Preventing Dental Disease

Dedicated client brushing his cat's teeth at home.

Unfortunately, dental disease is  a very common problem in cats. Every wellness exam at Cats Exclusive includes an oral evaluation, which allows us to identify obvious dental issues early and give you our recommendations for the best dental care and treatment options for your cat(s). 

• Genetic predisposition, diet (a cat's natural diet helps keep teeth clean through the abrasive properties of hair, feathers, and bone), and lack of dental care.
• Plaque (consisting of food particles and bacteria) accumulates on teeth after eating. If the plaque is not removed, it will begin to mineralize and form calculus, or tartar. Once a large amount of tartar has accumulated, routine brushing of the teeth will become ineffective and dental scaling is required. Tartar alone can cause bad breath and discomfort and if it remains on the tooth for a long period, it can begin to cause inflammation and infection of the gums.
• As gum disease progresses, the bone surrounding the teeth and the tooth roots will be damaged and will begin to erode. Tooth root abscesses and tooth fractures may result.
• Cats are also prone to developing cavitary lesions of the teeth similar to cavities in humans called FORLS (feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions). These lesions may occur at or below the gum line and can be very painful. In these cases, extraction of the tooth is necessary. Recent studies have shown that about 70% of cats will develop a FORL in their lifetime.

Home Prevention 

It is possible to train your cat to accept tooth brushing and CET oral rinses and enzymatic dental chews are also available to help with dental care. Studies have shown no link between the type of diet that is fed to cats (canned or dry) and dental disease - dry food has NOT been shown to reduce plaque or tartar. For more tips >   

Dental Cleanings 

MEET MAUDE, THE MIRACLE KITTY!  

Every now and then there is a medical case and circumstances that WOW us and this is one of them!

Maude with her dad during recovery

Maude, a senior calico, came in to see Dr. Brandon with a very nasty case of lower airway disease (kitty asthma). She originally presented in November for nausea, and  it was also reported that she was breathing rapidly at home. Maude was hospitalized for supportive care and diagnostic testing. It turned out she also had pancreatitis and significant dehydration - all creating a problem for her kidneys. During her initial diagnostic testing period, we took x-rays and found severe lower airway disease. It appeared that Maude had been hiding this particular problem for years, which cats do so well... 

Maude was placed on medications to treat her pancreatitis, dehydration and  asthma. She responded well but was not appreciative of being orally medicated on a regular basis. In fact, her owners noted she coughed most during medication administration. Her typically fast respiration rate persisted, but she smiled her normal kitty smile and was back to being the queen of her household.