Ok, so this topic has probably been done to death, but in anyone's experience is there any correlation between an exclusively dry food diet and good teeth?

One of my cats, Jazz (almost 12), had a dental last week (bad teeth, gingivitis, weight loss etc etc) and I've just come back from his post-op check up. At the vets the conversation predictably moved to diet and I admitted that all they'll eat is Felix/Whiskas wet (Hobbes will ocassionally deign to eat dry kibble if he's in the mood). Don't get me wrong, I've tried feeding dry, I've got bags of Arden Grange, Bozita, Purina One etc lying open in my garage, but they've decided they're not going to touch the stuff.

The vet recommended that I've got to be harder on them, cut out ALL wet food, and then he began his Hill's speil and I thought, why not, I've tried everything else. Got home...and the little b*ggers ate all the Hill's dry kibble .

So, seeing as I'm a total soft touch I can't eliminate wet food completely from their diet, but I'll definitely be feeding more dry and not give up as soon as they say 'no'. The question is, will this really improve their teeth condition? And what about cystitis?

Confused.com

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Ignore your Vets advise about food and try brushing his teeth or using plaque off in his food or there is an additive to put in their water, I know the raw feeders will recommend a chicken wing to chew on too as the gnawing action will keep teeth clean, but dry food doesn't clean their teeth.

Why don't you try a better quality wet food which does not contain grains ( starch=sugar) or actual sugars? Bozita or Animonda carny from zooplus are very reasonably priced and sugar free.

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Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

Thanks for the advice .

GreyHare - I've never heard of Plaque Off, but off to investigate. I think you're right though about brushing his teeth (should be fun. Need to buy some falconers gloves first).

Paddypaws - I've tried Bozita wet food and others in the past. They'll eat it for about a day or so, but then they go on starvation strike looking for Whiskas/Felix. I know, I know, I've created two fussy monsters.

Just been reading Hobbs' posts about dry feeding - don't think I'll be going down the exclusively dry route now!! Also, pretty surprised that Arden Grange and Bozita dry are considered bad foods - never thought about the grain content before! Right, after this bag of Hill's (and the bags of Bozita and Arden Grange in the garage ) I'm moving them onto Orijen or Fish 4 Cats dry, and will TRY to wean them onto a better quality wet food.

Oh, and when I'm in the mood for dicing with death, I'll attempt to brush their teeth!

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Er, btw, how often would you advise that I brush their teeth? Should I use paste? I think I've got a tube of puppy/dog toothpaste lying about somewhere. And will a child-size toothbrush do?

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Biffy likes the Smilla Toothies biscuits

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You need the proper brushes or you can get a micro fibre finger glove and yes you need the proper toothpaste too, CET,Logic or Dentagen are supposed to be good, the Logic one you can supposedly just let them lick it off your finger but brushing is better.

I got Beaphar toothpast and brush from zooplus and Merlin bites it and lets me take a few swipes at his teeth.

Any chance of giving them the odd raw chicken wing, say? There's nothing like raw meat and bone to get their teeth clean Dry food is to feline tooth cleaning as pretzels are to human teeth cleaning...

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Dry food does not clean the teeth. This is a myth. Dry biscuits simply crumble - they do not scrape the teeth, in fact they are often swallowed whole. Still, vets will tell you that cats on dry food will have better teeth than cats eating mushy wet food.

The other drawback to dry food is the lack of moisture, which can be a serious problem in the long term, leading to UT issues. A lot of people feed both wet and dry food for this reason.

An experienced veterinary nurse once told me that the only senior cats she ever sees who still have good dental health are the ones who are allowed to chew raw bones or chunks of meat. The alternative of course is to clean your cat's teeth with a toothbrush. Personally I find the idea of this ludicrous, not to mention hugely stressfull for cat and owner, so it's chicken wings for my lads a couple of times a week. Persuading your cat that a chicken wing is food can take some effort...but it's better than fiddling about with a toothbrush and a horribly miffed moggy, imo.