The following are just my thoughts, cats
are obligate carnivores(Obligate or
"true" carnivores are those whose diet requires nutrients found only
in animal flesh. While obligate carnivores might be able to ingest small
amounts of plant matter, they lack the necessary physiology required to
digest it. In fact, some obligate carnivorous mammals will only ingest
vegetation for the sole purpose of its use as an emetic, to self-induce
vomiting of the vegetation along with the other food it had ingested that upset
its stomach.)Wikipedia
So there are other obligate
carnivores but we are just going to be talking about feline (cats) today and
really not going to be going into their diets, but I'm going to be talking
about their mouth health, something I believe is neglected, or not
thought that a sweet little kitty wants to chew on anything so we don't give
them things, like we do with dogs, to chew on. What happens is they
either start to chew on things around the house or they just don't and their
teeth get rotten and need to be pulled.
What I'm hoping to do is to help you
to get your cats/kitten a healthier mouth by doing some simple things. There are also other things that will help
with a healthier mouth, brushing, teeth cleaning etc.
But things like a bully stick - or
maybe a raw or freeze dried chicken neck, wings, chicken leg, quail leg, pretty
much any meaty bone if your cat will chew on it. Any of these would be a
benefit to their mouth to help clean their teeth and keep them from being
bored.
Pretty
much anything you give your dog to "chew" on your cat might be
interested in, what has happen is that we don't think of cats wanting to chew
on things so we don't offer them the option. It may take some time for an
older cat to decide that they want to chew but with persistence and finding the
right chew, your cat will start and enjoy chewing on things, and in the long
term hopefully help them keep their teeth clean and keep them active and not
bored.
Paula Gorman
Pet Nutrition Counselor
Food Nutrition
Specialist
Herbalist