Warning, cat care rant ahead.
Sammie had her annual shots/exam/dental cleaning today. Ok, the dental cleaning should be annual, but I tend to skip a year or two in between because it is not cheap. Anyway, she had it done today. They remarked that the cleaning did not take long at all. No extractions or other work was required. That tells me that she has reasonably good dental health for a 12 year old cat whose owner does not brush her teeth. When I picked her up after the procedure, they loaded me down with "oral hygiene chews", a cat-sized toothbrush, cat toothpaste, and a sample packet of drinking water additive. Plus lots of pamphlets on the importance of feeding one's pets Hill's Prescription t/d kibble in order to preserve their dental health.
Rant the first: There is Xylitol in the drinking water additive, and they have a picture of a cat AND A DOG on it. Xylitol is toxic to dogs. I'm pissed off that they are pawning this stuff off on people who may not know that. There is more xylitol in it than chlorhexidine, which is the active ingredient I recognize from a mouth rinse prescribed for some of the people I work with, whose ability to complete their own oral care (or tolerate staff assisting them) is poor. If it were just the chlorhexidine, I'd mind a lot less. I recognize it. And while it isn't really meant for drinking, I'm sure a bit gets absorbed or swallowed in the process of using it - in amounts or concentrations probably similar to what is mean to be put in the drinking water with this stuff in the sample. But xylitol is bad business.
Rant the second: The Hill's propaganda pamphlet has a section on what causes oral health conditions. "Feeding sticky foods can lead to a more rapid buildup of plaque". Fuck you, Hill's! High quality wet foods do NOT contribute to poor dental health for cats nearly as much as starchy kibble. Cats don't chew very well, certainly not well enough to provide any form of scrubbing action. When they eat kibble, IF they bite it, it shatters, and some of those carby crumbs might stick to their gums, providing fuel for those plaque germs. And guess what? starchy kibble is less than optimal for other anatomical systems in cats. Here's a hint - if your dentist EVER tells you that since you are doing a sucky job of brushing your teeth the thing for you to do is to start eating more pretzels - it is time to get a new dentist. And how is feeding a cat dry food or dental chews WITH DEXTROSE in them any better than eating pretzels instead of brushing thoroughly?
OK, I think that's it. For now.