I took my 2 year old cat to the vet (she had just puked up a bunch of string–she is fine and no more string toys for her) and the vet noted that she had some gingivitis and said it was unusual in a young cat. (Looks mild to me, some dark-pinkness on the guns and yellow-brown plaque, only on the back teeth) He suggested that at her next yearly checkup she get checked for feline AIDS and some sort of auto-immune disorder that I can’t remember the name of, to see if the gingivitis was a symptom. So, I will do that. But, my question is:
Should I be brushing her teeth or feeding her those greenie things or anything? The vet didn’t recommend doing anything, but maybe he was more concerned with figuring out if her intestines were full of cooking twine than talking about oral hygiene. Has anyone had a cat with gingivitis and did you clean their teeth? Any tricks for getting a cat’s teeth cleaned without major blood loss (mine)?
They make these little rubber thingies that fit over your finger. I find them easier to use than a toothbrush. Also there is pet toothpaste: just in case you don’t know, do not use toothpaste meant for humans. If she won’t tolerate the toothpaste, even just using water is pretty effective.
Start slow: toothbrush near the face, then near the mouth, then in the mouth for a second, etc. Let her get used to it.
Brushing even a few times a week can make a big difference.
Edit: BELLEH! I see it poking out the side of her middle. She’s got beautiful coloring.
Brushing a cat’s teeth was easier than I expected. I use a cat toothpaste I buy at the vet’s office. I also bought a cat toothbrush, but I think it is essentially the same as the smallest size child’s toothbrush.
The toothpaste is chicken flavored, and my cat lurves it. He is not nuts about the act of brushing. It’s kind of funny – you can see his thought process: “No! I do not like brush! But wait, yes! I do like toothpaste! But no! I do not like brush …” Most of the time, I let him chew on the paste-covered brush so it’s almost like he’s brushing his own teeth. I have to be a little more intentional with the teeth in the very back – you kind of have to go in like a Black Hawk helicopter raid, very fast and strategic. I know I’m only going to be able to get about two brushes in, so I need to be accurate. It’s my understanding that the cat toothpaste (as opposed to person toothpaste) works more like an enzyme process so as long as the paste is in the cat’s mouth, the cat is getting some benefit even if there is not so much actual brushing.
I would suggest letting the cat have some toothpaste (no brushing) for a treat for a few days so she gets used to it as a positive, tasty event.
Oh, and you don’t have to rinse the toothpaste out. It’s okay for the cat to swallow. I forget to tell this to a friend once, and then felt terrible (also, it was very funny) when she later reported that the rinsing was the most difficult part.
We started brushing Ariel’s teeth a few months ago when the vet gave us a lecture about the sorry state of her teeth and gums. We started off by giving her a dab of the toothpaste on a fingertip, and then moved on letting her lick it off the brush, and eventually to actual brushing. She doesn’t enjoy it, but she puts up with it because it involves a tasty treat.
Some of the better brands of cat food boast that their dry food can reduce plaque through specially designed kibble shape or whatnot. While I’m sure this is very effective if your cat actually chews their food, it’s definitely no good with Ariel, as she whomps her food down without taking a single bite. Same goes for any of the special plaque-fighting treats. Might be a good thing to try if yours understands the concept of chewing, though.
My only question was why retroviral screening (FeLV/FIV) was not done then&there. It takes just a few drops of blood and is a 10 minute test. Other than that, the advice you are getting on oral care sounds good. Personally, I lean toward the finger-cot devices.
The vet said she was tested for FeLV at the shelter I got her from, but not FIV. (I asked the shelter why no test for FIV, and they said it was too expensive and gave false positives from the mother at her age). I don’t know why the vet didn’t test her when I brought her in and instead suggested getting her tested later, except maybe that she was not taken in as a regular appointment, but instead squeezed in quickly due to the string-puking. I’ll take her back in to get tested soon rather than waiting if you think it’s a good idea (I do have another cat so I would be concerned about cross-infection).
FIV is relatively difficult to spread, requiring (often) a bite, hence it is more common in male cats. However, my general recommendation is always to avoid mixing cats prior to FeLv/FIV serology.
Do get her tested for FIV but it’s really not a horrible thing to live with, even if you have other cats. I’ve known cats who lived many happy years with it with proper care, with other cats, and nobody ever caught anything. It’s much more common to be spread among unneutered males who go outdoors and fight with other males.
Vetbridge–can you figure out what the other autoimmune disease might have been that the vet mentioned? It wasn’t FIV or FeLV, it was some fairly long name.
We’ve had two cats with gingivitis, both strays (one from the streets, one from the pound.) When they tested negative for all the bad stuff, the vet said some cats are just prone to gingivitis.
Freia’s gingivitis was so severe she had to have five teeth extracted, which the vet did while she was anesthetized for spaying (and then saved the extracted teeth to show us afterward, rotted roots and all! :eek: ) It cured her putrid breath, though.
The vet said he’s actually had to extract ALL a cat’s teeth, and the cat usually does just fine gumming soft food for the rest of its days.
I’m allowed to say this without shame, because I’m a periodicals librarian - this past month’s Cat Fancy has several articles on cat dental care which seemed pretty good. Not that I read Cat Fancy.
