Expert: Tomay - 2/17/2005

Question
Dear tomay: We have a 13 year old Maine Coon cat who will not allow us to clean his teeth. The vet told us we need to do that but he may as well have told us to beat our heads against a wall. We had another cat who had plaque problems. We had the vet clean his teeth and he became allergic to his teeth! From that moment his health spiralled down and we finally had to put him to sleep. I'm afraid to get into the same thing with this cat. His breath is pretty bad so I guess something has to be done... But what?

Answer
Hello,
Thank you for your inquiry. Dental care is very important in maintaining the overall health of your cat.  There are liquid drops that are added daily to the water bowl.  Most animals won't notice a difference, while the plaque and tartar are being dealt with.  A few will turn up their nose, even so, well worth the try.  Cats can learn to enjoy tooth brushing if conditioned at a  very early age.
There are also cat treats, like Pounce,that have different varieties including those designed specifically for dental and oral care.  Hope this helps.
Thank you,
tomay