# Canned food & keeping cats teeth healthy



## Shenanigans (Jul 23, 2011)

Okay, so, the vet wants to put Apollo on a small bit of steroids and slowly wean him off them. I don't know how I feel about it just yet, but I'm supposed to get back to her shortly. In the meantime, I'm on my way to go pick up some canned food for him. I don't want to go 100% canned just yet, but I'm hoping to just primarily feed him canned for now, with some kibble just to have around.

That leads me to my next question, which I don't think I've seen covered in the forum. How do you protect your cats teeth when you feed 100% canned? Treats and chewies? That's thelast thing I want; his teeth to start getting messed up. I know when I was younger, my tortie/siamese mix had bad teeth, I think actually her baby teeth never came out, so she couldnt chew dry food and had no appetite if it was watered down, so therefore she was 100% canned food only.

I have a feeling the people at the pet store are going to be tired of me by the time I leave, but I have a lot of questions, lol. I just want my baby boy to be healthy, and I don't want to ask my vet more questions, since she just wants to run more and more tests and try this and that out on him.

Thanks all.


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## littlesushi (Jun 8, 2011)

I try to brush my kitties teeth every couple weeks. And I also heard that giving them an occasional treat of a raw chicken wing (smallest 2 joints) can help to clean their teeth. Haven't tried this yet.

Good luck!


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## The Divine Miss M (Oct 4, 2011)

It's a myth that dry food maintains cat teeth. Cats don't chew. You can try getting him used to brushing his teeth or by special toys and treats that encourage chewing.


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## SomeRandomChick (Sep 11, 2011)

From my understanding, it is a myth that dry food is better than canned for dental health. Some of the arguments are that cats don't really "chew", but they break the pieces into swallow-able chunks, so the "scrubbing" effect they get is minimal - on top of that, the "breaking" of the pieces can also irritate their gums. Also, the higher carbs and starch in dry may actually contribute to tooth decay (similar to junk food for us).

Personally, I do brush my cat's teeth on occasion, and since I feed her raw sometimes, she has no problem taking down a bone in chicken wing, which as mentioned above, is good for the teeth.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

The Divine Miss M said:


> It's a myth that dry food maintains cat teeth. Cats don't chew. You can try getting him used to brushing his teeth or by special toys and treats that encourage chewing.


This.


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

I believe it is also a myth that chicken bones or any others will help to clean a cats teeth. It has no scientific proof to back it up. Cats I have had in the past have had horrible breath on canned food that dry. Just my experience.

At this point, with all the problems he has had eating, I would give him what he likes. Be it wet or dry. The kind (brand) he is most fond of too. He really just needs to eat.


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

I brush my cats teeth everyday. I also give them some raw meals a few times a week, which is good for teeth cleaning as well. Meatball use to have bad teeth at very young age. It's genetic, and my vet warned me. But now her teeth are sparkling white


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Penny135 said:


> At this point, with all the problems he has had eating, I would give him what he likes. Be it wet or dry. The kind (brand) he is most fond of too. He really just needs to eat.


I disagree with this, yes it is important that he eat but if he's got tummy issues then the last thing you want to do is dump garbage into him and irritate his already tender insides.

Canned is going to be easier on them, there's more liquid in it to keep him hydrated and things moving and with good quality there's less ..junk... that's going to mess with his works. If your kid had an upset stomach and diarrhea you wouldn't pump them full of cheetos (yeah, my favorite comparison 'cause there my favorite junk food) just because they 'need to eat something'. You'd try to give them something soothing for their system and nourishing to help their bodies heal.


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## catinthemirror (Jun 28, 2011)

Penny135 said:


> I believe it is also a myth that chicken bones or any others will help to clean a cats teeth. It has no scientific proof to back it up. Cats I have had in the past have had horrible breath on canned food that dry. Just my experience.


In my experience raw definitely has made a difference in the amount of plaque on my older cat's teeth. She was on kibble for 13 years and had bad breath and plaque at her last vet visit (before I started her on raw). Her breath definitely got worse on a canned diet, but a saw a lot of other health benefits in her that really made me feel it was worth it. Anyway she's since been switched completely to raw and her bad breath is gone, while her plaque is visibly reduced. It really is a shame there aren't more unbiased studies on raw being done, but until there all I just want to add to the anecdotal evidence that's out there. 

Although I will say that I don't think it's bones that cause the actual cleaning benefit, because my Sassy will not chew bones and gets hers cut up small. What she does get is chunks of meat, and I feel the constant chewing of dense, meaty chunks is what helps rub off the plaque. So for people giving their cats canned food I'm not sure what to suggest to keep plaque under control, other than brushing. Kudos to people whose cats let them do it, because I tried to train mine for a couple months and really didn't get anywhere :-?


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

Penny135 said:


> I believe it is also a myth that chicken bones or any others will help to clean a cats teeth. It has no scientific proof to back it up.


 
Feeding chunks of raw meat and things like chicken necks/wings has certainly helped my cats dental health - every last one of them. Nearly all of them had bad breath/very plaque covered teeth prior to switching them to raw (they were being fed dry/canned food prior to the switch). Now their breath is much better and their teeth are white. 

Rajah's before and after pictures turned out the best:









Rajah (15 year old Bengal) prior to raw feeding.









Rajah after three months on prey model raw.
___________________________________________________
Dry food does not clean a cats teeth, as has already been stated. It breaks on contact with the cats teeth, same with dental treats like Greenies. 

Raw meat/bone on the other hand, acts as a natural tooth brush. 



 **warning: video is of cat eating raw meat** You can see how much the cat has to work on it, and why it would act as a toothbrush/floss.

Other things you could do: brush kitty's teeth, there is also an additive to put in their water, called Petkin Liquid Oral Care. The ingredients in that oral care product are all safe (no dyes, no fragrance, no alcohol, no sugars) and it apparently does work very well.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

The Divine Miss M said:


> It's a myth that dry food maintains cat teeth. Cats don't chew. You can try getting him used to brushing his teeth or by special toys and treats that encourage chewing.


I know when Missy vomits, bits of kibble float in the guck, but she seems to crunch on it when she eats it. And Zenobi was amusing, I'd be playing with her using the laser and she'd disappear, then I'd hear the crunching from the kitchen where she always had a dish of kibble to snack on.

I think they must eat small bones if they are hunters. How would they avoid crunching on mouse bones?

Missy won't eat sardine bones, however, she roles them to the side of the dish.


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## Shenanigans (Jul 23, 2011)

(I realize I keep starting threads that I don't have time to respond to, sorry lol.)

Thanks so much for all the info. I haven't tried to brush Apollo's teethers, but to be honest, I don't think he'd ever let me. He does chew on my hair brushes and I've caught him chewing on my old toothbrush, so maybe I could get him to "do it himself"  He'd never know it's good for him if I don't "force" it on him, lol.

I don't know a WHOLE lot about cat health and all that, not about the stuff I should know any about anyway... I can bottle feed sick kittens, rabbits, etc back to health, but the important stuff? Psh. I just know, for me, if I had gone from always eating foods with texture and crunchiness, to foods that were mush and soft, my teeth would give me ****. Which, having wisdom teeth taken out will do that to you, lol. That's what I worry about most, going from primarily kibble to primarily canned. 

He has great teeth now, which isn't too much of a surprise since he's still a kitten. I just figured that breaking up the kibble did a number on the plaque on their teeth and everything. 

Anyway! Thanks again folks, I appreciate it. (Haven't had a chance to get his canned food yet - I got super sick overnight and had an important interview this morning.. I can't make myself get up to go to the store. Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow!)


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