Cats need the dentist

Sparky is one of our ‘golden oldie’ cats so when we took him to the vets for a check up it was no surprise to find that he had problems with some of his teeth.  Most cats, and dogs too, have dental problems when they approach middle age.   Sparky was fit and well but we had noticed that he was eating a little more slowly.   The vet found that Sparky had gingivitis and a subsequent operation to descale his teeth and remove some of them was proposed.    Sparky had eaten biscuits as well as meat, all his life so it wasn’t the lack of ‘crunch’ in his diet.  Maybe it was the lack of natural food – there is a lot more to chew on a mouse.   The operation went well and Sparks is fully recovered and has regained full appetite.   We are offering raw meat in addition to his normal diet, there’s a lot of chewing needed and hopefully it will keep his teeth clean.

Gingivitis can strike at any age so regular dental check ups are important.   One of  younger cats, a recent arrival and aged around two, also has dreadful ‘I wish I’d looked after my teeth’ problems which were diagnosed at his check up.   He is scheduled for extractions in the near future, his mouth is a bit inflamed at the moment so he has having medication to settle it down first.    He also eats biscuits but they haven’t kept his teeth in good shape.   We’ll try chunks of meat and fish and see if that makes any difference.    Cats never used to have these dental problems before the advent of pouches.   Hmm.