Hello to everyone,

i was wondering about the health and the colour of a cat´s teeth.

My cat has (for his age) quite yellow teeth and i see some cats that are about 10 years old and don´t have this coloration.

He´s a mixed breed so - is it also pedigree related?

What can i do? When we went to the vet, she said the teeth are fine, only tha jaws were a bit infected so we took care of that and also she said stop feeding him cans, only dry food (that the coloration is because of canned meat). I mean, my cat can´t do without the cans and live only on dry food, he´d go crazy!

Any suggestions or experiences with this?

Thanks!

My Ginger has chronic gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). This a fairly common complaint in cats, and there is not always a diagnosable reason for it. In my personal opinion, it is caused by eating rubbish out of trash cans. Can foods are also to blame.

You should have the cats teeth cleaned regularly under anesthetic every few years. I would suggest, that you feed your cat raw meat, such as chicken breast, cut up into strips with scissors. This will clean his teeth and massage the gums. You can add to that some dry cat food. Some people are able to clean their cat´s teeth with toothpaste, which would be helpful, but I have never managed to do it.

Yellowing of the teeth is of no consequence and nothing to worry about, as long as the teeth are not thick with tartar.

Oldwoman, Are you not afraid of feeding raw chicken to your cats? I would love to do that, but was told not to by various poeple.
Marketa

My cats have white teeth (but they are only two and one year old). I buy them some treats which are meant to clean their teeth, because the idea of me trying to clean their teeth in their little mouth with toothbrush is just funny.
marketa: What is wrong with feeding raw chicken? My cats love it. And my auntie feeds her cat with only raw meat since ever and hasn´t noticed any problems.

Much has been said about salmonella in chicken. I do not think that a cat, who has lived on garbage for years, is going to come to any harm from chicken considered fit for human consumption. If you are worried about chicken, you can feed other meats. Some people feed their cats on raw beef, which seems peculiar to me. A cow is far to big for a cat to eat

I love the idea of a whole cow next to a small cat! VampireQueen, here in the UK Salmonella is/was a big thing, even raw eggs for consumption are (eg in mouse) are considerred dangerous. My cats, beeing breeds, have never lived on garbage...more the pity I think - then they would not be so fussy! I give them occasionally raw beef, raw tuna, and raw lamb (all the best cuts), and they - often don´t know what to do with raw meat!

I have also read, that cats and dogs have a relatively short digestive tract compared to humans, and are therefore in less danger from infections such as salmonella and bad meat generally. I would not knowinlgly give my cats bad meat, but anything good enough for me will have to do for them asl well Mind you, I do not eat raw chicken

Well the whole idea of teeth cleaning at the vet is not so appealing to me, since the cat has to be given an anesthetic and i want to avoid doing that too much.
He´s been given that once, when he was neutered and it was enough.

Well about the raw meat, i´ve been thinking about that for quite some time now. I don´t eat meat, but i have no problems in giving it to my cat (hellooo), i mean, i would buy it and slice it, no problem, if that´s what´s really good for him, i mean the teeth, gums and delicious.

I was also thinking about preparing food at home for him...i mean, canned food is ok, but still, it´s in cans, it´s from a factory, you never know what they put in there.

Do you maybe have any suggestions?

I realy dislike the idea if canned food. Imagine what your teeh and digestive system would be like after a lifetime of eating out of tins.

Cats can eat fish as well of course. Mine seem to do best on poached white fish, but that will not clean the teeth. You can feed boiled chicken or other meats, but the point of raw meat is that it is fairly tough, and it is that chewing action, which cleans the teeth and is good for the gums. Some people feed their cats the carcass of cooked chicken, so that they chew on the bones. This does clean the teeth effectively, but feeding chicken bones is somewhat controversial and considered dangerous. I have in the past fed cooked chicken leftovers including bones to my cats, and they all lived to tell the tale.

There is a thread with home cooked recipes http://unitedcats.com/forum/26/fl/89/t/5725 .

Many cats do not chew dry food well enough to get any teeth cleaning benefit out of it - I´ve asked my vet and the "dry food keeps teeth clean" is a bit unreliable. Having said that, there are dry formulas that cats have to chew - Science Diet makes an oral care food that has large chunks that must be chewed, so if you´re looking for a dry food to keep teeth clean, look for oral care formulas.

Some raw food advocates suggest chopping them meat and leaving in some bones so that chewing the bone helps keep teeth clean - but in raw food only! Cooked bones are much too brittle and are very dangerous to swallow. Canned salmon with the bones in may be good as a treat. Raw meat should be very fresh, so buy at butcher shops maybe, rather than supermarkets. Some supermarkets have in-house meat staff, so you can ask them when they have fresh meat deliveries.

As oldwoman points out, yellow teeth aren´t a problem as long as there is no tartar buildup. If your cats jaws are a bit infected, that could be a sign of gum disease, so a good cleaning might be in order. If you cat will let you, try regular toothbrushing on them (although like anything it´s best to start young and let them get used to it). Here´s a link with some advice:
there.http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1390&articleid=383

Molly has terrible teeth. And he has always had a chicken neck once a week too. He is in desperate need of a teeth clean at the vets. We just need to pay off the current account from the dogs being sick last year and then we save the money for his teeth.

Fleabi is the only one here who actually chews and bites the dry food. The rest mostly tend to swallow whole, which is evident when they hork it up and it´s mostly whole pieces. Skitz loves his raw meat, and chicken bones. He has great teeth. Both Queenie & Fleabi have good teeth, but they don´t eat anything other than their cat food.

The canned food thing is why I only give it to them for tea, and only a spoonful. It is more a treat than their main source of nutrition.

MichyD..thank you so much for the information re: Science Diet and their oral care food. Tootsie needs something different than the other hard food she has been eating, as her teeth are pretty yellow--and the vet mentioned some tartar build-up when I took her in last week.

Article which I copied of an specialized magazine :
"The food is in the middle of the development of the tartar and the plate. Food soft or sticking can contribute to a disease parodontale. The articles to chew such leather of ox, food hard and crusty, biscuits and the toys to be chewed can be beneficial but they are not the only solution.
The cleaning of the teeth makes it possible to remove the plate and the remains of food which are imprisoned under the gum. The bacteria responsible for the diseases place themselves and development under the gum, involving an irritation, an ignition and an infection.

Clean the teeth of your kitten two or three times per week. Mix a spoon with the bicarbonate of soda in a water cup and serve you as this mixture to gently rub the teeth using a wet débarbouillette to him. When your cat has its teeth of adult, periodically brush them using a special brush with teeth and of a toothpaste for animals. Never use toothpaste intended for human consumption.

Certain cats will not let themselves open the mouth nor to be even made lavish some care that it either in the mouth. In this case, it is recommended to give them little treats conceived to clean the teeth and this, on a daily basis."

In what relates to me, I regularly give special little treats to my cats because I know that it would be impossible to carry out a brushing of their teeth… I chose the simplest solution and most pleasant for them.

Mugger´s teeth are in good shape but are not in such a great color. I talked with the vet about having his teeth cleaned, but the vet was a little reluctant to put Mugs under anesthetic without getting his heart ultrasounded first, since he has a heart murmur. Now, honestly, I´m not sure his heart murmur is that bad - a lot of cats have heart murmurs and most last their entire lives and cause no problems. So I´m thinking of getting a second opinion.

--Wolfie

My Ginger has chronic gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). This a fairly common complaint in cats, and there is not always a diagnosable reason for it. In my personal opinion, it is caused by eating rubbish out of trash cans. Can foods are also to blame.

You should have the cats teeth cleaned regularly under anesthetic every few years. I would suggest, that you feed your cat raw meat, such as chicken breast, cut up into strips with scissors. This will clean his teeth and massage the gums. You can add to that some dry cat food. Some people are able to clean their cat´s teeth with toothpaste, which would be helpful, but I have never managed to do it.

Yellowing of the teeth is of no consequence and nothing to worry about, as long as the teeth are not thick with tartar.
hey there,
i wasnt aware that canned food isnt that good for cats teeth, my eldest girl has real bad colouration and a smelly breath, she wont eat dry food cause i think they may be to hard for her, she is 9 and is a tortie, i have been to the vet b4 but he never said much about her teeth. my other cat is a very fussy eater and has an allergic reaction to roo meat or mince, and she only plays with or hides chicken wings.

what other meats are suitable for cats?

Hi istriana, you could try using a good toothpaste (like Virbac CET or Petdental) and try brushing with atoothbrush. If your cat refuses, try rubbing the toothpaste into the teeth and gums with your finger. Try to do that daily. If your cat refuses again, you might want to try this. http://www.petzlife.com/ .

Both might not get rid of colouration but at least you are free from gum disease.

Thanks boonba, but i maybe still think that brushing his teeth is a bit unnatural. He has a breath, i know, it doesn´t bother me and since we´ve moved to better food (Schesir + Arden grange), the breath has improved too.
I am just afraid that this coloration might mean something more and in time he might have problems. And i don´t want that.
He already had gum infection, which we cured, but we had a terrible time curing it, i had to run after him all over the appartment to get that paste on his gums

According to the RSPCA raw chicken necks are great for cleaning teeth and my guys love them!
I also have a product called aquadent and u can use it on cats and dogs and it freshens breath and cleans teeth. You can also buy food that is good for teeth

My cats have the oral cat biscuits from the vets and it has to be chewed so is good at cleaning teeth, I am in agreement with Istriana about the aneasthesia - I would be more worried about the effects of that on my cats system. Chicken necks are a great idea that my cats also love

I don´t shop for meat that often. Can you buy chicken necks in a regular grocery store? With the other meats?

I bought some chicken necks today and my cats were discusted with me i even left them in their bowls for about 20 min and held back on their brekkie

but they werent having a bar of it, does anyone have any other tips for fussy cats?? ive tried whiskas dentabites but bj spits them out and nem chokes on them