February is Pet Dental Health: How is your kitty's oral hygiene?
How to Keep Your Cat's Dental Hygiene Up to Date.
When you establish an excellent dental maintenance routine at an early age for your cat, it can help your cat live a happy and healthy life. When you keep your cat’s dental hygiene up-to-date, it prevents developing diseases like gingivitis. Moreover, it can keep their breath smelling fresh.
February is Pet Dental Month, so I would like to share some tips to keep your cat’s oral health up to date.
Why is Cat’s Dental Hygiene Important?
Pets communicate verbally to tell their issues, so it’s essential to follow a preventive approach rather than a reactive or corrective approach for their dental care. You need to regularly check your cat's teeth and gums to ensure that your cat is healthy. When bacteria, debris, and plaque become extreme, it becomes difficult to get rid of them. Therefore, you need to keep your cat’s dental hygiene up to date to ensure healthy and long life.
Tips for Cleaning Your Cat’s Teeth
For maintaining good oral health, you need to use the right equipment. You can’t use human dental products on your cat. You can buy cat-specific dental products or ask your vet for the best products.
1. Cat toothbrush and toothpaste
Buy a cat toothbrush from the market. If you have more than one cat, you need to buy separate brushes because saliva can be a significant infection source. Moreover, cat toothpaste is different from human toothpaste. You can try different flavors to find which one works best. Additionally, there are some finger brushes available.
2. Take your cat for an annual checkup
Unfortunately, most pet owners don’t take this step seriously. When they don’t take their cats for annual checkups, it can cause serious health problems. During these yearly checkups, the vet will evaluate the oral health as well. Frequent vet visits can maintain the good oral health of your cat.
3. Start daily dental care routine and stick to it
It can be challenging to clean the teeth of cats, but it becomes easy when you start this at a young age. Adult cats show resistance to cleaning. Use toothpaste that is specifically made for cats and use a fingertip brush or other toothbrush for cleaning.
Daily brushing can prevent your cat from serious health issues. So, set up a routine and stick to it.
4. Dental gel
Dogs are more cooperative than cats, so you might face resistance when brushing your cat’s teeth. In such cases, you need to look for an alternative option. Dental gels contain enzymes to prevent tooth decay and gum disease. You can use a unique finger applicator to apply the gel to your cat’s teeth.
5. Dental prescription diet
Our goal is to maintain good oral health, so we have to do everything we can. Feed your cat a dental prescription diet to maintain optimal gum and tooth health. These foods are specifically designed to remove plaque along the gum line.
Moreover, this type of food helps maintain healthy teeth and oral health. Indeed, it’s a good diet for teeth health, but it shouldn’t be considered a full diet for your kitten.