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I know theoretically you are supposed to do this, but my cats hate it and seem so upset when I try to do it. Out in the wild, they eat birds and mice and not the cereal dry food they eat today that is supposed to help get the tartar off.
Do you brush your cat's teeth? If so, how often? How do you get them to cooperate?
I try to do it nightly with my older cat as the vet has noticed tartar building up on his teeth, but he hates it too. I think the only thing you can do is just keep on until they get used to it. And if they don't, then just keep it quick and as comfortable as possible. There are dry cat foods you can buy which are supposedly very good for their teeth but your cat may not like eating that either.
The only other option is to have their teeth cleaned by the vet once a year and that costs a fortune!
For the longest time my cat ate a tarter control formula. He loved it and it worked great at fending off the tarter. Recently switched to something else but will probably get more of the tarter control and alternate or something.
I use one of those toothbrushes you put on your finger and then stick it in my kitty's mouth with some toothpaste on it. I personally never really had a struggle (but you have to hold the head). I put her on the washing machine. She doesn't even attempt to run away. I've had a much harder time brushing her coat, now that is a true challenge.
I brush her teeth like 3-4 times a week and I give her flour + anti caries almost every night.
Yep, we brush both nightly. It takes both of us -- one to hold the cat, the other to brush. And that's after we chase them down. *sigh*
They hate it -- we'd rather be doing other things as well -- but some nights there is less whining and complaining than others. From the humans and the cats.
I know theoretically you are supposed to do this ...
Says who. I can just imagine the reaction of my gang to having their teeth brushed - total outrageous disbelief combined with yowls of indignation, flashing claws, flying fur and the end result of me bleeding profusely and them smirking.
Seriously, why on earth would a healthy cat need to have its teeth brushed? I've been owned by felines for over half a century and have never once brushed anyone's teeth but my own.
Because their teeth can suffer just as much as ours do with decay, tartar, cracking, etc. Trust me there's nothing like forking out 100s of dollars to have a cat's teeth removed because of lack of care over the years. Plus losing teeth can be a real problem for a cat, especially if it's an outdoor cat!
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The teeth, not the cats, but that would work, too!
I can just imagine the reaction of my gang to having their teeth brushed - total outrageous disbelief combined with yowls of indignation, flashing claws, flying fur and the end result of me bleeding profusely and them smirking. 
