Brushing Your Cat’s Teeth in 3 Easy steps. Is it even possible?
Before you say “Heck NO!”, give me a chance. If your cat lets you brush their face, then brushing their teeth is just a couple of steps further. Even a full grown cat that is stuck in their ways can be coaxed into accepting (maybe not enjoying) daily dental care.
So there we go, I am going to try to convince you to brush your cat’s teeth at least every other day. Less than that and not only will it not be worth doing (can you imagine only brushing your teeth a couple of times a week?), but it won’t be often enough to get them used to the activity.
Brushing your cat’s teeth, is not just a way for them to keep a healthy mouth, it has a slew of other benefits. Brushing their teeth is a rather intrusive act, you are holding them still against their will and invading their personal space, two things cats absolutely abhor, but if you do this regularly enough and with gentle kindness, they will acclimate to it and be far less stressed when they have to do things like go to the vet and have the veterinarian open their mouth for an exam. Not to mention that you will be doing a daily exam on their mouth which is a great barometer of health. Catching gum or dental resorbtive lesions early can save your cat a lot of discomfort.
I like easy, and at the same time I am a total sucker for gimmicks when it comes to cat stuff. I like the idea of having specialized everything for my cats, but you and I both know, they prefer the box it came in. There’s only one exception when it comes to brushing your cat’s teeth, it’s the toothpaste. You must, you absolutely must use a specialized toothpaste for your cat, or use a toothbrush with just water. DO NOT ever use human toothpaste on your pet. There may be some exceptions, there always are, but to be safe, don’t do it. Human toothpaste can contain sweeteners xylitol that can be downright deadly for pets, yes deadly.
Okay, now that that has been settled and we know what not to use. Does the toothpaste matter? In a way it does, flavor can make or break the experience, but I will go into that in another post. I have a preference for getting started now, not next week, so if your toothbrush is getting a little old and it’s getting to be time to switch out for a new one, you are set! It’s true, you don’t need a special pet brush, in fact I have found that my old brush works better than a tiny pet toothbrush. It covers more area with just a few swipes. As long as it’s a soft bristle toothbrush us your old toothbrush on your cat, but before you do that get a permanent pen and put a mark on the handle so you know it belongs to them. It would be mildly nasty if you accidentally used their brush to brush your own teeth.
If you have never brushed your cats teeth before or maybe you tried and it didn’t work out well please be sure to talk to your vet before brushing their teeth if they are a little older, say 5 years or older. They may already have some dental disease that makes their teeth painful to brush and you won’t get anywhere brushing teeth that are coated in tarter. If you take a quick peek in their mouth (be careful, don’t get bitten) and their teeth look okay, then you can give it a try.
First you will want to get them used to the toothbrush. Don’t just jam it into their mouth and expect things to go well. Make it a pleasant experience. Brush the top of their head, cheeks and under their chin. Do this daily for a couple of days until they seem comfortable with the new brush. Throwing in a couple of treats during and after the brushing session can be very helpful. If you do this daily for about a week, they should begin to enjoy it.
The next step is to get them used to you brushing around their mouth. Without opening their mouth, brush their lips and whiskers while you brush the rest of their face. If they seem to enjoy this, you can move to pushing their lips up and open with your fingers and the toothbrush. You may need to hold them still to achieve this, so do it for just a couple of seconds while they are getting used to it.
Once your cat is somewhat used to you brushing around their mouth it’s time to start brushing their teeth. It’s not like when you brush your own teeth, you’ll only brush the outside of each quadrant a few times, especially at first. What I like to do is set my cat on my lap (with a blanket to protect my legs), or I will crouch on the ground with them facing away from me between my knees. Then holding their head in my left hand I will lift one side of their lips and brush gently a few times and then repeat on the other side. It is more difficult than it sounds, but they will eventually get used to it and squirm much less, if at all. When I am done, I put a couple of treats down and all is forgiven.
Don’t be alarmed if you see a little bit of blood on the toothbrush after you are done, if you keep up with the brushing that should go away after about a week or two. Similarly to if you were to stop brushing or flossing your teeth, a little bleeding could occur when you are getting back into the habit.
To recap:
Step 1: Take a week or two to get your cat acclimated to their toothbrush (your old soft bristle toothbrush) by brushing their face with it.
Step 2: Get your cat used to you opening their mouth. Not wide open, you just need to see the outsides of their teeth by lifting their lips.
Step 3: Brush those teeth! Go slowly and expect a little bit of disagreement, but over time and with some treats they will get used to it. Your cat will thank you in the long run, promise.
Will you be giving this a try? Do you have questions about how to brush your cat’s teeth?