Temporarily Feeding Raw for Juvenile Gingivitis

Sorry, if this is a repeat.

I have started to brush Tequila and Maya's teeth. They both love the taste of the paste. Maya will gnaw on the brush. Tequila on the other hand doesn't like foreign objects in or near his mouth. He will lick the paste and I will rub his teeth as best as I could.

Anyways, a couple of days ago I was able to get a good look at his gums. Well, his gum line was a little red. I contacted my vet and she said it was Juvenile Gingivitis. There was no treatment except for daily brushing. It was in the early stages.

Now, the kicker is that Tequila and Maya are both in a cat show next month. Being newbies at cat shows, I've read that there is a vet onsite that will look at the cat to make sure it is healthy. i am assuming that gingivitis is a dealbreaker. So, I would like to get his gums under control and was hoping that the raw feeding in combination of the brushing will expedite getting rid of the gingivitis.

This is where I was thinking about the raw feeding. I have read that a chicken wing or neck can help with cleaning the teeth. I am not interested in switching to raw feeding full time.

My questions to anyone that can help is....

1) If they like raw, is a wing/neck once a week okay or do I need to give it to them more often?
2) When I feed them a wing, does it replace a meal? They get about 3 to 4 small meals daily.
3) Do I need to break the bones in the beginning?
4) is my idea to raw feed with combination of brushing just to expedite getting rid of the gingivitis feasible?
5) what other precautions do I need to take prior to feeding raw once i a while?
6) do I need to add supplements to their diet if I am only feeding them once a week?

I appreciate your input.

Hi Lily, sorry to hear about Maya's gingivitis. I don't have any experience with this condition (at least not in my cats) but I can imagine brushing their teeth is not the easiest thing to do. Some people just massage their cat's gums with a finger wrapped in some medical gauze, so perhaps you could try that.

As for your questions:
1) You could start out giving the wing/neck once a week and see what happens. If you feel more is needed, give it 2 or 3 times a week.
2) Yes.
3) Smash them with a hammer.
4) I don't know, as I cannot speak from experience, but perhaps other forum members can tell you.
5) None.
6) For extra taurine you could add one or two chicken hearts, or some beef or lamb's heart. Just to be on the safe side.

As an aside - Bone-in meat isn't the only alternative for teeth brushing. You could also try tough chewy meat like chicken gizzards, stewing beef or tongue. This too gives them a good dental work-out.

Hope this helps. :)

Thanks Antonia for your reply.

I tried the gauze and Tequila didn't like it. He shuffled away from me. He's okay with just me rubbing his teeth with my finger but I am not entirely convinced it is cleaning his teeth but it's better than nothing.

Although it is only a wing/neck or gizzard we will be feeding them, my dh and I are still concerned with the bacteria that comes associated with feeding raw. I know through in depth reading, cats have stomach acids to breakdown the bacteria and with their short digestive system, the bacteria can't activate or fester, if that makes sense. In one end, out the other. It's not like if they are in the wild they would know whether their prey has bugs or not. LOL!

You’re right in that massaging the gums won’t clean their teeth. But is is believed to stimulate the blood vessels in the gum which could alleviate the inflammation.

As for the bacteria, my Coonies have never had any issues from that. I follow common safe meat handling practices just like I would when preparing our own meals. Also, cats seem to know when meat is “off” before we do. I once got some gizzards from a different butcher than my regular one. The cats wouldn’t touch them, even though they smelled OK to me.

Well, with the struggling of trying to brush Tequila's teeth with the paste, my vet gave me another dental liquid that I use with a cotton ball and just wipe the plaque off. My vet showed me the plaque that she wiped off. Ewwww.

I thought I'd try to give the kids a bit of raw chicken breasts. Nope. Licked the chicken bits but didn't have any desire to chew it. They gave me the "What for?" look. So, I am not convinced that they will do the chicken wing once a week to clean the teeth if they won't even touch the chicken. I think they've been spoiled...

I hope the new liquid will work out well for Tequila.

Many kitties have to get used to the smell and taste of raw meat. Some take longer than others. Tatja and El Monto didn’t immediately appreciate it either. They just couldn’t figure out that it was actually food, lol. But luckily little Minnie took to the raw food like a duckling takes to water. She set an example for the others, and after watching her eat a couple of times they tucked in as well.

Thanks Antonia for your help and advice.

So far so good with the liquid and paste and he is tolerant of both. We are going to keep on it.

Since having found out that the gingivits would not count against him at the show being a newbie, I can relax a little more and not worry about expediting the cleaning.

Good to hear the gingivitis is not a disqualifier for the show. Though you will still need to keep a close eye on it of course. Hope the new treatment will alleviate it without too much discomfort. :)

Thanks candes for your input.

Tequila's front teeth are askew. She said, if they had braces for cats, he would be a great candidate. Not something I wanted to hear. LOL! The twice a day cleaning of his teeth has helped his gums. He's not fond of the brush so it's just the finger with the paste. And I will use a gauze for the other liquid (forgot what it is called. I only have a sample)
His gums are not as red as they were in the beginning. He will let me wipe with a gauze. There is also a oral care chew for cats that the vet has given us to try. It's called Enzadent. All 3 of cats get one every other day or so.

All in all, it is getting better.

With the two coonies I got back from the UK, that had severe gingivitus I tried everything they had steriod injections, 2 lots of antibiotics, and I even when they were still in quarantine tried the massage method, I was told this worked... Nothing shifted it it was so bad!!

Since I started feeding Raw food so they are actually chewing on the bones, I.E. Chicken Carcass, and Necks and the odd wing... Their teeth are sparkling..

I will try and get a photos of before an after for you... so you can see...

Candes, nope Tequila is actually not much of a chewer. The Enzadent oral chews are actually soft and styrofoam like chews, they break and crumble easily. I got these other cat chews (kinda like the rawhide bones for dogs but they are not as hard for cats) he and Maya bats the darn chew around the house. Money down the toilet.

Gosh, I hope he won't lose his teeth. Missy (RIP) was a MC mix and when we got her, she literally had no teeth. She had literally had her incisors and canines left. She only ate wet food and any dry kibble she had, she swallowed whole. So, we don't want a another toothless kitty.

No bones here in this house. Neither of them liked the raw chicken and I wasn't going to push the raw on the two. Besides, Dh really was against me trying to give them the wing or giblets to expedite the teeth cleaning for the show. So since his gingivitis does not disqualify him at the show, we're just gonna do this the old fashion way since it's working slowly but surely.

Debbie: Thanks for your input. However, feeding the raw was only a temporary thing. It was all to expedite getting rid of his gingivitis before the cat show. My husband is happy that the two didn't like the raw chicken as he was not crazy on the idea of them flicking and batting around raw meats around the house. I can just imagine where I would find the pieces. The bacteria, slime etc.. Ewww....
I have seen pictures of before and after on other sites. That's great it has helped your coonies get rid of the gingivitis.

We're just gonna stick to the toothpaste and anything dental from our vet.