Why is cat dental important?
Dental disease are common in cats – especially those who are more than 2 years – but always overlooked by pet owners. This subjective attitude can lead to shorter life span or worse, emergency situation of your beloved cats.
What are common dental diseases?
There are 3 most common dental diseases found in cats including: gingivitis, periodontitis, and tooth resorption.
- Gingivitis: it’s a condition of inflamed gum causing red, swollen and very painful. Reason is because the exceeding plaque on cats’ teeth is not regularly removed, so it will migrate deeper to the teeth base and eventually to the subgingival region.
- Periodontitis: it’s the next step of untreated gingivitis, which now cause the loosen tooth. As a result, you cats’ teeth will need removed forever, leaving a hole in their mouth which can cause less enjoyable eating experience.
- Resorption: it’s a progress of tooth structure breakdown, which contributes to tooth loss. However, there is no clear reason of this disease so it’s hard to prevent.
What are symptoms of dental disease in cats?
Cats with dental disease in early stage are hard to detect as they can still eat normally, even though the disease already formed and spread out.
However, you can still detect by giving more attention to your furry friends’ mouth if they have any below symptoms:
- Bad breath
- Inflamed gum or jar
- Discoloured tooth
- Loose tooth
- Vomit or diarrheal
- Reluctance to chew
How can you prevent cats’ dental disease?
- Scheduled dental check:
After turning 2, cats will need to have a dental cleaning appointment every year, where any disease can be detected immediately and also teeth cleaned thoroughly by professional service.
- Frequent teeth brushing:
While waiting for annually check-up, you cats’ teeth can still be brushed frequently. All what you need to do is buying a toothbrush specifically designed for cats and using it to clean your feline baby weekly.
- Appropriate food:
Only buy age-suitable kibbles for your cats because each age range can only adapt to specific food type or size. Also, if you cats’ teeth is not too strong, wet food is actually a better option in this case.
- Dental product usage:
Start using water additives can help to soften plaque and also decrease amount of bacteria in cats’ mouth. You can also give your feline friends some cat dental treat or toy to chew occasionally as a supplement. Of course, don’t forget a dental kit including toothpaste and finger brush to clean your cats’ teeth weekly.
What’s a complete dental care routine at home?
- Start slowly by touching their mouth with a finger brush. This step is essential to get them familiar with the totally-new item.
- Gradually, try moving your finger inside to touch their gum, making sure your cats are comfortable with the movement.
- Apply toothpaste on the brush and start scrubbing cats’ gum. A tip is to find some yummy-smell paste which your cats may like. It will make this step easier.
- Finish with water additives.
We hope that all pet owners can be more attentive to your furry friends’ dental care more after reading this. Just remember, a consistent routine will result in extending your cats’ happiness and ability to fight off disease.