How do I care for my cat's teeth?

Cats' teeth

. Cats have 30 teeth and when they have exchanged all their baby teeth. Often we don't see baby teeth, because they swallow them or drop them without us seeing. When the cat has exchanged all its teeth, it will have to make do with them for the rest of its life. Anything lost after that will not be replaced, nor will they grow back after they are worn down. This means it is important to take care of your cat's teeth. Cats obviously cannot consciously and actively keep their teeth clean themselves. Nevertheless, they help their teeth by chewing on hard bones from prey animals and grass. This mechanically scrubs the teeth as they eat, which can reduce dental deposits.

What can you do for your cat's teeth as an owner?

However, not all domestic cats get outside or only actively hunt prey animals without actually eating them. So what can you do to ensure your cat's teeth remain as healthy as possible.

Tooth brushing? YES! You can do that in cats too.

Brushing teeth can also be done in cats. With cats, however, the rule is: learned young is done old! In order to brush your cat's teeth on a regular basis without risking your own fingers, it is necessary to start while your kitten is still young. In the beginning, it is important that you only touch the gums with your finger without brushing extensively. In the beginning, you can make the touch and taste more interesting by, for example, smearing some water from a can of tuna on your fingers. When your kitten allows it for a bit longer, you can start rubbing along the teeth and gums using a band-aid or a finger swab. You can start combining this with special toothpaste for animals. This is different toothpaste from human toothpaste because the amount of fluorine, among other things, has been adjusted.

If brushing does not succeed, use mouthwash with anti-plaque action.

Unfortunately, not all cats allow you to brush the gums, teeth and molars extensively. What do you do then? Then, fortunately, there are some other options. The first is giving mouthwash such as Vet Aquadent or Orozyme RF2 Aquadyl through the water. When you start with this, cats may have to get used to this as well. Make sure that the cat does keep drinking as this is even more important than giving mouthwash. You can get a cat used to it by adding a little more anti-toothed plaque liquid to its drinking water. This liquid ensures that the cat's own bacterial mouth flora remains present, but that the bacteria are no longer able to form plaque.

Switch to special food for healthy cat teeth.

Daily food can also actively contribute to dental care. When the cat eats kibble that it has to chew on, it scrapes along the teeth with every chew and then helps clean them. However, most kibble is chewed very quickly by the cat and therefore does not actively help enough. Fortunately, this is why there are specially made Dental kibbles. These are larger kibbles so the cat really has to chew well and during this active chewing, the teeth scrape mechanically. In addition, the better Dental kibbles often have an extra effect against the formation of dental plaque and tartar. They are formulated so that the ingredients also actively contribute to reducing the formation of plaque (tartar) and tartar. Good diet foods with an active contribution to dental health are: Royal Canin Dental and Hill s T/D.

Symptoms of cats with plaque, tartar, tooth decay or irritated gums.

If you notice that your cat is still developing one or more of the following symptoms despite all the dental support activities, it is time for a thorough dental check-up. Symptoms of dental problems in cats:

• Having or suddenly getting bad breath
• Your cat seems to drool more
• The appetite has decreased and when they eat it seems like it is more difficult than before
• If you are allowed to look inside the mouth, you will see that the gums are redder, bleed easily and sometimes even appear swollen
• Accumulation of tartar around the teeth, sometimes the gums are already irritated
• The cat may shake its head more often, note this can also be a sign of ear complaints.


It is recommended for all cats to have a regular look in the mouth to see if all teeth are still in good healthy condition. In addition, the gums can be inspected right away. Many cats unfortunately go on too long with painful teeth, which is also not good for their general health. Tooth decay causes bacteria in the mouth which, via the bloodstream, can also cause complaints elsewhere in the body.

-This is an automated translation-