Pets don't brush their teeth. Do they ever get tooth problem?

If we humans don't brush teeth, we can get serious problems with our teeth. In fact, we might still get a lot of problems with our teeth even we do brush teeth many times a day.

Pet animals don't ever brush their teeth. Do they ever get the same problems as us?

Actually, pets DO brush their teeth, or al least their owners do it for them (or should). Just check out any pet store and look at the pet tooth brushes and dog or cat toothpastes they carry!

Just like people, some pets have better teeth than others. My first cat had good teeth at every checkup. My second cat was prone to tarter buildup, and they both ate the same food. One of my current cats came to me with an unknown background and age. She is attention starved, and revels in being petted everywhere. When she suddenly started flinching away from having her jaw rubbed, I knew that wasn't normal. Then I noticed her bolting her kibble down whole without chewing it. I took a look at her mouth and before she jerked away I saw that her gums were flaming red. I took her to the vet for a dental exam where they put the animal under and examine the teeth, take x-rays, and do what dental work is neccessary. They warned me they might have to pull a few teeth. It ended up that she had such a bad case of gingavitus that they had to pull ALL her teeth! Aparently, sometime in her past she had already lost a few teeth. So she is now toothless. I buy her kibble that has small round pieces and she gumms it down whole just fine.

Ouch, pulled all the teeth from a cat. Did they have to put her to sleep before the operation? I can't imagine how she wake up and found "Where did all my teeth go?!"

Do they give you trouble for brushing their teeth?

I know I should brush my cats teeth, but I don't. It's hard enough clip[ping claws. I'm not entirely sure Chelsie realize her teeth are gone. If she gets ahold of a large piece of food, she will try to gnaw at it like a normal cat, but without teeth she risks choking on it. And when she goes outside with me she tries eating grass, but with no teeth she doesn't get any where.

Why would she try to eat grass? She is a cat, isn't she? lol

The thing is, pets usually eat very well if their owners look after them properly. So I don't think brushing is always necessary. A lot of animals in the wild seem to have a pretty decent set of choppers. My cat only eats supposedly-nutritious (disgusting) cat food and refuses to drink anything other than water. If I did that, I doubt I'd have to brush my teeth half as much. A lot of us drink tea, coffee, or in my case soft drinks (soda) nearly every day. With the amount of teeth-rotting things we eat and drink, it becomes a necessity to brush anything harmful away. If pets don't have that problem in the first place I think brushing is only necessary if their teeth are showing signs of decay.

Generally, cats teeth will do well on normal cat food. Chelsie seems to have had dental problems in her unknown past, and like people, some have the genes for better teeth than others.

Cats will sometimes eat grass to help their digestion, which usually means they will throw it up as soon as they get back in the house.