooking with the quail :P

Nelly 21

Im glad i found this thread. My cat over the last week or so has not been able to eat too much. When he tried he would flinch and run and hide. I figured it was toothache. Also his breath wasnt the best.

We brought him to the vet on Saturday and she said he had gingivitis. I couldn't believe it when she showed me the cats gums..... They were all red and he had plaque on his teeth. I felt so terrible. He's almost 6 by the way

Anyway he's going to the vet Thursday to have a dental. I assumed the way the vet was talking that he would need all his teeth out. I asked how would he eat and she said mash up wet food

Do you ladies have any advise on what way the cat will be after having teeth out. Will he be in much pain. How was eating after. I'm also worried about his play.....

Rommie

Hi Nelly 21, one of my cats had all of his teeth extracted about six months ago, poor boy is only four. He was eating mashed up wet food for about two-three weeks afterwards, then he got into the other cats' food and ate half a bowl of kibble, so he came around quickly enough after it. Now he eats kibble no problem and keeps trying to eat the raw chicken necks the rest of the cats get. He will be in a lot of pain and you will have to give him painkillers for about a month- 40 days. My guy is very easygoing and a very determined cat and the vet told me the moment he came around from the op he insisted on eating a bowl of food, which even surprised her. In about two months he was completely back to normal, playing with the other cats and everything, no problems since.

Zapperzy

Nelly 21 wrote: »

Im glad i found this thread. My cat over the last week or so has not been able to eat too much. When he tried he would flinch and run and hide. I figured it was toothache. Also his breath wasnt the best.

We brought him to the vet on Saturday and she said he had gingivitis. I couldn't believe it when she showed me the cats gums..... They were all red and he had plaque on his teeth. I felt so terrible. He's almost 6 by the way

Anyway he's going to the vet Thursday to have a dental. I assumed the way the vet was talking that he would need all his teeth out. I asked how would he eat and she said mash up wet food

Do you ladies have any advise on what way the cat will be after having teeth out. Will he be in much pain. How was eating after. I'm also worried about his play.....

Mines had 2 or 3 teeth out and was very woozy after the anaesthetic and tender in her mouth. She was eating little and often the next day, definitely not her full appetite but she would eat. She had a tendency to spit food back out too.
I gave her hills a/d recovery food from the vets, it's designed for post op and recovering patients so it's very tasty, nutrient dense and a kind of moussy texture. It mixes with water well so it's handy when they've a sore mouth they can lap it up. Ask your vet for a tin or two.

Iv heard of cats having most or all of their teeth out and they seem to get on well without them even eating dry food. Mine doesn't seem to crunch or chew food very much anyways unless it's a big chunk.

Once he's fully recovered I can't see his play being affected.

Nelly 21

Rommie wrote: »

Hi Nelly 21, one of my cats had all of his teeth extracted about six months ago, poor boy is only four. He was eating mashed up wet food for about two-three weeks afterwards, then he got into the other cats' food and ate half a bowl of kibble, so he came around quickly enough after it. Now he eats kibble no problem and keeps trying to eat the raw chicken necks the rest of the cats get. He will be in a lot of pain and you will have to give him painkillers for about a month- 40 days. My guy is very easygoing and a very determined cat and the vet told me the moment he came around from the op he insisted on eating a bowl of food, which even surprised her. In about two months he was completely back to normal, playing with the other cats and everything, no problems since.

Thanks for the reply. We're a bit worried about him. He's a house who toilets outside. He's a big auld softie too. Loves a cuddle and anyone's lap!!!!

We have another cat about 9 months old. They get on very well.... Hut I assure we may keep them apart for a while.

So painkillers for a.month.... The poor cat!!! Makes me feel bad cause I noticed nothing only the bad breath.

So your cat went back to dry food? I didn't think they could do that. Our cat at the min is back on wet food and loving it.

Nelly 21

Zapperzy wrote: »

Mines had 2 or 3 teeth out and was very woozy after the anaesthetic and tender in her mouth. She was eating little and often the next day, definitely not her full appetite but she would eat. She had a tendency to spit food back out too.
I gave her hills a/d recovery food from the vets, it's designed for post op and recovering patients so it's very tasty, nutrient dense and a kind of moussy texture. It mixes with water well so it's handy when they've a sore mouth they can lap it up. Ask your vet for a tin or two.

Iv heard of cats having most or all of their teeth out and they seem to get on well without them even eating dry food. Mine doesn't seem to crunch or chew food very much anyways unless it's a big chunk.

Once he's fully recovered I can't see his play being affected.

Thanks for the reply. We're a bit worried and then of course sorry that we didn't know about the problem sooner.

I've noticed he does chew his food but I think he just swallows his treats.... They seem to disappear nery quickly!!!!!

I'm glad to hear play isn't affected.... Even though he's a house cat he defends his territory!!

ferretone

I used to feed my cats kibble in the morning (Origen or Applaws) and tinned food in the evening. I keep my cats indoor only, had one that got crystals in the first year I had her, due to her diet from where she was rescued from (she died of kidney failure last autumn). I'd always heard that you must feed some wet food to indoor cats to try and prevent this, but it was too late for that lady, whose family had been fed ham for several generations before I had her, and as we are now learning, exogenetics can be very important for the health of an animal.

My dog's been on a raw diet for about 18 months though, and a few months ago I discovered my cats absolutely adore raw duck hearts. So I feed 4 of those to each in the evening now instead of the tinned food, each one cut into 3 pieces. Not only have they become more shiny and muscly than ever before, they also chew this food much more than anything I used to give them. The older of the 2 had been having problems with an irritated throat, which is completely gone now. She is only 3 1/2, so it is too early to say if this will help with teeth or gums, but I am hoping it will. And I know that between this and their morning kibble there will not be any deficiency, as the hearts are almost all muscle, which is primarily where the taurine they need is to be had.

angeline

Unfortunately cats are hugely prone to dental problems. She has had 2 sets of extractions in the last three years. Brought her for her annual vaccination to find she needs another two extractions and some gums were bleeding. She is 6 yrs now. My vet thinks that by the time she is 9 or 10 she will have lost all her teeth.

iora_rua

My (13-ish yr old) cats had two/four teeth out about a month ago and are fully recovered - pain killers were only required for a week or so. I gave them sachets of the Aldi Senior cat food which is very liquid and easy to mash up well, and also baby food - the jars of fishy/lamby/chickeny ones were popular and after the first week, Lillys fish and mashed potato went down well! They didn't necessarily finish all of everything, but at least they were snacking on and off through the day. Also, room temperature cat milk with a dessert spoon of water was very popular and kept them hydrated, which is important after the stress of the op.

Would like to find an alternative to raw chicken wings to keep their teeth clean, so am keeping an eye on suggestions in this thread