'dental diet' products

A vet recently recommended that I get food for my cats marketed as having
teeth-cleaning properties. She mentioned that these foods have an enzyme in
them that breaks down the plaque on their teeth.

The fact that they'll only eat regular Friskies aside, I tried giving them
Friskies Dental Diet, mixing it in with the regular stuff. They didn't like it.
Then I read the bag--apparently it's marketed as teeth-cleaning solely because
the food pieces are larger and take longer to chew. A search on Petco came up
with a fancier brand name with the same exact thing (larger food). I'm thinking
I may have misunderstood the vet about this supposed special enzyme.

So...does anyone have recs for what *will* work? I saw something in a catalog
that you add to their water, but I'd like to know if it really works before
buying it. Any recommendations on teeth-cleaning products that work would be
much appreciated!

Kirsten

From: gree (Filigree00)

So...does anyone have recs for what *will* work?

Kirsten, try Hill's t/d or Science Diet Oral Care. These products carry the
VOHC seal and are clinically proven to clean away tartar, plaque, stain on your
cat's teeth. It would be much healthier for your cat also, as an average 10 lb
cat that eats Friskies would consume about 10 POUNDS of salt over the course of
a year!

From: gree (Filigree00)

So...does anyone have recs for what *will* work?

Kirsten, try Hill's t/d or Science Diet Oral Care. These products carry the
VOHC seal and are clinically proven to clean away tartar, plaque, stain on your
cat's teeth. It would be much healthier for your cat also, as an average 10 lb
cat that eats Friskies would consume about 10 POUNDS of salt over the course of
a year!

(GAUBSTER2) wrote in message ...
From: gree (Filigree00)

So...does anyone have recs for what *will* work?

Kirsten, try Hill's t/d or Science Diet Oral Care. These products carry the
VOHC seal and are clinically proven to clean away tartar, plaque, stain on
your cat's teeth.

There's also all the Iams Dental Diet doohickeys.

AFAICT, t/d is the best dry food for dental care. It also seems to be
extremely palatable to the furry freaks. On the flip side, it's pretty
low calorie (high fibre), which may or may not be of interest. It's
also a distressing yellow in colour.

What will work best is for you to attempt a daily cleaning of your
cats fangs. This may, or may not be possible without loss of own
limbs. CET make little cleaning kits so that you can find out how
futile the attempt is, give up, and search for a suitable dental diet.

I'd probably stick with a predominantly wet diet, with some arbitrary
amount of dental diet added in. Maybe 33% dental diet and 66% wet, on
a calorific basis. I have no basis whatsoever for those figures,
calorific or otherwise.

Steve.

(GAUBSTER2) wrote in message ...
From: gree (Filigree00)

So...does anyone have recs for what *will* work?

Kirsten, try Hill's t/d or Science Diet Oral Care. These products carry the
VOHC seal and are clinically proven to clean away tartar, plaque, stain on
your cat's teeth.

There's also all the Iams Dental Diet doohickeys.

AFAICT, t/d is the best dry food for dental care. It also seems to be
extremely palatable to the furry freaks. On the flip side, it's pretty
low calorie (high fibre), which may or may not be of interest. It's
also a distressing yellow in colour.

What will work best is for you to attempt a daily cleaning of your
cats fangs. This may, or may not be possible without loss of own
limbs. CET make little cleaning kits so that you can find out how
futile the attempt is, give up, and search for a suitable dental diet.

I'd probably stick with a predominantly wet diet, with some arbitrary
amount of dental diet added in. Maybe 33% dental diet and 66% wet, on
a calorific basis. I have no basis whatsoever for those figures,
calorific or otherwise.

Steve.

"Filigree00" wrote in message
...
A vet recently recommended that I get food for my cats marketed as having
teeth-cleaning properties. She mentioned that these foods have an enzyme
in
them that breaks down the plaque on their teeth.

The fact that they'll only eat regular Friskies aside, I tried giving
them
Friskies Dental Diet, mixing it in with the regular stuff. They didn't
like it.
Then I read the bag--apparently it's marketed as teeth-cleaning solely
because
the food pieces are larger and take longer to chew. A search on Petco came
up
with a fancier brand name with the same exact thing (larger food). I'm
thinking
I may have misunderstood the vet about this supposed special enzyme.

So...does anyone have recs for what *will* work? I saw something in a
catalog
that you add to their water, but I'd like to know if it really works
before
buying it. Any recommendations on teeth-cleaning products that work would
be
much appreciated!

Kirsten

Doing this may or may not work for you and yours, but it works for me and
mine - the brushing of the teeth. Tiny tot tooth brush and a feline tooth
paste.

Judy & Matilda.

"Filigree00" wrote in message
...
A vet recently recommended that I get food for my cats marketed as having
teeth-cleaning properties. She mentioned that these foods have an enzyme
in
them that breaks down the plaque on their teeth.

The fact that they'll only eat regular Friskies aside, I tried giving
them
Friskies Dental Diet, mixing it in with the regular stuff. They didn't
like it.
Then I read the bag--apparently it's marketed as teeth-cleaning solely
because
the food pieces are larger and take longer to chew. A search on Petco came
up
with a fancier brand name with the same exact thing (larger food). I'm
thinking
I may have misunderstood the vet about this supposed special enzyme.

So...does anyone have recs for what *will* work? I saw something in a
catalog
that you add to their water, but I'd like to know if it really works
before
buying it. Any recommendations on teeth-cleaning products that work would
be
much appreciated!

Kirsten

Doing this may or may not work for you and yours, but it works for me and
mine - the brushing of the teeth. Tiny tot tooth brush and a feline tooth
paste.

Judy & Matilda.

Steve wrote:

(GAUBSTER2) wrote in message
...

Kirsten, try Hill's t/d or Science Diet Oral Care. These products carry
the
VOHC seal and are clinically proven to clean away tartar, plaque, stain on
your cat's teeth.

There's also all the Iams Dental Diet doohickeys.

AFAICT, t/d is the best dry food for dental care. It also seems to be
extremely palatable to the furry freaks. On the flip side, it's pretty
low calorie (high fibre), which may or may not be of interest.

Actually, it may be of concern for one of my cats--I don't want to give him
anything that may cause him to lose weight fast since he's had complications
due to dieting in the past. Do you think the fact that it's low calorie might
cause an overweight cat to lose weight quickly?

It's
also a distressing yellow in colour.

So is the Friskies.

What will work best is for you to attempt a daily cleaning of your
cats fangs. This may, or may not be possible without loss of own
limbs. CET make little cleaning kits so that you can find out how
futile the attempt is, give up, and search for a suitable dental diet.

That will probably be my course of action.

I'd probably stick with a predominantly wet diet, with some arbitrary
amount of dental diet added in. Maybe 33% dental diet and 66% wet, on
a calorific basis. I have no basis whatsoever for those figures,
calorific or otherwise.

Just curious--doesn't wet food contribute to tartar buildup more so than dry
alone? This was something else the vet told me and so I stopped giving my
babies wet food, much to their chagrin.

thanks,
Kirsten

Steve wrote:

(GAUBSTER2) wrote in message
...

Kirsten, try Hill's t/d or Science Diet Oral Care. These products carry
the
VOHC seal and are clinically proven to clean away tartar, plaque, stain on
your cat's teeth.

There's also all the Iams Dental Diet doohickeys.

AFAICT, t/d is the best dry food for dental care. It also seems to be
extremely palatable to the furry freaks. On the flip side, it's pretty
low calorie (high fibre), which may or may not be of interest.

Actually, it may be of concern for one of my cats--I don't want to give him
anything that may cause him to lose weight fast since he's had complications
due to dieting in the past. Do you think the fact that it's low calorie might
cause an overweight cat to lose weight quickly?

It's
also a distressing yellow in colour.

So is the Friskies.

What will work best is for you to attempt a daily cleaning of your
cats fangs. This may, or may not be possible without loss of own
limbs. CET make little cleaning kits so that you can find out how
futile the attempt is, give up, and search for a suitable dental diet.

That will probably be my course of action.

I'd probably stick with a predominantly wet diet, with some arbitrary
amount of dental diet added in. Maybe 33% dental diet and 66% wet, on
a calorific basis. I have no basis whatsoever for those figures,
calorific or otherwise.

Just curious--doesn't wet food contribute to tartar buildup more so than dry
alone? This was something else the vet told me and so I stopped giving my
babies wet food, much to their chagrin.

thanks,
Kirsten

gree (Filigree00) wrote:

Kirsten, try Hill's t/d or Science Diet Oral Care. These products carry
the
VOHC seal and are clinically proven to clean away tartar, plaque, stain on

your cat's teeth.

There's also all the Iams Dental Diet doohickeys.

AFAICT, t/d is the best dry food for dental care. It also seems to be
extremely palatable to the furry freaks. On the flip side, it's pretty
low calorie (high fibre), which may or may not be of interest.

Actually, it may be of concern for one of my cats--I don't want to give him
anything that may cause him to lose weight fast since he's had complications
due to dieting in the past. Do you think the fact that it's low calorie might
cause an overweight cat to lose weight quickly?

One of our cats, who was about a pound overweight, did lost most of that pound
over the course of several months on SD dental diet. I wouldn't say she lost it
quickly, however. And we also feed canned food, so it wasn't her only diet.

It's
also a distressing yellow in colour.

So is the Friskies.


What will work best is for you to attempt a daily cleaning of your
cats fangs. This may, or may not be possible without loss of own
limbs. CET make little cleaning kits so that you can find out how
futile the attempt is, give up, and search for a suitable dental diet.

That will probably be my course of action.

I'd probably stick with a predominantly wet diet, with some arbitrary
amount of dental diet added in. Maybe 33% dental diet and 66% wet, on
a calorific basis. I have no basis whatsoever for those figures,
calorific or otherwise.

Just curious--doesn't wet food contribute to tartar buildup more so than dry
alone? This was something else the vet told me and so I stopped giving my
babies wet food, much to their chagrin.

Well, that's debatable. Canned food is generally considered a healthier diet
overall then dry. I'm not sure there is any real evidence that canned food
contributes to tartar buildup. However, if you are concerned, why not feed
both?