Cost of Cat Dental Cleaning
If you’re like me and have just realised that your kitty’s stinky breath isn’t just from their favourite fishy dinner, it might be time to take them to the vet for a dental check-up. But before you go let’s unravel cat dental treatment cost and the cost of cat dental cleaning to give you some pre-warning and prepare you for how much it’s going to dent your wallet eeekk…
Do Cats Need Dental Treatment?
There’s nothing worse than that yucky furry feeling on your teeth when you forget to brush your teeth. Now imagine how gross it would be if you never brushed them at all! Unfortunately, this is the case for many British cats with up to 80% of pets suffering from some form of dental disease often due to inadequate or irregular brushing.
When your cat’s teeth aren’t regularly brushed, food particles and bacteria can build up around their teeth and gums. This can then harden into a yellowy-brown substance called tartar which can irritate the gums and cause tooth decay and tooth loss. Once tartar forms it needs special dental tools to remove it as it can’t be removed with simple brushing.
If you notice signs that your cat’s oral hygiene isn’t purrfect such as tartar buildup, they should be booked in with their vet for a professional cat dental cleaning. Here they can remove the plaque and help clean areas that are difficult to get to with brushing such as below the gumline or at the back of your cat’s mouth.
You should be taking your cat to the vet at least once a year for a dental check-up so that their teeth and gums can be monitored. This way your vet can pick up on any problems early and also make sure you’re brushing your cat’s teeth properly, which will help keep cat dental treatment costs down!
How To Check Your Cat’s Teeth
If you’re brushing your cat’s teeth regularly, you should be well acquainted with your cat’s mouth, and maybe a few loving nips from time to time. However, if you don’t, now’s a good time to check your cat’s teeth to see if they may be in need of a trip to the vet for cat dental treatment.
The PDSA recommends checking your cat’s teeth every month so that you can spot the signs of dental disease early. This will allow you to get to the root of the problem quickly and may save you some cat dental treatment costs down the line.
The best way to do this is to gently hold their head and tip it backwards up to you. From here pull their lips down to inspect their teeth and gums. Their gums should have a lovely pink colour like their favourite salmon cat food, with no signs of redness, bleeding, lumps or ulcers. A few spots of grey or black are normal pigmentation and nothing to be worried about.
Their teeth should be white and smooth without any cracks or holes. Check for any missing or broken teeth too as well as tartar which is a yellow-brown colour that looks similar to limescale build-up in the bottom of the kettle.
Finally, a little whiff of their breath goes a long way in determining their oral health. It’s unlikely to smell minty fresh unless they’ve eaten some of our Gnashers Cat Dental Treats, however, it shouldn’t smell rancid and have you running for cover.
Other Signs That Your Floof Needs Cat Dental Treatment
Other signs that your cat needs to go to the dentist include drooling, pawing at the mouth, teeth chattering, difficulty eating or dropping their food, slow eating, weight loss and reduced grooming.
It’s impawtent to remember that cats are notoriously good at hiding their pain, particularly dental pain, and many suffer in silence. With this, some of the signs of cat dental disease can go unnoticed. Often cats will continue to eat normally even though they’re in pain so won’t exhibit changes in their eating and grooming habits or experience weight loss. This is why you should be regularly checking their teeth so that you don’t miss anything.
How Much Does Cat Dental Treatment Cost?
So now that we know how to spot the signs of cat periodontal disease, how much does cat dental treatment cost?
Brace yourselves, because cat dental cleaning cost can be high, between £250 and £400. Often they will also need either an X-ray or CT scan of their mouths which can add an extra £80-£400 to assess parts of their teeth that can’t be seen with the naked eye.
When cats have dental treatment they need to go under general anaesthetic (GA). This is so that they can tolerate the procedure as well as for the safety of the vet. Fortunately, the price of GA is usually incorporated into the overall cat dental treatment cost.
How To Keep The Costs Down
Okay, now that we’ve got the scary stuff out of the way, let’s talk about keeping the costs down!
Prevention is key in keeping cat dental treatment cost down. That means regular brushing. I’m going to repeat that for everyone in the back because it’s so important. Regular brushing!
You should be brushing your cat’s teeth every day to keep them squeaky clean and keep cat dental treatment cost down.
Make sure you’re feeding your cat a complete nutritious cat food that’s high in protein and low in sugar. Sugar has no nutritional value to cats and can erode their tooth enamel, causing tooth decay.
Scrumbles cat food recipes are designed for optimal digestive health with a high meat content and no added sugar, perfect to keep your cat healthy and dental bills low. Cat dental treats will also help maintain your kitty’s gum health by keeping plaque at bay and preventing tartar buildup. Make sure to check the label though as some cat treats have nasty additives in them and high levels of sugars which we know should be avoided.
Save By Serving Scrumbles Cat Dental Treats
A great way to save on the cost of vet dental bills is to use our Gnashers Cat Dental Treats. We add the active ingredient SHMP to our dental treats which is scientifically proven to reduce nasty plaque by 80%.
They’re free from added sugar and baked to a crunch which also helps to rub off plaque through mechanical abrasions, perfect for targeting those hard-to-reach areas like the back of your cat’s mouth.
We love to feed them to our cats as a reward after their daily teeth cleaning regime to keep them coming back for more each evening. As always they’re packed with a protein punch and prebiotic slippery elm bark to aid digestion and keep sensitive tums happy.
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1. Easy Ways to Prevent Cat Dental Disease
