How to care for my cat's teeth

February 10, 2025 10:46 AM

Jasper is diabetic (among other things). He is very chill about his insulin injections and me checking his blood glucose but he is not onboard with me brushing his teeth. Looking for advice on a possible alternative.

There's no urgent issues right now, but I would like to be as proactive as possible so: is there any reason I shouldn't use a dental water additive like this one with my diabetic cat?

posted by She Kisses Wyverns to Pets & Animals (6 answers total)

Does your cat eat wet or dry food, and do they drink a lot of water? Mine don't drink that much water, but I'm not familiar with that product or approach.

After an expensive cat tooth cleaning, my vet did tell me about oral care cat food. Their suggestion wasn't to replace all their food with it, but to add it to their food. So, we put maybe 5-6 of those kibbles on top of their wet food at mealtime. We have been doing this for maybe a year and a half, so I'm not sure yet if it's a solid long term plan.

I also noted that a local cat grooming service will do a cat tooth brushing, so perhaps that, alone or in conjunction with something like oral kibbles, will help?
posted by bluedaisy at 10:59 AM on February 10

When I last took my 5.5 year old in to the vet, they remarked "wow, what great teeth - what are you doing?" - the answer was....nothing. However, we speculated that it's likely because this cat is part shark, always chewing up things - cardboard boxes, books, furniture, sticks outside, etc. (and the vet agreed this made sense). So, you might try some chew toys - though admittedly we've never had much luck getting our cat-shark to use the toys instead of books. But worth a shot - the worst outcome is you're out $10. And yeah, any dry food or treats like Greenies do whatever good they do from the friction.
posted by coffeecat at 11:12 AM on February 10

First of all, ideally any product you use should be from the veterinary oral health council approved products list.

You should consult with your vet about any special concerns for your diabetic cat, but I would recommend a combo of a VOHC approved dental dry food (doesn't have to replace all of your cat's food, just a bit), and the ProDen Plaque off powder. The powder can be added to their food. The powder essentially helps to soften plaque and tartar so it removes more easily. Since you can't brush your cat's teeth, you'd want to combine powder with one of those dental dry foods so you have something with some mechanical action to scrape off the softened plaque/tartar.

(That proden plaqueoff powder has kelp or something like that as the main ingredient, which is high in iodine, so if your cat has a thyroid condition, it may not be the best option. Alas, my cat is hyperthyroid, so I use proden plaqueoff for my dog, but it's not an option for my cat.)
posted by litera scripta manet at 2:04 PM on February 10

My cat hated the toothbrush, but would grudgingly tolerate my gently scrubbing her teeth with a rubber fingertip. I got nipped sometimes, and I couldn't do a super thorough job, but she would mostly tolerate a gentle once-over at least around the outside. The tuna-flavored toothpaste probably didn't hurt.

A purely dry-food diet generally isn't a good idea, as cats are obligate carnivores, but as a supplement to wet food, sure. The crunching and friction can help clean teeth.
posted by xedrik at 4:14 PM on February 10

My vet admitted that even she wouldn't try to brush her cat's teeth because it would probably leave both parties very unhappy. She recommended that I buy a big bag of prescription dental care kibble and just mix in a few (like, a half dozen pieces) with my cat's regular dry food or use them as treats.

My previous vet recommended one of the dental powders that you sprinkle on their food, but my last cat thought I'd poisoned the food when I did that. The dental kibble has been much more palatable.
posted by TwoStride at 5:10 AM on February 11

nth-ing the vet brand dental kibble. My vet uses Royal Canin and I have had a LOT of success with both the feline and canine (as appropriate) over the years. Current cat had miserable teeth, got a cleaning ($$$), inevitably the teeth were already looking bad only a few weeks later, but were immediately remedied as soon as we started up the dental kibbles. The kibbles are crystalline (like Captain Crunch) and big enough that the cats have to actually cronch through them. Like others, I give my monster cat (18lb) about 10 a day, but you can totally go with fewer.

We don't do brushing and the dental kibbs keep his teeth shiny white.
posted by some chick at 11:25 AM on February 11