Water Additives Safe For Cats

[MeganLLB]

I'm looking for a water additive that is safe for both cats and dogs. I use it mainly for my dog, Bosco. I brush his teeth about once a week or so, but using the water additive seems to help freshen his breath a lot. And his teeth are pretty white, very little tartar and plaque.

I don't really use it for the cats; however, the cats drink out of his water bowl, so I have to use one that is safe for both.

Currently I am using Bluestem. I think it has been working well, however I thought it was a bit pricey. Just wondering if there is anything else that I could consider using. My bottle is getting low, so it's almost time to buy again.

 

[Kieka]

I don't have any specific experience with a water additive for breath.

Personally, when I am looking at any supplement (for myself or my cats) I google each on the individual ingredients for safety and purpose. So it might help to look around for the alternatives and look for specific ingredients that may be harmful to your cats. That said, if the current one is working well for you, and a quick search shows it is highly rated by several people, maybe finding a better source is more effective?

I am hoping that my response will bump your posting and maybe someone else will see it and be able to offer more assistance.

 

[helene]

My veterinarian has recommended Healthy Mouth, a water additive for my cats, one of whom has had periodontal disease and several teeth removed (she's a rescue, from the street, and she was malnourished for the first ten months of her life; my vet. also thinks that her periodontal disease could also be genetic). I haven't started to use it yet -- just bought it -- but I trust my vet. Has anyone else had experience with Healthy Mouth?

 

[MeganLLB]

It seems that hearlthymouth is not available OTC. Only through your vet and online through their store. You can buy it in a large container. The ingredients are totally different than that in Bluestem.

 

[MeganLLB]

These are the ingredients in Bluestem- The ingredients are trisodium citrate, citric acid, disodium EDTA, potassium benzoate, zinc chloride, and flavor.

These are the ingredients in HealthyMouth-Purified water, organic glycerine, organic pomegranate, organic yucca extract, zinc gluconate, organic blueberry, natural xanthan gum, organic papain (papaya extract), riboflavin (VitB2), ascorbic acid (VitC) organic clove extract, organic cinnamon extract, chlorophyll, sorbic acid (natural preservative from mountain berries). (cat::ESSENTIAL also contains taurine and mercury-free salmon oil as a source of omega 3). The dog and cat gel formulations also contain Sodium bicarbonate, sorbitol and extra glycerin to take the concentrate from a liquid to a gel form.

Here's what I do know and what I do not know. I know that the ingredients in Bluestem do in fact remove plaque and tartar and work together to clean the mouth. I do NOT know if the ingredients in HealthyMouth actually work. I also do not know if either of these are really safe for daily or long term use.

I do also know that a third party safety study was done for bluestem ensuring the safety for daily use. I emailed them asking if the results of that study are available for review and if there are any studies done on longterm use.

 

[helene]

Thank you, MeghanLLB. As I haven't given them the Healthy Mouth yet, I'm very interested in what you'll find out.