In other news, does anybody know how to effectively brush a cat's teeth?

[conuly]

(And how to convince her that I love her and am not simply using an arcane torture device for kicks?)

Comments

[alatefeline]

My inexpert opinion, as a cat person who has NOT brushed cat teeth:

Convincing her you aren't torturing her is probably impossible. Vets routinely sedate cats for this.

You can try doing a tiny bit more each day without tipping over into panic. Flavored toothpaste might help, if she is interested enough to sniff/lick it. It could take weeks to get to actual brushing.

Or you can immobilize her while she panics (wrap her in a towel to make a cat burrito), do what you have to do, and then let her flee. Wear gloves and arm protection. Not recommended unless you like trauma.

Or, if she is basically willing to put up with you being an awful human but shies off from the actual brushing, take all those same precautions but introducing it a bit at a time, hopefully more successfully.

Here is an informative video. (Can you use videos?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXDDRYTJs94

Don't use a regular toothbrush or even pet toothbrush, use a small soft brush or a washcloth, and use specific cat toothpaste or just water. (I imagine you know that, but I figured I'd better say it just in case.) You don't have to open the cat's mouth, just get at the teeth under the lips.

Some cat treats are formulated to help clean teeth, but I think the ones that are just pure freeze-dried meat are probably healthier. If she's willing to eat treats or accept toys or pets, well, a little bribery goes a long way and a lot of bribery goes even further.

[conuly]

Oh, Callie pretty much never flees once I actually have her in my hands. She'll hide under the bed if she sees me opening the flea medicine, but that's about it.

But she turns her freaking head and I'm not making progress convincing her to go along with it. She acclimated to being combed after a few weeks, and to having her nail clips in the same amount of time, and she'll even let me bathe her* if I can drag her out from under the tub, but this? This is trickier.

I should've started this when she was a kitten. Get them when they're small, and when they're big they suffer from learned helplessness about the whole thing trust you won't hurt them.

* Which I only do if she's filthy. I'm not a monster.

[alatefeline]

>> She acclimated to being combed after a few weeks, and to having her nail clips in the same amount of time, and she'll even let me bathe her* if I can drag her out from under the tub, but this? This is trickier. <<

You're doing better than I ever did. Our cats (at my parents' house) are shorthairs with who rarely get brushed (when they do, it's with a soft rubbery thing, not a comb) and strop their own claws unless we notice a snag or it's vet time. Basically we let them be completely nuts about whether or not to let us pick them up. And then they come and sit on us at weird angles.

>> * Which I only do if she's filthy. I'm not a monster. <<

This was a good laugh.

[conuly]

I have a knack with cats for most things, but toothbrushing is new and... so far, she's just Not Happy.

I ought to corner the other cat and brush her teeth as well, but that one bites when she's annoyed, and no amount of having-a-knack is going to keep her from doing it.

[alatefeline]

Oooh, bitey kitty. Would try to pet, because I have fuzz-brain.

[conuly]

Oh, she's very snuggly. She just has a low tolerance for bullshit.

[alatefeline]

Smart cat. Snuggles are good, annoying things are annoying, no pretense required.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Set her on a counter or table where you have a large bath towel ready, and the toothbrush with kitty toothpaste already on it set to hand.

Start by taking a corner of the towel, pulling it across her chest and up around, so you can grasp the edge on the other side - effectively making a sort of barber's smock. Then, while holding the collar of the 'smock' closed behind her back, take the bulk of the towel and wrap it around and under her back legs.

What you have now is a cat-bundle you can control with your left arm around her back, so you can hold her head and open her mouth with your left hand while brushing with the right. She won't be able to back out because her back feet are on the towel. She'll try to get a paw up through the 'collar', so hold it tight enough that she can't. Snuggle and coo to her till she settles down.

[Note that bundling kitty in a bath towel is my first step whenever kitty's mouth has to be opened, because it's easier to be gentle when they can't squirm away. However, a lot of other cat experts don't do this, so... your call.]

Once she is relaxed, gently raise her lip on one side of her mouth and begin brushing on the outer portions of her teeth. Always brush down away from the gum line so that you loosen any embedded food particles and push them out of the mouth.

On the bottom jaw, brush up away from the gum line. You may need to open her mouth by gently pinching her two cheeks between your two fingers, but cats will generally open up on their own once they taste the toothpaste.

Continue working your way around the outside of her teeth on both sides until you have brushed the entire mouth.

You don’t need to rinse her mouth with anything at this point because the toothpaste is made to be eaten — there are no chemicals that can hurt her tummy. Allow her access to her water bowl once you’re finished.

[conuly]

The trouble is that my problem isn't that she struggles to get away - she generally doesn't, no matter what I'm doing to her - but that she turns her head. (Also, I haven't been sure if I was brushing them right.)