Mr Whiskers Gets His Teeth Brushed

Recently, when I got a little closer to Mr Whiskers face, I noticed a smell I didn't feel too good about. Mr Whiskers, I thought, "you need your teeth brushed!" I guessed gingivitus at least. Dr Buchoff, a holistic vet, had introduced me to pet care like brushing their coat, tapping on their sternum to boost the immune system, and teeth brushing.  Growing up with animals we never brushed their teeth and they seemed to do just fine. I thought this was a little over the top, but I did try a bit with my cats, then it kind of slipped away. But now it seems like a really good idea.

I took a good look when Mr W yawned and by golly his teeth are kinda really yellow. So I got out the toothpaste and the little cat toothbrush. I put some on my finger to see if he liked it. He did. Of course, Mr W likes just about everything that's edible. So I let him eat a bit off my finger. I figured by licking it he would get some on his teeth. Next I put some on the brush, and let him sniff that.


Then Patches came over to see what Mr W was so interested in. There is also a kind of thimble looking thing that has little bristles, but this was too big for his mouth. he did not like this, The toothbrush was a better size.

I should back  up a little and mention that I have been doing mouth circles w Mr W. I used the tip of my finger and did little circles all along his lips. As he got comfortable with this, his lips began to soften, loosen, I began to get in his mouth and onto his gums (just along the upper teeth). This can help anxious cats to calm down. I believe it can help with aggression, and probably other things. But here it helped him get used to having things in his mouth. This is actually really important and a valuable practice in case you need to medicate a cat. I hope I never have to pill Mr W, but one step at a time.

Slowly we worked up to the point where I was able to hold him gently but firmly on the scruff of his neck and use the toothbrush. As soon as he pulled strongly, I let go, let him walk around a bit, then when he was ready to come back I tried it again on the other side of his mouth. When I saw him go into a crouch and not look at me or move his head, I decided he had had enough. I gave him a pet and told him what a good boy he was. Next time I tried it was pretty much the same routine. i think he's really going to be ok with this. And I have this vision of him being like the cat I saw on youtube who just looooved to get his teeth brushed. Here's a link to that video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HTYRYvhP8Y