Question:
My cat has had dental problems since he was two, resorptive lesions that have resulted in extractions (bottom back molars, one front tooth). I do all the preventative things (brushing, CET rinses, CET chews) and still he will need his top back molars removed this year! The vet thinks it is genetic and my cat will eventually loose all his teeth. He is four years old now.
I have always fed a 50/50 mix of high quality wet/dry. I am feeding Innova Evo dry and Wellness, Innova and Merrik for wet. My vet really wants me to do the prescription dental diet...but with the ingredients I do not want to. What do you all think?
Answer:
I do think it's genetic and I don't think the prescription food will make any significant difference. Sorry about that.
Tim

Answer:
"The vet thinks it is genetic and my cat will eventually loose all his teeth. "
"My vet really wants me to do the prescription dental diet..."
He's 'killed' his own argument . If it's "genetic", no amount of so-called "dental diet" care will prevent the inevetable.
Dan
Deo Vindice
Answer:
I once had my cats on that t/d diet and although it was effective at slowing down the tarter Spotty threw up a lot on that diet. And I have learned not to sacrifice a better quality cat food in favor of dental care. I would take him to the vet once a year for a professional dental cleaning and don't let the vet make you feel guilty for not feeding your cat the t/d. It's your choice after all. Unless your cat really has a life threatening condition in which there is no alternative to the Hill's diet you can claim authority over what to feed your cat. Veterinary medicine is a business. The customer is in charge. The only exception to this rule is when you need the vet to save your cat's life.
My vet wants me to feed Spotty a special diet for his diagnosis of IBD which I have reason to believe may be a misdiagnosis. However I live with Spotty and have more ability to monitor him every day and I have not seen him have any negative reactions to regular canned cat food but according to my vet, he should only eat prescription diet canned food. I do know from experience that t/d has not been good for my cat Spotty. It's heavily corn based and there's not much meat in it. It's got chemical preservatives. It's also very much a weight control diet, 265 calories per cup. Your cat has to eat a lot of it just to get the nutrition he needs. Spotty eats less now than he did when he was on the t/d.
Oh, I'd like to mention one more thing I remember reading and I believe it was somewhere on this site. www.littlebigcat.com If you don't find it here then I read it somewhere else. Studies have shown that cats can get tarter build up on their teeth even from being tube fed through the stomach. The fact is bacteria is always in the mouth. Unless you're constantly destroying that bacteria with toothpaste or some antibacterial enzymes you're not going to be able to prevent it from developing. t/d can only do so much.