Cat Dental Care: The Best Cat Dental Products
Just like humans, one of the most important steps to take care of your pet’s health is to practice a regular dental care routine. Due to their nature, cats are prone to suffering from dental problems just like humans, whether it’s a build-up of plaque to the development of serious dental diseases such as gingivitis and tooth resorption, there are a lot of dental health problems that can cause your feline pain. Therefore, it’s important that your cat’s teeth are kept as clean and healthy as possible with the help of our best cat dental products available at Direct4Pet.
Whether you’re looking for the best meat-flavoured toothpaste or a tasty dental treat to keep your fussy-feline’s gums and teeth clean, discover the best cat dental care products from leading pet brands for your cat below.
How do I take care of my cat's teeth?
Approaching the task of brushing your cat’s teeth may seem like a daunting task at first, however, it is vital to your cat’s health that their teeth are cleaned daily if possible or at least twice a week. The key to successfully caring for your cat’s dental hygiene is to introduce the activity of having fingers in their mouth from a young age, and one of the best ways to do this is through the use of silicone finger cover that can be used to give them treats and will introduce a similar feeling to a toothbrush.
It’s important that you wait until your cat is six months old before you begin to brush their teeth properly with a toothbrush as they may still be teething, and may find brushing painful or unsettling. Not all cats will tolerate teeth brushing easily, but, if introduced to the behaviour early in life, most will get used to it if and become familiar with the process gradually over time.
Best Cat toothpaste and toothbrushes
The best cat dental products for your pet are completely dependant on your cat’s individual preferences and tolerance levels, however, the best place to start to build your cat’s dental routine is with a good toothbrush and flavoured cat toothpaste. If your cat's more hesitant to get their teeth brushed, a flavoured toothpaste is a great way to help get the job done, as they are more likely to be receptive to teeth brushing if the toothpaste tastes like their favourite foods.
Dorwest, offers a roast dinner flavoured cat toothpaste that has been specifically designed with veterinary professionals to help keep your pet’s mouth clean and healthy. Formulated with a gentle, low-foaming formula, this cat toothpaste helps to clean your pet’s teeth without damaging their enamel. Featuring natural sage oil to act as a potent antiseptic and antioxidant that helps towards keeping those gums fresh and healthy, this toothpaste also benefits from a tasty liver flavour to satisfy your cat’s taste buds at the same time.
Dorwest Roast Dinner Cat Toothpaste £12.19, Vibrac Dual Ended Toothbrush £6.39 and Vibrac Enzymatic Toothpaste - Fish Flavour £7.89
For felines who prefer a fishy taste, Vibrac’s fish flavoured enzymatic toothpaste for cats is the perfect solution to ensuring your feline friend’s teeth are kept clean and healthy. Specially formulated with mildly abrasive ingredients including dual-enzymes, this cat toothpaste is designed to prevent plaque-forming bacteria and works to keep cat mouth odours neutralised.
The most effective way to remove plaque from your cat’s teeth is with a soft toothbrush such as this Vibrac dual ended toothbrush. Featuring both large and small tapered brush heads to fit to all sizes of cat mouths with angled heads for easy toothpaste application. The soft bristles of this dual toothbrush are designed to be gentle on your cat’s mouths whilst effectively cleaning their teeth.
Remember to never use a human toothbrush or toothpaste on your cat as the harshness of the brush can damage their gums and the chemicals in a toothpaste made for humans are harmful to cats.
Direct4Pet’s top 5 tips for cleaning your cat’s teeth
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Desensitise your cat to having their mouth touched - In order to successfully clean your cat’s teeth with a toothbrush you must first make sure your cat is comfortable with their face and mouth being touched. One way to do this is to stroke their face around their mouths when petting them and try to gently put your finger under their lips. It’s best to start this process from a young kitten in preparation for teeth brushing when they reach six months. However, if this is not an option for you, if you’ve adopted a cat or become a cat owner in the later stages of your feline friend’s life, we would still recommend trying to introduce mouth-touching behaviour before diving headfirst into a teeth-brushing routine. While this may be more difficult to introduce later in life, we would suggest opting for a peace offering in the form of cat nibbles or treats to reward good behaviour while they become familiar with their new routine.
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Get them used to the toothbrush and toothpaste - Cat’s are more likely to resist getting their teeth brushed if they are not familiar with the objects going into their mouths. In order to encourage your cat to not see toothbrushes and toothpaste as threatening objects, try leaving them out in a place where your cat can approach them of their own accord. Allowing them to sniff and inspect these objects, perhaps even letting them lick toothpaste off your finger will help to keep your cat calm when the time comes to brushing their teeth.
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Introduce the toothbrush slowly - Instead of going straight to your cat’s mouth with the toothbrush, try to first use the brush on other areas of your cat such as around their head. Using the toothbrush in an area they are comfortable with being touched will then help make the transition to moving it towards their mouths easier.
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Brush at an angle - Once your cat is comfortable with having their mouth touched with the toothbrush, it’s time to start applying the toothpaste and brushing. The most effective way to brush their teeth is to apply the bristles at a 45-degree angle, reaching both the tooth surface and just beneath the gum. If you have more than one cat to care for in your household, it’s important that they each have their own toothbrush to avoid transferring bacteria between pets.
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Form a teeth brushing routine - The most effective way to ensure your cat’s dental hygiene is in the best condition is to form a solid tooth brushing routine. By brushing your cat’s teeth at the same time each day, they will become used to the routine and come to expect it instead of being surprised and anxious. Make sure you find a time to brush when both you and your cat are calm and comfortable, if your cat starts to show signs of aggression or is becoming stressed make sure to stop and resume at a later time.
How can I clean my cat's teeth naturally?
If brushing your cat’s teeth with a toothbrush is a losing battle then why not try cleaning your cat’s teeth naturally?
For fussy felines, there are a range of dental hygiene products that require no presence of a toothbrush or toothpaste to ensure that your cat’s teeth are cared for in a stress-free way. One of the most important parts of cat dental care is to ensure that plaque is kept at bay, and, thankfully, with a combination of oral pastes and dental care cat food and treats, you can easily create an effective dental care routine that is guaranteed to treat plaque without the use of a toothbrush.
One of the recommended ways to ensure your cat’s dental hygiene is kept up to scratch (without the use of a cat toothbrush) is through the use of a cat food that is specifically formulated to help with dental care. The Hill’s prescription diet dental care cat food offers a completely balanced assortment of cat food that is designed to provide your cat with all of their essential nutrients while also protecting oral health. Made with tasty chicken, turkey and rice with added antioxidants to help protect your cat’s dental health.
Hill's Prescription Diet Feline Dental Care Cat Food £24.39, Plaque Off Powder £13.99 and Plaque Off Dental Bites £6.99
For additional dental care, sprinkle PlaqueOff powder into your cat’s food daily to help slowly soften any tartar and plaque build up. Designed for everyday use, this dental care powder is made from 100% natural ingredients that work as soon as ingested to help soften any plaque that will slowly remove as your cat continues to chew. The main ingredient of this powder, Ascophyllum nodosum (seaweed) is an active ingredient that helps to erode a build up of nasty bacteria and help reduce your cat’s bad breath in a natural way. Using this powder in addition to a specially formulated dental cat food creates a simple, fuss-free dental care routine for your cat that will show quick results when used daily.
PlaqueOff also offers dental bites for cats which are delicious treats for your cat that contain the same active ingredients as the powder to help reduce bad breath, eradicate plaque and break down tartar. Add these tasty treats into your cat dental care routine for a simple, fuss-free way to keep your cat’s teeth clean and healthy.