My 6 1/2 yr old female cat (all black thick fur) plays fetch with foil balls. She now has very bad teeth and my vet tells me she will need surgery and extractions. Can these foil balls be a culprit in the codition of her teeth?
Deborah Butcher says:
March 27th, 2009 at 04:49 PM
Nope the foil is innocent
Cats are very prone to tarter build up as they don't eat chews like dogs. Is your cat on a wet food diet only because she is quite young to have a dental.
I would recommend introducing her to dry food and if possible wean her off the wet food entirely. the biscuits will help to keep tartar from build up on the teeth. After she has had her scale and polish if preventative dental care isn't started, with in 3 months you are on your way to being back to square one.
There are a few options you can turn to 1) dry biscuit diet. You can get special biscuit formulated for healthly teeth , but it's going a bit overkill. 2) there is a enzyme liquid you can get that goes into your cats water and as she drinks that will help clean her teeth 3) toothpaste - most cats WON'T let you brush, I use on my cat a toothpaste that you can either smear on her teeth or put on her paw and she will lick it off, the toothpaste also has an enzymatic effect and will help.
Ask your vets for the available dental products - I am UK based
Also is she vaccinated, if she isn't then I would perhaps get her tested for fiv/felv (feline aids and leukaemia) these diseases can also cause early dental problems.
Good luck
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