Water/dental additives?

[Elemteacherjoy]

Does anyone use one of those additives you can put in water to help a cat's teeth? What are your thoughts on this? Is it really safe for them to be ingesting? What kind do you use, and has it been beneficial? Thanks!

 

[gloriajh]

My vet pushed this water additive after a teeth cleaning. It was expensive, and with my situation having 14 cats, using the additive is actually a waste. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. If you have only one cat, maybe it would be useful, but, like you - I'm skeptical about using additives like this without knowing more of the safety issue. Will be interesting to see any other comments on the subject.

Vetradent, with Biotrate technology (whatever that means?) Avoid contact with eyes (!), and "Keep out of the reach of Children" (!) - sounds like real medicine and, I am reluctant to give without more testing.

 

[tabbytom]

Does anyone use one of those additives you can put in water to help a cat's teeth? What are your thoughts on this? Is it really safe for them to be ingesting? What kind do you use, and has it been beneficial? Thanks!

My boy does not allow teeth brushing since he was a kitten till (4 years old) and I can only use a damp soft tissue just to clean his front top and bottom row of teeth after very meal.

I tried adding this to ihs food but he refuse to eat the food after smelling it :-


So I used this instead and squirt a few spray into his food once a week and so far his teeth looks ok, no smelly breath yet, teeth looks pretty clean and white. I use the pink label one :-

 

[MissClouseau]

My Hima doesn't drink from the water with the additive. Then again, she generally doesn't drink water. I add it to the water I leave out for strays as well. They drink it an don't seem to be bothered by it at all.

I tried Plaque Off as well, like tabbytom shared a picture of. I think that product really helps, I heard such good reviews BUT I don't think it worked for Hima because her wet foods are pate. So she doesn't chew her wet food at all and they are supposed to chew for the product to help. With dry food it would fall off. (Also note once I accidentally gave a little bit more dose than the instructions say for cats and Hima got an upset tummy that day.) I think we can make it work with sticking it to a piece of boiled turkey as a treat though.

I use this Beaphar toothgel that doesn't require brushing. I actually recently took a break because the product smelled weird to me. Hima got a flare-up with her gum problems. I think the reason this time was something else but, when I got a new one and gave some to her, she seemed to be in less pain later that day and the next. So maybe at least it helps to kill the bacteria.

Beaphar Toothgel for dogs and cats

The vet also said this antiseptic spray that is safe to use in mouth too might help.

There are also dental toys that I think are effective but Hima at least doesn't play with them on her own. Not always. I don't use a catnip spray on them, instead play "fetch" with her with that toys. She bites when she catches them. Petstages: Dental Toys

I got those dental sticks too (from the brand Bioline) but I save it if nothing else works. I get anxious she will hurt her eye ro something!

There are fabric brushes and really all kinds of brushes if you like to try and the cat allows. That's easier for sure. I'm using all these other methods because Hima's problem is more about gums than the actual tooth and she moves when I'm brushing (or when she brushes herself), the brush touches the gums than that hurts more than anything and lasts for a long time too. :-(

 

[lisahe]

Our vet recommends brushing and/or using a probiotic that's added to food, this one, which -- disclaimer! -- I've never used but have been meaning to order. We've been brushing our cats' teeth for four or five years and it really does help/work. And the cats really don't mind it: one even thinks the toothpaste (CET poultry flavor) is the best treat in the world.

Personally, I tend to agree with gloriajh 's concerns about the additives to water. Among other things, many cats (like ours) don't even drink water because they get their fluids from their food.

 

[kittenmittens84]

My vet pushed this water additive after a teeth cleaning. It was expensive, and with my situation having 14 cats, using the additive is actually a waste. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. If you have only one cat, maybe it would be useful, but, like you - I'm skeptical about using additives like this without knowing more of the safety issue. Will be interesting to see any other comments on the subject.

Vetradent, with Biotrate technology (whatever that means?) Avoid contact with eyes (!), and "Keep out of the reach of Children" (!) - sounds like real medicine and, I am reluctant to give without more testing.

Most of them use ingredients that essentially bind to the minerals in the plaque on a tooth and render them inert so they can’t be used to make more plaque. It appears that the vetradent you mentioned specifically uses sodium citrate to do this binding action, which is used in a lot of foods (it has a tart flavor) as well as in toothpaste. I’d be concerned about foaming/lathering agents since I think some of those can be bad for cats but the water additives I’ve seen don’t have them (since obviously you don’t want your water to get foamy)

 

[cataholic07]

I use dental water and plaque off. My boys' teeth are great except for the very back teeth.

 

[LTS3]

I'd be hesitant to add anything to water. It may result in a cat who refuses to drink any water because of an offending taste or smell. Not good if you have a dry food addict cat.

Most cats don't drink from a bowl of water anyways for an additive to have much of an effect anyways, especially cats who eat mainly canned food.

A dental rinse you can squirt directly onto the teeth is better. Even better is to brush the teeth with pet toothpaste.