Hi all you wonderful cats lovers! Just wanna ask which brand of toothpaste you use and whether you like it. Would like a comparison to see what´s good out there. I use Virbac CET poultry flavour toothpaste and brush with the CET double headed toothbrush.

Yes, that is a good choice. CET has different flavors that your cat may like also.

Yep. I first used this brand called Pro Dental but by the grace of some power up there, my cats hated it because of it´s taste. I threw it out only to realise later that the toothpaste has been recalled as it is made in China and contained diethylene glycol (DEG). That was a close shave. I´m sticking to CET brand from now on.

well, lucky you, that you live in countries that have all kinds of products for animal health. Here, in Serbia, I am having trouble to find toothpaste for my cat. I´ve been in almost every vet pharmacy and shop, asked the vet, searching online, and I couldn´t find the toothpaste for my cat. In pharmacy they´ve told me that they have for dogs only, and in some they looked me with a bit of a shock asking for cat´s toothpaste. The only thing I could find for dental hygiene was a virbac´s liquid that is used with drinking water. My cat had serious gingivitis when he was 6 months old (it was the problem with his immune system), and the special food didn´t help. So I had no other option that to try the aloe vera toothgel with enzymes for both humans and animals. I now that it´s not recommended to try any kind of products on animals, especially on cats, but I had no choice. Fortunately, it helped, with no side effects. But I am still searching for the right toothpaste which I could buy in Belgrade.

I tried to clean my cat´s teeth once but it bit me. How on earth do you manage it?

Oldwoman, I was thinking the same thing. Mugger doesn´t like me to put anything in his mouth. Not pills, not liquid medicine, and I´ll bet not toothpaste. How do you all brush a cat´s teeth? Is there a special toothbrush?

I started with mine when they were babies, putting a bit of the toothpaste on my fingers and rubbing it on their teeth for just a few seconds...they really like the taste, so it was only a matter of time until I could brush...there are special toothbrushes which are designed for their small mouths, and which have soft bristles. I bet the same technique may work for older cats too, as long as they think they´re getting a treat.

I was supposed to put the toothpaste on a bit of cloth and rub the cats teeth with the cloth on my finger I think my cat had quite different ideas

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Do any of you go to the vet for a teeth cleaning? I know it is expensive and the cat has to be put under for it. My girlfriend did this yearly for her cats. I never have and notice that Tuffy´s eye teeth are not looking too clean.

Yes of course my cats have their teeth cleaned by the vet. Ginger however has chronic gingivitis for no obvious reason. He has to eat strips of raw chicken breast, which has helped a great deal, as it massages the gums. His gums are now pracically normal. I was just trying the teeth cleaning with toospaste, because is seemed a good idea at the time. It wasn´t.

Mugger should also have his teeth cleaned, but the vet told me that since he has a heart murmur, they wouldn´t anesthetize him unless he first got an ultrasound to determine how severe the heart murmur is. No, I´m not worried about his heart - I understand a lot of cats have small heart murmurs, and the vet seemed to think that Mugger´s murmur is indeed a small one - but still, he wanted to be on the safe side. I have not had the ultrasound done, though, as I´m a chicken.

Mugger should also have his teeth cleaned, but the vet told me that since he has a heart murmur, they wouldn´t anesthetize him unless he first got an ultrasound to determine how severe the heart murmur is. No, I´m not worried about his heart - I understand a lot of cats have small heart murmurs, and the vet seemed to think that Mugger´s murmur is indeed a small one - but still, he wanted to be on the safe side. I have not had the ultrasound done, though, as I´m a chicken.
You should sort it out really. Cats can suffer with toothache terribly.

I´m pretty attentive to his mouth - I´ve even been so brave as to pull his lips down (or up) to check his gums. Also, he so far hasn´t shown symptoms of toothache.... his teeth are better than mine!

I´m pretty attentive to his mouth - I´ve even been so brave as to pull his lips down (or up) to check his gums. Also, he so far hasn´t shown symptoms of toothache.... his teeth are better than mine!
Glad to hear it. I am also overdue for a dentist

For me, what worked was the flavour of the toothpaste. When I switched to CET with the poultry flavour, it was much easier to introduce toothbrushing to them as they actually liked licking it. All I have to do is put a drop of the paste on their brush, but it near their nose and they´ll start licking it. Then I simple lift up their lips and start brushing very gently. They will stay stlll for more then 10 secs and I don´t expect them to. As long as the toothbrush had reached all corners of the mouth about twice, I stop and let them lick the toothpaste off the teeth. That´s a cleaning process as well. Hi richardd, do you want to try ordering toothpaste online? I had bought a few stuff online and with all costs added, I actually paid less then buying from a shop. Also, I´m not sure if you guys might be interested in this, but for stubborn cats, this could help : www.petzlife.com

Mugger always licks his teeth right after he eats - seems to do a very thorough job as well. Does that really provide some teeth-cleaning for him?

I think licking does clean their teeth to some extend Wolfie. However, that only cleans areas that are reachable by the tongue. There are many areas like the ones in between the teeth that requires a toothbrush. Just like us, we clean our teeth when our top teeth grinds with the bottom, but we still need regular flossing and brushing to reach the tricky spots, which are the main culprits of gingivities and eventual decay. The reason also with regular brushing is to prevent stains. It isn´t just for aesthetic performance but stains also hide other underlying symptoms that might require urgent medical attention.

I am also guilty of being overdue for dentistry too...it took us FOREVER to find a vet that I liked here, and now that I finally found one, I´m several months overdue for teeth cleaning. btw, my dog has a heart murmur but she still goes under yearly for her dental workup...no worries yet (knocking on wood)