Hi! First: Good on you for wanting to start them right away into a brushing routine. This is a huge regret I have with my cats!

With regards to brushes, when I have tried to scrub my guys, I found anything resembling a toothbrush to be useless. I had much more success with the plastic thimble-like brush. Not sure if they're sold separately, I got mine in the CET kit that my vet sold. I think there was a brush, the thimble, and a tube of toothpaste.

As long as your cats aren't prone to biting, you might like the thimble. You just slip it on a finger, add some paste, and stick your finger in their mouth and go to work. I just felt like I had way more leverage that way. The hardest part was keeping them from getting away with my body/other arm. Hopefully you have a second person to help (at least at first)! Good luck!

 

Thimble-like brush doesn't work for my cats at all. The main problem is it's too big, making it both hard for me to maneuver and uncomfortable for my cats. And it's almost impossible to reach the back-most teeth, you know, the big ones that need brushing the most.

I used baby brush and I used the cat-specific brush. Both work more or less the same. To me, the key of a good cat brush is the head must be small. Nothing else matter much. Never, ever buy those multi-head brushes like this one Amazon.com: Bamboo QuadBrush Ultimate Cat Toothbrush with Holder - Assorted Colors: Pet Supplies
Great concept, impossible to execute.

PS: My local petsmart sells this package Sentry® Petrodex® Cat Dental Kit - Dental Care - Cat - PetSmart
It comes with a toothpaste, a brush, and a thimble. So if you can get it, you can try both options.

 

Thimble-like brush doesn't work for my cats at all. The main problem is it's too big, making it both hard for me to maneuver and uncomfortable for my cats. And it's almost impossible to reach the back-most teeth, you know, the big ones that need brushing the most.

I concede that point. But for me, since it's all I've been able to manage, I think it's better than nothing.

 

Congrats on getting new kittens!

I use this toothbrush from CET, comes with a sample poultry toothpaste. Best one I have tried. It's small and easy to get at the sides and back teeth.
CET Toothbrush for Cats | VetDepot.com

The others I have tried aren't very effective for the sides and back teeth. Best of luck!!

 

Thanks to all! I think I will order the CET enzyme toothpaste and get some baby toothbrushes to start. The kittens are 10 weeks old so I'm hoping if I start them young they accept it. We did not get our kittens today because of some delayed fecal test results and will not be able to get them until Thursday. Lotu

 

I use a child's toothbrush for my dog's teeth. It has snoopy or scooby doo on it so I know who's it belongs to

 

I am wondering if anybody have luck with this one https://www.polypet.com.sg/index.php?route=product/product&path=60_104_146&product_id=2694. The head looks bigger than this Virbac C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Cat Kit

 

3gatos-I hope to get a multipack of child toothbrushes at the Dollar Store and since I will have 2 kittens, designate one per kitten. Scooby and Snoopy toothbrushes sound cute for a dog

 

I bought a 2 pack of child toothbrushes at the store today-on $1 At first it only looked like Snoopy ones and bigger ones...then I saw what I think was the last set of brushes with bubble-shaped handles-one purple,one green with suction cups on the bottom that I thought more appropriate for a cat. I ordered CET seafood flavored toothpaste. Poultry and beef were also available. What flavor do you think is best or do cats like them all?

 

I dunno which flavour ET loves best cos I'm still on the 1st tube, poultry and he certainly love that. No intention to change. If you ask me about Feline Greenies, I have tried all flavours, he loved them all, lol - I know I'm not answering your question, lol.

 

The CET Cat toothbrush finally arrived. I've used it a couple days now. My verdict - its good, its small enough I managed to reach the molar, the only thing I didn't like is the bristles are a little too soft, not abrasive enough, oh well cats probably don't need that? and I don't think it will last.

 

Out vet says the Vanilla-mint is actually the most popular CET flavour among her patients. Weird, hey?

Also, she showed up that, rather than the thimble, you can just use your finger to do it. The vet had no problems brushing Io's teeth she she was showing us, but (surprise, surprise) when we got home and tried to to it someone almost lost a finger :roll:

We're sticking to chicken necks and greenies for now. Hopefully that helps.

 

Lotu, how's your kitty taking it? Any luck in brushing their teeth?

Out vet says the Vanilla-mint is actually the most popular CET flavour among her patients. Weird, hey?

I just checked the sample toothpaste that comes with it. I actually ordered a couple, all sample toothpaste are poultry, no Vanilla-mint, just as well, since ET loved the poultry.

The CET cat toothbrush is great for getting the sides and the back teeth, but they dont last long especially if they are getting chomped on. :lol:

hahaha...ET hasn't chomp on it yet. I'm trying not to brush too hard just so I can prolong it,lol. I love it.

 

The CET cat toothbrush is great for getting the sides and the back teeth, but they dont last long especially if they are getting chomped on. :lol:

I think I prefer the softness of them too, I would think anything firmer might irritate their gums if you slip??

 

Just a raw chicken neck? Did someone also say wings? Can cats get salmonella. I can't imagine these cats letting me brush their teeth. They avoid me for days after when they don't like what I am doing to them, like weighing or even too much brushing.

 

ET is FIV+, I won't consider raw or anything. Beside salmonella, I'm also worried about E-coli. Maybe those feeding raw would be able to fill you in on that.

ET is afraid of the digital weighing scale too, I was never able to put him on the scale until someone here taught me how to weigh. Carry kitty and stand on the scale, then weigh ourselves, use Kitty + our weight, then minus our weight. Even with me carrying ET standing on the scale, he will struggle to break free. What I do now is while he is napping in his basket, I quietly leave the scale on the floor, carry him in his basket (he can't see the scale), step onto the scale, then I minus mine + the basket's weight. This has worked so well for me.

 

I was hoping my kittens would take to having their teeth brushed since they are still young (got them a few weeks ago at age 11 weeks)...but they do not seem to go for the flavor and don't like the toothbrushes . I gave up for a couple weeks and tried last night...still don't like it. I did try rubbing the toothpaste with a piece of cloth. I might try that again. At kitten age, they probably don't need to brush too badly, but I was hoping to instill good habits for when they do get their adult teeth. I will keep trying. Thanks for asking.

 

I have a mix; kittens and a <coughs> mature kitty lol. She seems to hate the reference "old" so I'm practicing.
Anyway...
I've got similar problems to you, no one is interested in having a brush in their mouth and toothpaste I don't know because we couldn't get past the, 'use just the brush to get your cat use to it' stage.

I use Proden's Plaqueoff, which seems to do good and give them dental treats but sure would love to be able to get something in their mouths that would work on the teeth and gums.
I searched and came across this toothpaste gel called Logic (Several pet sites and Amazon offer it). The thing that attracted me was in the instructions it stated that if your pet wasn't a fan of a brush to put the gel on it's paw and let them lick it off. Or have them lick it off your finger.
I thought, "I can do that!!" and ordered some

My oldest cat hates everything well there's like half a dozen things she likes but thats it. Nothing more. This is no exaggeration. I was worried but knew if I put it on her paw she would HAVE to lick it off. I did, and she did. lol

I noticed the kittens would lick it off my finger. YAY, that's easy. So I thought I would take a BIG chance and see if the mature kitty, would lick it off my finger too. (would save me having to chase her down and get her in a position to where I can quickly smear it on her paw LOL)
A big risk but what the heck.

SHE LIKED IT!!! I almost fainted lol I have NO idea what flavor it is since they don't say and they only do the one flavor. Doesn't smell of anything to me and I haven't tasted it LOL They like it!

 

Your kitties are still young, there is still hope they will get used to being brushed. You can go slow, just don't give up.

 

Snowy, is the CET toothbrush much smaller than the baby toothbrush you were using? I just got some of the CET poultry toothpaste and baby toothbrushes for my cats and did their first teeth brushing last night. The baby brushes seemed a little big to reach back teeth, so I'm thinking about getting the cat brushes once the baby brushes wear out.

 

Congratulation! you did it! The cat toothbrush is certainly much smaller than a baby toothbrush with much shorter handle too. I am attaching a closeup pict to show.



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I found this at a $2 shop after I ordered the cat toothbrush, its 3pcs for $2. The head is small too except that its not angled the way a proper toothbrush should. I used it just to apply the toothpaste on ET's gum, I can't brush well cos it isn't angled that way, but I was still able to reach the back. If you can find something similar in a houseware shop, that will be good cos that will be a great $ savings.



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I found this at a $2 shop after I ordered the cat toothbrush, its 3pcs for $2. The head is small too except that its not angled the way a proper toothbrush should. I used it just to apply the toothpaste on ET's gum, I can't brush well cos it isn't angled that way, but I was still able to reach the back. If you can find something similar in a houseware shop, that will be good cos that will be a great $ savings.

Great, thank you for the pics and information! I will look for the small brushes at the dollar store near my house instead of getting the cat toothbrush. My girl cat kept trying to chew on the brush last night, so I'd rather not pay for the more expensive toothbrush if it will get chomped up right away!

 

This one can certainly, I'm 100% sure, can withstand kitty's chomping, lol, hope you can find one.

 

Well, I tried brushing their teeth the last couple nights. I wait until they have been shut in my daughter's bedroom with her for about a half hour or so and daughter has fallen asleep. They are calm and I put about a pea-sized amount of paste on a dishcloth and put it across the front of their teeth while they protest by not cooperating. They then lick it around in their mouths. It is probably not the best approach, but I'm hoping it is better than nothing?