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According
to the AVDS, 70% of all cats not recieving dental care shows signs of problems
before the age of three. According to the Swedish veterinarian Anne-Marie
Nilsson purebreed cats are more likely to be affected than moggies. But if you
discover and treat these problems at an early stage, your cat will probably
never feel any discomfort by it. How
can you tell if your cat needs dental care?
There
are three signs of deteriating dental health. First of all your cat might have
bad breath. A healthy cat should not have any noticable scent to the breath. If
there is a bad smell, you should check your cat’s mouth. It’s
quite common for cats to get tartar. Bacteria, food debris and saliva gather on
the cat’s teeth as plaque. If the
bacteria get a chance to grow it with attract calcium and form tartar. Tartar
can be seen as a yellow or brown build-up on the teeth, it especially gathers
around the gumlines and mostly around the molars. The
third sign is an inflammation, Gingivitis. You can se this as a red line in the
gum, closest to the teeth. Gingivitis can be caused by tartar building up
between the teeth and the gum, but it also can have other reasons. If the gum
looks infected, consult your veterinarian about what treatment that should be
best in your cat’s case. If
you don’t treat tartar build-up or gingivitis when you discover it, the
inflammation can spread down the jawbone and eventually lead to tooth loss (periodontitis). What
can you do?
Dry
cat food is a good way to keep the teeth clean and prevent dental problems.
There are even special brands that are made to improve the dental health; your
veterinarian probably could give you some recommendations. You
can also brush the teeth of your cat. To do this you need a very soft childrens
toothbrush; you could also wrap some gauze around your index finger to use as a
brush. Don’t use toothpaste intended for humans. The first couple of times you
could dip the toothbrush in tunawater or water with catnip in it. Once the cat
is getting used to the toothbrushing, try putting some salt in the water instead. Our veterinarian recommended us to brush our cats teeth at least once a
week. The
veterinarian can scrape the tartar of the cats teeth, sometimes the cats has to
be anesthetized to be able to do this. Letting the veterinarian clean the cats
teeth gives you a good start with taking care of them yourself. If
your cat has an inflammation in the gum (gingivitis), you should have a
veterinarian look at is and prescribe treatment. The
significance of dental care to colorpoint cats
There
are breeds with temperature sensitive masking, for exampel Ragdolls, Birmans and
Siamese. These breeds have darker fur where the body temperature is lower, i e
the face, the ears, the legs and the tail. If such a cat should get an
inflammation in the gum, there is risk of the masking too pale since the
temperature rises. Even small inflammations can give this effect.
If your cat’s mask has paled, it’s well worth checking the dental
health. Once you have started treating the inflammations, the mask color returns
quite fast.
Closure Get
your cat used to looking in its mouth already as a kitten and preferably start
brushing its teeth before there is a visual need for it. Should your cat
absolutely refuse to let you into its mouth, let your veterinarian check the
dental health at the annual vaccination. If you didn’t start this when your
friend was a kitten, start now – it’s never too late. /S*Softspot Ragdolls Sources
Pets
need dental care too http://www.petdental.com/index.htm © Softspot ragdolls |
