How to Provide Dental Care for Your Cat's Teeth

Above is a photo of Caymus' teeth. Caymus is awesome about letting you hold his mouth open, so I went ahead and took some extra shots, which are included below.

Dental care for your Ragdoll cat is very important. Tartar build up and plaque in your cat's mouth can cause many dental complications. One of the most common complications is perio disease. If left untreated the attachment structures holding your cat's teeth in can be destroyed and your pet can loose its teeth.

To avoid perio disease, feed you cat hard food, have appropriate chew toys, brush your cat's teeth daily, and take your pet in for a professional cleaning at least once a year. Appropriate chew toys are those that are soft such as rope or rubber toys. Do not let your cat chew on hard objects such as rocks because they can cause the teeth to break.

To brush your cat's teeth get a soft bristled toothbrush and some veterinarian toothpaste. If you do not have a veterinarian toothpaste brush with no paste. Do not use human toothpaste on your cat's teeth!

To brush:

• Place your hand over your cat's muzzle from the top
• Gently squeeze and push his/her lips on one side between the back teeth (to keep his mouth open)
• Pull his/her head back gently so his mouth opens
• Brush his/her teeth on the opposite side
• Repeat this process for the other side

At first they might not let you brush their entire mouth. That's ok. Continue to brush their teeth every day. Each day try to access an area in the their mouth that you couldn't previously access.

If your cat continues to resist you, you can wrap a towel around them before brushing.

Below are some great links for more information on dental care for your cat:

Learn More about Dental Care for Your Cat

Brushing Your Cat's Teeth Video - Cornell University

How to Brush Your Cat's Teeth Dental Vet - Feline Dentistry

American Veterinary Dental College