Feline Gum Disease – How serious of a problem is it?
I just adopted a cat, 1 yr 6 mos old and the vet said that in a year he may need a professional cleaning ($500 +). He has red gums with a bit of tartar.
So I plan on brushing is teeth daily and applying a feline mouthwash each night. When I do brush one part of his gums start bleeding.
I’ve switched food from exclusively dry to dry and wet mixed up together.
So I’m just wondering how likely it will be that he will need a cleaning and extractions if I keep up on this regime.
I know it depends on the individual…I’m just looking for thoughts and advice.
Just like in humans, peridontal disease in cats can lead to kidney and heart disease. The bleeding gums may go away as they become less sensitive to the brushing, but often it takes a professional cleaning first followed by brushing to get rid of the gingivitis. Often a vet will prescribe an antibiotic like Clavomox for the gingivitis – it really can help.
Please don’t mix canned and dry food – most (grocery store) dry food is sprayed with fats to make them more appealing to cats, and they become rancid when moisture hits them, and quickly become a bacterial soup. You could possibly make your cat ill if the food’s not consumed very quickly!
Dry food isn’t what he needs, it was created for the convenience of us humans, and not for the health of our cats. It’s really a myth that dry food cleans teeth. Take a look at a cat’s teeth – they were designed for ripping meat, and not for chewing. Cats don’t chew their dry food, they bite it then swallow the pieces. Dry food doesn’t clean teeth any more than hard pretzels clean ours.
You’re right – some cats have just inherited the genes for a bad mouth (I have one of them), others are less affected. But if you do keep his teeth brushed (he lets you do that? How wonderful!) and keep on top of any serious issues with the vet, he’ll be much better off for it.
Cat & Kitten Care : Gum Disease in Cats
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