The cat's front teeth are dark-colored. Tartar in cats - causes and treatment

These are calcareous deposits formed due to the presence of microorganisms, dark brown or yellow in color and hard to the touch. Tartar in cats begins to form in childhood. At the initial stage of the disease, plaque formation occurs due to plaque and harmful microorganisms accumulated on the surface of the teeth. As a rule, it is found on fangs and molars, growing over time and giving a rather unattractive appearance.

Reasons for education

A cat may have tartar on its teeth for many reasons. The most common factors include the following:

Lack of pet oral hygiene.
Feeding the animal predominantly soft food.
Failure of the salt exchange process.
Pathologies of dental structure.
Violation of the integrity of tooth enamel.

Over time, plaque on the jaw becomes hard and eventually turns into tartar. This disease threatens the cat with the fact that the teeth will gradually begin to decay, up to the complete loss of the entire jaw. The stone is located under the gums, so removing it presents some difficulties.

In veterinary medicine, there are several reasons that influence the formation of tartar:

Improperly balanced cat nutrition. The lack of natural food leads to the formation of microorganisms, which, when interacting with saliva, lead to the formation of deposits.
Incorrectly formed bite.
Metabolic disorders in the cat’s body lead to improper salt metabolism, resulting in the growth of tartar.
Insufficient oral care.
The presence of inflammation of the gums.

Types of Tartar

Tartar, as a rule, forms in places where saliva is washed; incisors and molars are susceptible to it. Sometimes these formations cover not one, but several teeth in a row. Dental stones are divided according to their location. They are:

Supragingival. This type of deposit is located above the gum. It can be noticed during examination of the animal's oral cavity.
Subgingival. These deposits are located on the root of the tooth, under the gum. It is impossible to notice it during inspection. It promotes the formation of places in the cat’s gums where bacteria accumulate. As a result, loosening and loss of the tooth occurs.

Development of periodontitis

By this term, veterinarians understand the inflammation of the tissues that surround the root. The disease occurs due to bruises, cracks, and inflammatory processes occurring in the oral cavity. With periodontitis, a cat's gums become swollen. The animal refuses to eat because it feels pain. The tooth, located in the place where the inflammation is localized, begins to loosen.

Veterinarians, diagnosing this disease in a pet, prescribe disinfectant solutions. They are used to rinse the cat's mouth. The treatment will also bring good results if calendula infusion is used. The product relieves inflammation and has a bactericidal effect. If purulent-diffuse periodontitis is diagnosed, then veterinarians recommend removing the tooth.

Dental system of an adult cat

An adult cat has a total of 30 teeth: 12 incisors, 4 canines and 14 premolars (8 on the upper jaw and 6 on the lower jaw). The change of teeth is completed at approximately eight months. The permanent teeth are very sharp and have a cutting surface. Incisors are needed to capture food and care for fur, fangs are a formidable weapon for hunting and protection from enemies, premolars crush large pieces of food.

What are the symptoms of the disease?

Symptoms of tartar are:

An unpleasant odor comes from the animal's mouth.
A yellow or brown coating is observed on the teeth.
The cat behaves restlessly while eating, becomes nervous and is in no hurry to eat the food quickly.
Various tumors, growths and other unfavorable complications may appear on the oral mucosa.
The gums begin to bleed, which indicates the development of periodontal disease.

Tartar provokes the development of various pathogens. As a result, some diseases may appear. With a severe form of the stone, the likelihood of gingivitis, and even stomatitis, increases.

Even the most inexperienced owner will understand that the cat has developed tartar. Most common symptoms:

Extremely unpleasant odor from the mouth.
Growths formed on the surface of teeth.
Inflammatory processes of the gums.
The cat is extremely irritated while eating, shaking its head and growling.
Profuse salivation.
Loosening and loss of teeth.
The cat regularly rubs its cheek against something.
Yellow or dark brown plaque at the base of the tooth.
Swelling of the oral mucosa.
Swollen eyes.

Diagnostics

If any of the listed symptoms are detected, you must immediately contact a veterinarian in order to accurately make a diagnosis and begin qualified treatment. Diagnosis of the disease includes only a visual examination by a veterinarian or dentist. As a rule, after the examination we are talking about urgent treatment of the pathological process.

Insufficient care, poor diet, hard water, hereditary predisposition and some infections can cause oral diseases.

When your teeth hurt, it’s easy to notice the problem:

the pet rubs its muzzle with its paw or persistently rubs its cheek against the furniture;

there is an unpleasant odor from the mouth;

gums become red and inflamed;

one or more teeth change color;

the pet does not allow you to touch its cheek, it shows aggression if the owner tries to look into its mouth;

depending on how many of the cat’s teeth hurt, she may either refuse food completely or eat with caution (chew on one side, drop pieces, chew food more slowly than usual);

When the pain is severe, the cat behaves restlessly, scratching its cheek with its paw, meowing, or sitting in a frozen position with its jaw slightly open. Drooling may increase.

Do I need to prepare for treatment and what to do after it?

Detection of calcareous deposits on teeth is carried out during a routine examination by a veterinarian using a special mirror. The doctor must check for inflammation, damage, and tumors in the oral cavity.

After the examination, therapy is prescribed, during which the cat’s tartar is removed. It is best to give preference to specialists in this matter. Home remedies do not always help cope with pathology. With their help it is better to prevent the disease.

You can remove tartar from your cat’s teeth using the following methods:

Mechanical. This method involves the use of dental instruments to remove the stone. This procedure can damage the teeth if the doctor is not careful or the cat starts to struggle.
Ultrasonic. This method is considered safer. It consists in cleaning the tartar from a cat’s teeth using an ultrasonic machine.

Currently, veterinarians prefer to remove the stone in three stages:

Chipping of a formation from a tooth.
Cleaning the jaw with ultrasound.
Final teeth grinding.

There should be no stone residue left behind. Otherwise it will arise again. All of these methods cause pain to the cat, so removal is performed using anesthesia. Treatment takes approximately 30-40 minutes.

Before removing tartar from your cat, you need to take some preparatory measures. If the cat is young and has no health problems, then to prepare it is enough not to feed the pet for 12 hours before the operation.

If the cat, in addition to tartar, also has an inflammatory process in the mucous membrane or the gums were injured during surgery, the doctor may advise the use of dental ointments and even prescribe antibacterial agents.

For 7 days after therapy, the cat should be given warm and soft food. If there is pain after surgery. Then you can give painkillers.

Prevention

Preventing the appearance of tartar in your pet is very important and simple. The owner should be aware of the following rules:

You should visit a veterinarian at least once every six months to sanitize your mouth for prevention.
Brush your cat's teeth regularly.
Feed your pet not only soft, but also hard food. In the summer, allow you to eat grass.
Use special food for cats against tartar.
Give the animal vitamins.
Promptly treat any diseases that lead to disruption of the acidic environment in the cat’s oral cavity.

Your pet's teeth should be cleaned using special brushes or regular children's brushes. Cats do not like this procedure. The older they are, the more difficult it is to train them to brush. Therefore, experts advise starting hygiene from an early age.

If tartar has not yet formed, but there is a dense plaque, then hydrogen peroxide can be used to prevent pathology. To do this, moisten the cotton wool and clean your teeth. In this case, do not touch the gums. The procedure should be carried out once a month. After the procedure, you need to rinse your pet’s mouth with water or chamomile infusion.

To prevent your cat from having a similar problem, it is necessary to prevent tartar at home, which includes simple rules:

Regular brushing of your cat's teeth will help avoid these troubles. Moreover, you need to start teaching your kitten about oral hygiene, because they get used to it more easily than adult cats.
A balanced diet also prevents problems with stone formation. Dry food has proven itself very well; it contains dietary fiber, which has a beneficial effect on the surface of the teeth and provides additional cleaning.
Currently, there are commercially available foods to which polyphosphate has been added, which creates a protective film on the teeth that protects against plaque.
Taking vitamins that contribute to the overall health of your pet, and the oral cavity is no exception.
Gastrointestinal diseases lead to an imbalance in the alkaline balance in the cat’s mouth, so regular medical examinations are necessary to monitor the pet’s health.
Regular dental examinations by a veterinarian are recommended as a preventive measure for various oral diseases.

At-risk groups

Tartar in cats usually forms when it reaches an age over five years, especially if the animal’s oral cavity has not been properly cared for. Recently, this problem has also begun to occur in young animals; there is a correlation with the animal’s unbalanced food.
In veterinary medicine, there is evidence that the most common breeds, such as Persian, Siamese, Scottish, are most predisposed to this disease. This is because sometimes unskilled breeders weaken the gene pool of these sought-after cats.
Backyard cats living in rural areas and eating natural food are less susceptible to this disease. They have stronger immunity than their elite relatives.

By carefully caring for your cat, you can avoid problems such as the formation of tartar in your pet. If such a problem affects your pet, then the help of a qualified specialist is necessary.

Unfortunately, dental diseases are a common occurrence. In their natural environment, cats clean their teeth mechanically by eating raw meat and chewing cartilage. In addition, a domestic cat lives twice as long as a stray animal - the enamel wears off with age, stress on the teeth leads to mechanical damage, bacteria penetrate through the cracks, which in turn leads to caries and other problems. Many owners make the situation worse because they are simply too lazy to brush their pet’s teeth. To keep your teeth healthy for many years, you need to:

regularly inspect the oral cavity, removing stuck pieces of food;

consult a doctor if you notice even minor signs of gum or dental disease;

feed the cat a balanced diet (if dry food is used, periodically add lines designed to prevent diseases of teeth and gums to the oral food menu).

Since not every owner is able to brush a pet’s teeth (some pets categorically refuse to tolerate a foreign object in their mouth), it is necessary to take the cat to the veterinarian at least once every six months to remove plaque and tartar.

If possible, you should brush your teeth once a week. To remove plaque, use a brush with soft bristles or a special finger attachment equipped with rubber teeth. Human toothpaste is not the best choice; it is wiser to purchase a special toothpaste or gel for pets. The cat is taught to brush its teeth gradually, first by just examining the oral cavity, then touching the teeth with your fingers, then letting the cat chew on a brush with paste applied to it (a paste with a meat aroma and taste that will not frighten the pet with a “chemical” smell is ideal). After cleaning, excess paste should be removed with a sterile gauze swab.

In their natural environment, animals clean their teeth mechanically by chewing cartilage and eating raw meat. Domestic cats mostly eat soft food. Their yellow teeth are a sign of insufficient care. Owners of young and old cats should pay special attention to this.

It is recommended to clean the oral cavity of animals regularly at any age. Modern manufacturers offer pastes with various flavors. For example, you can purchase “Beafar” for an animal. This toothpaste is suitable for a pet of any age. It effectively cleanses the oral cavity, prevents the formation of plaque and tartar, and eliminates unpleasant odor from the oral cavity. In addition, the product has a liver taste.

Animals should be taught to brush their teeth at an early age. To perform this procedure, owners are recommended to:

let the cat smell the toothpaste;
take a gauze napkin and wrap it around your finger;
Start cleaning with the fangs and then move on.

Instead of a gauze napkin, you can take a brush that you put on your finger. It's convenient to use.

To prevent tooth loss and the development of oral diseases, it is recommended:

regularly inspect your pet's mouth;
give the animal balanced food, add to the menu food intended for the prevention of gum and dental diseases;
If your cat has toothache, you should immediately contact a veterinarian;
When treatment is prescribed, all doctor’s recommendations must be followed.

All dental problems in cats can be eliminated. The health of animals is in the hands of the owners. Don't be lazy about caring for your pets. Cleaning the oral cavity should be done regularly. This short procedure allows you to avoid many oral diseases. You should also not rely entirely on special foods. Thanks to them, the teeth are only partially cleaned.

Teeth play an important role in a cat's life. Thanks to them, the animal captures, holds and chews food. In addition, a cat's teeth are its main weapon. They are needed for self-defense and attack on the victim. However, if not properly cared for, they deteriorate and various diseases occur. Treatment of such ailments must be carried out on time.

Cat's dental system

How many teeth a cat has is a question that interests many owners. Pets are born toothless. The first incisors are cut around the 2nd week of life. Then the canines and molars grow. They are cut from the pet until the end of the 1st month of life. In total, the kitten develops 26 teeth, of which 14 are on the upper jaw, and 12 on the lower jaw.

Milk teeth in cats, like in humans, are replaced by permanent teeth. This process begins at the age of 4 months. The change of teeth in cats is completed at 8 months. 4 additional teeth also grow, and there should be 30 in total (16 on the upper jaw and 14 on the lower jaw). The arrangement of a cat's teeth is quite simple. The dental system of an adult pet includes:

incisors, located in the front and used to capture prey;
fangs designed for tearing prey;
premolars involved in chewing food;
molars, which are also involved in grinding food.

Dental diseases

Cats are susceptible to various oral diseases (this is especially true for older pets). Very rarely, veterinarians encounter caries in animals. Dental diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis are diagnosed much more often in cats. Illnesses arise due to poor nutrition, insufficient care, hereditary predisposition and some infections.

Any disease of the oral cavity is easy to notice. The following signs indicate the occurrence of any illness:

an unpleasant odor appears from the mouth due to rotting teeth;
gums begin to redden and become inflamed;
in some cases, salivation increases;
natural color changes;
the animal behaves restlessly, sometimes showing aggression;
appetite worsens (the animal either refuses to eat or eats food with caution).

The occurrence of dental plaque and tartar

Cats' teeth are naturally white. However, due to improper care, a yellowish or grayish coating appears on their surface. Why it forms is a question that interests many pet owners. The teeth in the oral cavity are covered with a film of saliva, which contains various bacteria. Gradually the film thickens. After some time it turns into plaque. He mainly focuses on the back row and fangs.

If plaque is not removed in a timely manner, it will harden. Tartar will form. The likelihood of its formation increases in the following cases:

the animal has to eat only soft food;
the animal’s teeth are positioned incorrectly;
the pet's salt metabolism is impaired.

Tartar is very tricky. When examining a cat's oral cavity, you can only notice that part of it that is located above the gum. It is impossible to see the tartar underneath, but it is because of it that teeth rot and fall out in the future. Problems with gums also appear.

To remove plaque and prevent stone formation, you can purchase a brush. However, not every pet will behave calmly during the procedure and will not run away. Brushing causes fear in cats. Another solution to the problem is to purchase special additives in drinking water for animals that prevent the formation of stones.

Gingivitis in cats

Another common disease in animals is gingivitis. The main cause of the disease is the presence of tartar in the oral cavity. Predisposing factors are metabolic disorders, diseases of internal organs, and infections.

Gingivitis in cats causes gums to become inflamed. Cracks and ulcers appear on them. The gums begin to bleed. There is also bad breath and drooling. Treatment for gingivitis includes regular brushing of your cat's teeth and removal of tartar. In case of disease, special ointments or gels are applied to the gums (for example, Metrogyl Denta, Zubastik, Dentavedin).

To prevent this dental disease in cats, it is recommended to brush them regularly using a special toothpaste for animals and a brush. You can also purchase dry food that helps reduce plaque and prevent the formation of tartar.

Development of periodontitis

By this term, veterinarians understand the inflammation of the tissues that surround the root. The disease occurs due to bruises, cracks, and inflammatory processes occurring in the oral cavity. With periodontitis, a cat's gums become swollen. The animal refuses to eat because it feels pain. The tooth, located in the place where the inflammation is localized, begins to loosen.

Disease Prevention

It is recommended to clean the oral cavity of animals regularly at any age. Modern manufacturers offer pastes with various flavors. For example, you can purchase “Beafar” for an animal. This toothpaste is suitable for a pet of any age. It effectively cleanses the oral cavity, prevents the formation of plaque and tartar, and eliminates unpleasant odor from the oral cavity. In addition, the product has a liver taste.

Animals should be taught to brush their teeth at an early age. To perform this procedure, owners are recommended to:

let the cat smell the toothpaste;
take a gauze napkin and wrap it around your finger;
Start cleaning with the fangs and then move on.

Instead of a gauze napkin, you can take a brush that you put on your finger. It's convenient to use.

To prevent tooth loss and the development of oral diseases, it is recommended:

regularly inspect your pet's mouth;
give the animal balanced food, add to the menu food intended for the prevention of gum and dental diseases;
If your cat has toothache, you should immediately contact a veterinarian;
When treatment is prescribed, all doctor’s recommendations must be followed.

It so happens that cats suffer from approximately the same diseases as people. They often face the problem of tartar deposits. What is tartar? These are calcareous deposits with a fairly stable structure that grow quickly and give the tooth a yellow or dark brown color.

Reasons for education

In veterinary medicine, there are several reasons that influence the formation of tartar:

Improperly balanced cat nutrition. The lack of natural food leads to the formation of microorganisms, which, when interacting with saliva, lead to the formation of deposits.
Incorrectly formed bite.
Metabolic disorders in the cat’s body lead to improper salt metabolism, resulting in the growth of tartar.
Insufficient oral care.
The presence of inflammation of the gums.

Types of Tartar

Supragingival. This type of deposit is located above the gum. It can be noticed during examination of the animal's oral cavity.
Subgingival. These deposits are located on the root of the tooth, under the gum. It is impossible to notice it during inspection. It promotes the formation of places in the cat’s gums where bacteria accumulate. As a result, loosening and loss of the tooth occurs.

Symptoms

Even the most inexperienced owner will understand that the cat has developed tartar. Most common symptoms:

Extremely unpleasant odor from the mouth.
Growths formed on the surface of teeth.
Inflammatory processes of the gums.
The cat is extremely irritated while eating, shaking its head and growling.
Profuse salivation.
Loosening and loss of teeth.
The cat regularly rubs its cheek against something.
Yellow or dark brown plaque at the base of the tooth.
Swelling of the oral mucosa.
Swollen eyes.

Diagnostics

If any of the listed symptoms are detected, you must immediately contact a veterinarian in order to accurately make a diagnosis and begin qualified treatment. Diagnosis of the disease includes only a visual examination by a veterinarian or dentist. As a rule, after the examination we are talking about urgent treatment of the pathological process.

How does the removal take place?

Tartar removal is a fairly painful procedure that lasts from 30 to 60 minutes. As a rule, cleaning is carried out in three stages; only compliance with all stages will help to efficiently clean the resulting growths on the teeth. If the procedure was performed poorly or without any point, then the stone will form again, and the animal will have to go through this unpleasant procedure again, which includes:

Mechanical removal of large stones using dental instruments.
Ultrasonic cleaning is performed to remove small stones.
Grinding and polishing of teeth is done using special pastes.

If the animal is old or sick and cannot withstand general anesthesia, then the veterinarian develops a step-by-step treatment of the growth, which is carried out without the use of anesthesia, under the influence of painkillers. In this case, the stone is removed gradually, over several visits to the clinic.

Is it possible to remove tartar at home?

Tartar treatment can only be done in a clinic. Removal at home is impossible, since this is a rather complex procedure, which is done mainly under anesthesia in a veterinary clinic.

Under no circumstances should you remove tartar at home, as this can cause severe pain to your cat and damage its health.

How to prepare a cat for surgery

If, after an examination, the veterinarian prescribed surgery using general anesthesia, the owner must prepare the pet for this unpleasant event at home:

The young animal must prepare by fasting, which lasts from 12 to 24 hours.
Elderly cats, or those pets that have any health problems, should be prepared before surgery using laboratory tests and a careful examination by a veterinarian.

Caring for your cat after removal

After treatment has been carried out, the cat will need careful care, which includes:

Painkillers that can be given at home.
Food should be semi-liquid, gentle and lukewarm.

Prevention

To prevent your cat from having a similar problem, it is necessary to prevent tartar at home, which includes simple rules:

Regular brushing of your cat's teeth will help avoid these troubles. Moreover, you need to start teaching your kitten about oral hygiene, because they get used to it more easily than adult cats.
A balanced diet also prevents problems with stone formation. Dry food has proven itself very well; it contains dietary fiber, which has a beneficial effect on the surface of the teeth and provides additional cleaning.
Currently, there are commercially available foods to which polyphosphate has been added, which creates a protective film on the teeth that protects against plaque.
Taking vitamins that contribute to the overall health of your pet, and the oral cavity is no exception.
Gastrointestinal diseases lead to an imbalance in the alkaline balance in the cat’s mouth, so regular medical examinations are necessary to monitor the pet’s health.
Regular dental examinations by a veterinarian are recommended as a preventive measure for various oral diseases.

Dry foods are not a panacea for the formation of tartar; they provide good protection against plaque formation only if oral hygiene is maintained.

At-risk groups

Tartar in cats usually forms when it reaches an age over five years, especially if the animal’s oral cavity has not been properly cared for. Recently, this problem has also begun to occur in young animals; there is a correlation with the animal’s unbalanced food.
In veterinary medicine, there is evidence that the most common breeds, such as Persian, Siamese, Scottish, are most predisposed to this disease. This is because sometimes unskilled breeders weaken the gene pool of these sought-after cats.
Backyard cats living in rural areas and eating natural food are less susceptible to this disease. They have stronger immunity than their elite relatives.

By carefully caring for your cat, you can avoid problems such as the formation of tartar in your pet. If such a problem affects your pet, then the help of a qualified specialist is necessary.

Inflammatory processes in the oral cavity negatively affect the functioning of the entire body: digestion worsens, additional stress is created on the heart, and the immune system is weakened. Therefore, a responsible owner must know the number of teeth a cat has, how to care for the pet’s oral cavity, and for what symptoms a veterinarian should be consulted.

Kittens are born without teeth at all, since they do not need them when feeding on milk. The longer the mother feeds her babies with milk, the later the first milk teeth appear. Teeth usually begin to erupt by the fourth week of life. Kittens have only 26 non-permanent teeth.

In the fourth month of life, baby teeth begin to fall out, and permanent teeth appear in their place. Some owners wonder: do their pets’ teeth change on their own or does this process need to be controlled? In most cases, the owner is only required to observe the process. It is advisable to examine your teeth a couple of times a week to make sure that the milk teeth do not interfere with the growth of the molars. If the baby tooth has not fallen out on its own, but a permanent tooth is already growing in its place, you will have to remove the baby tooth, since otherwise the permanent tooth may grow crooked. Immunity decreases during the period of teeth change, so vaccinations should not be done until the end of the process.

Dental system of an adult cat

If all of the permanent teeth have grown in after a year, the cat will be missing one or more teeth for the rest of its life. Oligodontia (congenital lack of teeth) is inherited, so such an animal must be removed from breeding. Depending on how many teeth are missing, the pet experiences a certain degree of discomfort when eating food. This can cause digestive disorders and diseases of the digestive tract. For such cats, the type of feeding is selected individually, after consulting a doctor.

One of the main concerns of any cat owner is caring for his pet’s teeth. This is extremely important, because cats can also have serious dental problems, and if you don’t give your cat proper attention, the consequences can be dire.

What do you need to know?

Kittens are born without teeth, and only when they are about 2 weeks old do their first incisors emerge. Milk teeth in cats appear only at 8-12 weeks, and only after that the animal can begin to eat properly. The total number of baby teeth is 26, and among them:

milk incisors,

milk canines (erupt at 3-4 weeks),

premolars (erupt at 3-8 weeks).

A cat has 30 permanent teeth.

At the same time, many pet owners are interested in the question of when cats’ teeth change, because usually this process happens quite quickly. As a rule, the first permanent teeth begin to erupt at 3 months, and by 7 months the change of teeth in cats is completed. In this case, permanent canines appear at 4-5 months of life, and permanent premolars and molars - at 4-6.

Milk teeth in cats: do they need to be removed?

In fact, animals' milk teeth fall out on their own, and this happens by the end of the first 6 months of their life. However, if this does not happen, the teeth will need to be removed in a veterinary clinic, because at this time permanent teeth begin to erupt, and an excessive number of teeth in the oral cavity causes soft tissue injuries, contributes to the development of periodontal disease and leads to changes in the cat’s bite.

Also, no matter how many teeth a cat has at the moment, you should pay attention to their condition: in cats, tartar can be deposited (usually on the molars and canines), which causes serious problems. This type of stone looks like a yellow rim on the teeth, located right next to the gums, and if the cat’s dental care is not up to the mark, the stone can eventually become even larger than the tooth itself!

The main reason for its occurrence is bacteria, as well as the remains of salts and food that are in the oral cavity. As a result, plaque appears on the teeth, which hardens over time. However, this only happens in domestic cats, since in nature animals use their teeth much more actively and get rid of the stone on their own. If you want to achieve the same effect and don't want to brush your cat's teeth, feed her large pieces of meat or dry food. Then there will be no problems with tartar, but other digestive problems may arise! And in order to protect your pet from any complications, it is better to immediately prevent problems from occurring by brushing their teeth.

How to brush your cat's teeth?

When starting this process, you should firmly understand: brushing your pet’s teeth is a must, and there is not a single argument that allows you to neglect it!

First of all, cleaning allows you to remove tartar, which can cause your cat’s gums to become inflamed and the teeth themselves to become loose. Then the loose teeth begin to hurt, and the cat cannot eat fully, chewing only on one side of the mouth and suffering from increased salivation. Moreover, if the growth of the stone is not regulated, it will begin to grow and harden over time, after which it can only be removed mechanically (in a veterinary clinic and under general anesthesia!). With this in mind, it is better to spend some time cleaning than to deal with complications later!

In addition, brushing cats' teeth helps get rid of bad breath and food debris, which can sooner or later cause a general infection or even the formation of an abscess.

How to brush your cat's teeth? Everything is very simple! You can use:

soda and regular red wine: first you should wipe the molars and fangs with a cotton swab dipped in wine, and then apply a slurry of soda - the vinegar in the wine will react with the soda and quickly remove the plaque accumulated on the teeth;

a children's toothbrush with soft bristles and tooth powder - with their help you need to carefully remove plaque, acting very delicately and trying not to damage the gums;

a special brush and toothpaste (a special fish-flavored toothpaste has been developed for cats, but human products are not suitable for it!).

Basic secrets of brushing your teeth

The procedure for cleaning teeth from stone cannot be carried out too often, but to clarify its regularity, it is better to consult a veterinarian. He should assess the condition of your pet’s oral cavity and individually determine the frequency of brushing her teeth. Usually, pet owners begin to worry about this after the cat’s teeth have changed, and before that they can only take preventive measures by adjusting the menu of your pet.

And, of course, it is better to think through your actions in advance if the cat does not want to take care of its teeth! Animals often perceive such care as an attack on their freedom, but even if your pet breaks out and bites, you should not abandon this procedure! Remember: without brushing, cats' teeth fall out and their gums deteriorate hopelessly, and if your pet is categorically against a toothbrush, use special cleaning food and sometimes include dry food in the cat's diet, which will allow the teeth to be cleaned spontaneously. Also in these cases, a bone of meat will help, which the cat can chew with pleasure and at the same time take care of its teeth, saving you from the need to regularly clean them with a brush.

You can find out more detailed information about the care and maintenance of cats in books