Saturday, February 28, 2015

Former Foster February ends with Isaac Arnold and Smedley


We are going to close out the fabulous former foster friday February with my favorite kitties. Not that I don't love them all, but I think you all know what a special place in my heart these two have. Anne adopted these two and has been kind enough to allow me to continue glimpses into their lives. To be honest, I still kinda regret not keeping them, but I still know that would not have been a good thing (Jack is currently sitting on my lap attempting to lick my nose proving my point). Now this by no means is the last former foster post until next february.. so if anyone has one of my kittens, feel free to let me know how they are doing, and I will be happy to share them with the world.

Now.. without further adieu....



In October 2013, a friend shared a facebook post of Connie’s - pleading for someone to adopt two adorable devoted sweet twin kittens. I fell in love with these faces and that was that.


Well, okay, it was a bit more complicated than that.

My name is Anne and I live with my mom, Janet. We have had one cat at a time most of my life but we lost our last one about six years ago after a second bout with cancer. We were emotionally wiped out and needed a break … then life happened. We had both occasionally considered getting another cat. We had even tossed around the notion of two but the conversations never developed into commitment and we were not actually looking for new furry family. Then I saw Connie’s post. And her next post. And the next one. And, finally, the threat that they would be taken back to the shelter and possibly split. She kept describing these two as really special and cuddly and soft and just about everything I had on my bullet list for my personal perfect cats. I couldn’t take it and after much talking, many tears, a lot of panic about the state of the house, evaluating finances and my own ability to commit to beings that would very likely have to be accommodated through big life changes over the next decades … we said YES!!





Now about a year and a half old, they have definitely developed their personalities. Isaac Arnold is a gentle soul. He is very cautious about exploring and hangs back to let Smedley go first. He loves “Being With” us - especially with “his mommy”, Janet. He curls up on the side of her desk and lays his head on her hand. (He’s our chin skritches boy. And he is So Soft - almost too soft to feel.) Or, he will come find a spot near us while we are in another room. He generally likes harder surfaces, or at least ones with a lot of support. He cracks us up and we call him the flounder … he lies with his back legs splayed out and gets very flat.

He also is the one that likes to curl up tightly in a protected spot … preferably as small as he can squash himself into! He has found some interesting spots including our aloe plant. But, he always looks very comfy. He takes a while to be interested in playing (as I said, he is cautious) but once he does he is an amazing jumper and will tenaciously protect his toys. He is decidedly a stuffed-mouse-on-a-stick kinda guy. But any toy or red light dot is fair game!


Smedey is our “take no prisoners, barge right in and figure out where you are later” boy. He is into everything and vocal about it. He’s also very very sweet and incredibly affectionate. I am “Smedley’s mommy”. He and I have an almost daily routine of a “Full Smedley” involving him perching on my chest with lots of face buffing, licking, nipping, kneading, writhing, purring, meowing, and just plain cuddling. We both throw ourselves into it and I can’t get enough. Every once in a while Smed will let mom have this experience and every once in a while I can have snuggles with Isaac Arnold but for the most part we are paired up. Last summer I had heart surgery and the big sweetie found ever adaptive ways to manage to cuddle around my incision, contorting himself around a pillow and on my shoulder and my head and everything he could concoct to snuggle. Isaac was the model of decorum on my lap.



Smedley is a sprawler and a big belly rub boy. He usually sticks a leg or two over the edge of his lounging spot and he will turn and bend and grab your hands with his front paws to ensure the required belly rub coverage (full face-to-belly nuzzling also encouraged!) Smed loves feathers. Give him feathers on a string or a stick and he goes nuts. They both still play with the feather toys Connie gifted to them but Smed tends to get wacko about them!

Smedley is an intrepid adventurer. He was the first to jump up on counters, he is always on the front lines of poking through newly opened doors. He noses right in to check out food. He was the one to figure out how to open our kitchen cabinetry and more than once I have discovered that he has peeled off the (now needed) duct tape and has his fuzzy butt sticking up out of our garbage can!

The two of them are an amazing duo. They are so spectacularly twins and Shenanigators (instigators of shenanigans). They still play together, run around together, lick each other, tussle, mirror each other at the window, manage to open our kitchen cabinets and drawers and are generally just a delight to share our lives with. It would have been nice, though, if they would have actually caught the mouse in the bread drawer instead of just waiting for it to come back!



They are both doing well health wise. When they came home, they had both had a long struggle with digestive problems and diarrhea and were having a tough time shifting to canned food. Unfortunately, we don’t have a good local place to get commercially prepared raw food. Adoption day was the day after Thanksgiving. The first couple of months we were scrambling to get the house ready for them to expand into, to play holiday hosts and taking part in our church’s holiday events. At that point we were basically feeding them from the meat counter. (They continue their love of chicken hearts!) With time their systems got much stronger. Now we are able to give them pretty much any food and they will happily chow down. Of course, if they had their way that would extend to first dibs on our meals too! They both tend to try to eat anything. Isaac Arnold has a penchant for anything bread-like or vanilla … he is especially tenacious about trying to get at pizzelles! Smedley is persistent about sneaking yogurt. Frustratingly, this doesn’t end with actual food. They have both scared us to the core and caused lifestyle changes with things they eaten. Isaac can’t be trusted around rubber bands after an Incident without lasting consequences. But at about seven months old Smedley ate … something. We don’t know what it was for sure. One morning he wasn’t able to walk up the stairs. Three trips to vet hospitals, lots of fluids, some meds and lots of tests later he was better. An ultrasound showed something solid in his colon that was clearly passed but it was never found in the stools or identified. Mom and I are SO grateful that he pulled through that unscathed.


So, they are adored. They are wonderful. They are better than fine. And, they are exactly what we needed. We fell in love and that was that. I’m pretty sure they did too.





Friday, February 27, 2015

Former Foster Friday - Miss Lyra, the kitten formerly known as Tawny


Allie and Jeff are friends of Kathleen; Maxwell and Ducky's mom.  They were looking for a new kitten to add to their life, and were huge fans of long haired black kittens. Both Kathleen and I were hopeful that she would adopt Lena and Glim, but Allie was really only ready to take on one kitten at the moment.  Because of the uncertainty of well maybe... Allie and Jeff stopped by the house to visit with all of the kittens. I talked to them for a while, gave them my spiel of why two kittens are better, but I accept that only kittens can do just fine if the owners are aware of what they are getting into.

I left the two of them alone with the kittens (how I did not listen in on the dropcam I have NO idea) and after a while they settled on Tawny.  I was pleased she had found a home, but left the door open that if they changed their minds and wanted someone different that was fine too.  The kittens were scheduled to be neutered and the adoption day was scheduled and Tawny it was to be. Allie and Jeff couldn't be happier, but I'll let her words explain it.


She's been really great and settled in quite nicely. She loves being around us at all times and will follow us around the house to make sure she is always in the room with one of us at least, and prefers when we are all together. She is quite playful and VERY curious - which was to her downfall when she decided to see what this shower situation was all about. NOT a happy kitten but she seemed to get over it quickly and is still a little peeved when we deem it necessary to leave her and use the shower as she waits right outside it.

Also quite a cuddler, when she feels like it - usually at 4 am when the machine gun of a purr wakes us up until she settles in and sleeps on our faces for an hr or so - can be annoying - but so worth it. I haven't heard Jeff say the word "adorable" more in my life. she's a wonderful addition to the family and I thank you for raising such a loving little one.

Sounds like my Tawny is doing just beautifully, and Miss Lyra is loved and happy.


Thank you for the update Allie.. I oh so appreciate it.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Former Foster Thursday - Godzilla Kitty



Any guesses who this kitty might be? I think this is a very good likeness of  the early Godzilla.
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So.. did you guess this is Treads (aka Peanut)?  Well you were right (the label probably helped a bit hun?)

Goodness I adore his face..

I wrote to his mom earlier this month asking how he was. I was a little afraid to do it because I hadn't heard from her in a year or so. Treads was born in 2003, so he is getting up there in age. My sister adopted one of my kittens the year before and she recently passed away of lymphoma..

But the email found Treads doing well.  He had a serious health scare earlier in the year and they were thinking they need to put him down, but he turned the corner and is currently doing very well.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Please Participate in World Spay Day



Here it is 2015, and we have been celebrating World Spay Day for 20 years now.. Despite all the wonderful progress we have made in the world of our companion animals, there is still so much more to be done.

It is so easy to insulate ourselves from the overpopulation problems. Our government institutions 'take care' of the problem for us.  Three to four million companion animals (that is about half the population of NYC) are killed every year for the simple fact that there are not enough homes and this is done in back rooms and the bodies are quietly disposed of and it simply is not discussed (which is why there is such a huge swing in the numbers)


Most of us go through our entire day, a week, a month, heck all year with out seeing a single stray animal. Often when we do see them, we write them off as being owned by someone else.  My husband convinced me of that once.  A cute little stray kitten came up to us when we moved into a new apartment, and he said she must be owned by someone. A few months later she came back crying for help because it was so very very cold and she was so very very hungry. We were able to capture her, but she was so fearful that she almost didn't take our help. She eventually did, but unfortunately it was too late for her then, the FELV that was inside her was taking it's toll and we ended up having to put her down shortly there after.


Those of you reading this blog must love cats.. why else would you be here. Most of you already know of this horrible problem of over population, but do you really know... I mean KNOW.. We are told that three to four million companion animals never make it out of the shelter, but did you know that there are approximately 70 million cats that are living outside of a home in the US alone? I can't even begin to quantify 70 million in a way you might understand the enormity of that number. In a human's average life span you live approximately 613,600 hours..so that is about 114 life times in hours.

No.. how about this.. there are approximately one homeless kitty for each iPhone sold in the first quarter of 2015.   (I'm not quite sure how I feel about that statistic). Honda was fined $70 million for under reporting injuries.  The data breach by Target involved some 70 million consumers..

So freakingly overwhelming for one..


and those who are paying the price are the most vulnerable amongst us.


These were cats luck enough to be found so they could give birth in a home.  They were fed well prior to and after giving birth so that they could nourish their offspring.  Most of my queens were social and were happy to have me around during the birth. I have also fostered a couple of truly feral cats, ones that would rather rip my face off than let me anywhere near them, and thankfully the kittens were easily tamed and all made wonderful pets.


There is SOOOO much that can be done, and it can be done if we all take part. Your part doesn't have to be huge.  Adopt a kitty and save a life. No room for another? How about fostering? I know so many of you swear you couldn't because you couldn't stand to give them up, but how can you stand to watch them die? Okay, I get it, fostering isn't for everyone.. How about donating some money to a local spay/neuter clinic, or a local friends of feral group? Even a dollar helps.. I know it feels so weird to just give a dollar, like we can't be bothered to be more generous, but dollars add up... they make a difference, really they do.

Have you considered ever volunteering for a spay/neuter clinic? You do not need medical training to help out. I went once and helped check cats in and set them up in cages.

And for the love of all that is furry, PLEASE, if you have a friend who has a cat who is not neutered, please share with them the contact information to a local clinic. If you see someone on social media spouting off how cute their cat's third litter of kittens are, tell them how disgusting you think they are (but in a nice and pleasant way since you do catch more flies with honey) for littering.

Be active. Participate. Do something. Do ANYTHING. Be part of the solution..


Thank you.



This post has been brought to you by Abby. Because of the overwhelming number of cats waiting for homes, kitties with special needs like Abby will most likely never find a home. The thought of returning her to the shelter depresses me to no end, and I've been in a pretty bad place for a while now. I cling to the hope that maybe, just maybe.. but each day that goes by that she isn't regulated or progressing away from the fear that rules here life... She can not stay with me indefinitely and I have put a limit on her time here as a matter of weeks. Returning to her to the shelter will kill me. She is an absolutely lovely cat that just wants to curl up next to you and be with you. She eats two cans of Fancy Feast Classics a day, and as of right now is getting 1 unit of insulin twice a day that she takes with out even noticing it.

Friday, February 20, 2015

National Love Your Pet Day




Happy National Love Your Pet Day.  I know more than one of you is probably thinking - well shouldn't every day love your pet day??  Absolutely it should, but like Mother's Day and Father's Day (yet no kid's day? why is that??) sometimes you really should set aside a day to just revel in the joy that is the special bond you have with your furry friend..

Now if you are a little specialed day out with the Hug Your Cat Day on June 4th and National Cat Day on October 29th and National Cook for your Pet Day on November 1st, and Cat Herding Day on Dec 15th, remember there are people out there who NEED to be reminded that people love their cats.. not just 'oh look I have this cute cat' but 'look at my awesome cat, he likes wand toys and hates pesky sisters, and he REALLY likes these treats but not those' because they see way too much of the 'oh my cat peed on my bed so I am going to lock it in a cage and yell at it until I finally come to my senses and dump it at the shelter.' or 'I don't want this cat so I'll put it in a carrier and send it off to the incinerator'.. or 'oh hey, look a cat, let me shoot it with my BB gun'

so thank you kind reader for loving your cats.. and thank you for sharing that love with me and the rest of the world.. and not being afraid to tell me about your kitties in my comments..

Thursday, February 19, 2015

What I know: At Home Euthanasia - by Rene Schweitzer


Rene and I were chatting the other day and she brought up the subject of at home euthanasia.  I was fortunate enough to be able to do this for my cat Em who was dying of cancer.  I know many people are very uncomfortable with this topic, but we take on pets knowing their life span is designed to be shorter than our own, and this will inevitably be something we will have to deal with.  I hope you find some benefit to this discussion.

What I know about at-home euthanasia

Disclaimer: This post will contain difficult-to-read content about euthanasia done in your home. I will not post graphic photos, but please know there will be honest, explicit content about the process.

The last photo I took of our Tucker, the day before he died

For anyone who owns a cat, there will come a time when the end of their life is near. Sometimes, your cat will pass on his/her own, but unfortunately, many times they will need help in passing. Most cat owners know that vet offices offer euthanasia, but few know that some vets will come to your home and perform the same procedure.

We had to make this unfortunate decision with our Tucker in July 2014. He had lung cancer, and his breathing was labored. If my husband hadn’t made a comment about having the euthanasia at home, I would not have known to consider it.

Why consider at-home euthanasia?
•  Your cat is traumatized by car rides or trips to the vet
• Your cat is having difficulty breathing or is injured and you don’t want to move him/her into a carrier or the car.
• You want the comfort and privacy of your own home
• You want your cat to have his/her final moments in familiar surroundings.

How to find a vet who offers this service:
• Start by asking your regular vet. If he/she doesn’t offer it, they may have a suggestion of someone who does. We were lucky to have a recommendation from our regular vet’s office. You can also search online.

• Call ahead to inquire about their services (if possible), even if it’s just a few hours ahead. The vet we used was wonderful in coaching and offering information during this stressful time. Here are some questions to ask when you make a query call:

What services do you offer for the body? (Our vet contracted with a local pet cemetery for cremation. In some areas you may be able to keep the body for your own burial.) 
What are your fees? (I must admit, I didn’t ask this question, but our vet offered the fee structure. I honestly didn’t care. Know that at-home vets may charge mileage, and an at-home euthanasia will probably cost more than an in-office one. I felt the extra charge was fair, given it was 10:30 on a Friday night.) 
What types of payment do you accept? (Our vet took only cash or checks. We wrote a check and went online to transfer the funds from our bank.) 
How will you deliver the remains? (if you choose an individual cremation) (The vet we used lived a good 45 minutes away, so I was fine with meeting at a park and ride.) 
What is your general schedule? (One of the vets I called would not come during evenings.)  
How will you perform the procedure? (Though this is a difficult question, it is good to know ahead of time so there won’t be any surprises.)

After you make “that call,” it is helpful to have these items handy to help with the procedure: a plastic garbage bag and a large old towel.

When the vet arrives
The vet will allow you time to say goodbye (we had waited an hour before she arrived and had already done this). You may also choose to pay before the procedure is done—I recommend doing this. We paid around $400 for the mileage, procedure, cremation, and an extra $25 for a paw print medallion like the photo below.


Choose a place in your home with some floor room. Position the cat near you, your spouse, or any loved one who wants to be with your cat. The vet will administer an injection that puts your cat to sleep. Our vet injected without an IV. Given that Tucker was most likely dehydrated from not eating much, I preferred this method. It would have been difficult and stressful to find a vein.

While the injection is fast-acting, it isn’t instant—it may take a few minutes to take affect. I wish I had known this ahead of time. After that injection, Tucker got woozy and tried to get away. If you can, gently hold your cat in place or pet him/her and talk to him/her to comfort him/her while the vet is giving the first injection.

Your cat will slowly relax and appear to fall asleep. His/her eyes may not fully close. After your cat is asleep, the vet may ask for the garbage bag and towel. The garbage bag will act to protect your floor (after death, your cat may release his/her bowels or bladder). The towel will lie between your cat and the bag as padding. When you are ready, the vet will administer the final injection. Ours injected directly into the heart. It was immediate—his heart stopped right away and then he was gone. The vet checked to make sure there was no heartbeat.

The vet will allow you time to be with your cat’s body, if you choose. We chose to let our other cats smell his body, but of course, this is up to you. Our vet went to her car for a little while when we did this.

You may select a special toy or item (like a small blanket) to be cremated with your pet—we chose Tucker’s favorite yarn ball.

We chose to have Tucker cremated with a favorite toy. This is optional.
When you are ready, the vet will gently take the body away and place it in her car. She gave instructions on when the remains would be ready (about one week). In total, she was at our house about 20 minutes.

While this isn’t a pleasant subject, I hope this has shed some light on the procedure. I feel that knowledge is power, and while no one wants to make this decision, knowing what to expect made me feel a bit more comforted.

Resources

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Abby and the dental



Yesterday Abby went to the vet to get her dental. I get my information from a shelter worker who gets it from the person who picks her up, and so a lot of the time I don't get a complete story as to what is going on, but one thing stuck out that made it back to me - she had EIGHT teeth removed.

yes.. eight.

No wonder her blood glucose levels were so wonky.  I can only imagine the discomfort she was in.. the poor thing.

Sadly Abby is a very paranoid drunk, and she wanted NOTHING to do with me after getting home, no matter how slow I went or how comforting I thought I was, as you can see in the above photo, she was just hoping I would go away. Sadly I felt the need needed to get glucose levels on her so I would have a gauge of how she was doing, and the procedure that takes about two minutes normally took over ten the first time and nearly 20 the second (at her normal injection time). Once I finally got a reading from her, I went to get the insulin to give her a dose, and she took off.  It was nearly two hours later and I had to leave the room to get her to come out from under the couch and even then she bolted into the litter box box and I had to trap her in the corner to give her the insulin.  Thankfully I was able to do it, because if she had bolted again I would have given up and just let her be because I do not want her to associate getting treatment with stress.

We have pain meds and clavamox pills to give for the next few days. I have not met a cat yet that I can not pill, but I do want to keep Abby's stress as low as possible so hopefully she'll eat them in baby food. I know that I can get it in liquid, but I'm fearful that forcing something in her mouth is going to send her over the rails - and I already have to do that for the pain meds (which is 1/10th the amount of liquid so it shouldn't be too bad).

With her teeth that bad, I am very hopeful that once she heals her glucose levels will level out and *fingers crossed* maybe even go into remission..  Only time will tell.

it doesn't matter, I'll still be extra sweet even if my blood isn't.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Abby at the vet - take two



I got a call yesterday around noon time, telling me that Abby wasn't getting a dental and that she was scheduled now to get one tomorrow (aka today)

I am not happy about this because she is so incredibly high stress, and being transported back and forth just freaks her out and drives her glucose through the roof. The shelter was confused about when I was coming to pick her up (if it was anyone other than Abby I would have just left her there) and they put her in a cage, and getting her out of the cage freaked her out.. broke my heart.

Fortunately when I got her home she came right out of the carrier and jumped right back up on the couch, and that evening her glucose levels were pretty freakin good and she seemed a lot calmer than she has in a while... there is something to stressing a cat out and then bringing them back to safety. I do it with kittens all the time, but the terror you can see roll off Abby would make you not want to do it either..

Apparently she does have some pretty bad teeth so this is very necessary, but I am so not looking forward to getting her back in that carrier and putting her through this again. I am just going to hold onto the hope that by doing this we can get her regulated and even into remission which will make her much more adoptable.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Abby is going to the vet




As I mentioned in a previous post Abby has been throwing me some really weird numbers, so I contacted the shelter and got them to schedule her into the vet for a once over and a dental if she needs one.  Her glucose numbers were really starting to confuse the daylights out of me and her numbers were going higher and higher so I started wondering if it might not be the insulin I was given by the shelter. It was the very last of the bottle so I thought maybe it was becoming ineffective so I went into the shelter and got a few doses of the insulin they have there for Chandler and the other diabetics. While I initially thought it might have been the insulin because she started dropping nicely, yesterday she went up 100 points after being given a dose of insulin, so I am at a complete loss as to what to do if her blood work and dental come back as unremarkable.

but the chances of that happening are pretty minimal, so I'm not going to worry about that until after she gets back.

When I was in the shelter I stopped by to see Chandler. Sadly he was still there, but I enjoyed spending some time with him.  His nails were a bit overgrown so I went to clip them and they shattered.  He was looking a bit scraggly too, so I mentioned my observations to the shelter and they are getting him into to the vet for a once over as well. Hopefully it is nothing..

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Abby tries a Selfie


Abby wants everyone to know she can be adaptable and move into the internet age with her first selfie.. even if it isn't very good..


Saturday, February 14, 2015

Might you be in the market for a Valentine?


Abby learned that it is Valentine's Day and that someone out there might be looking for an extra sweet kitty to snuggle them so hard that they can feel the purr.

She has so much love to give and what better day to get the word out that than today.


She has so much love to give and what better day to get the word out that than today.

Could you be mine, won't you be mine, won't you be my Valentine?

(Abby is a 11 yr old diabetic kitty in Maine who is looking for a forever home after being surrendered to the shelter back in April. She gets a little nervous and anxious in new situations but she has so much love to give that just so long as you don't hit her she will snuggle right up to you and purr)

Friday, February 13, 2015

Former Foster Friday - Buffy and her Scoobies..


It has been a while since I have been able to do an update on Buffy, Zander, and Spike.  I fostered them back in 2010, but to me it seems like it was yesterday.  I remember Buffy so clearly because of her trip to the emergency clinic.

I ran into their mom a few months ago and learned they are having some digestive issues.  I recently connected with them on Facebook because FB is way too smart and suggested that we might know one another. I found out they are still having issues and are being treated by the vet I ended up going to.

For those of you who don't know, these three kittens were brought into the shelter and I started fostering them.  I took on another set of kittens and I ended up naming all of them after characters from the Buffy the Vampire series.. (I was actually watching the Angel series at the time). These three were so incredibly bonded that I asked the shelter if they might put them up for adoption as a threesome.  We were all incredibly skeptical that we could keep them together, but low and behold a woman I went to high school with was in the market for a pair of kittens, and just happened to be a HUGE Buffy fan.  She had come in to the shelter a few weeks prior and fell in love with some kittens but was about to go out of town and had to forgo adopting those.

I loved the kismet of the whole thing, and while I was fearful for them - because seriously how could I not be - I ended up being very happy and even thrilled with the adoption.

because:


Thursday, February 12, 2015

#CatDentalHealth with @PetSmart and Authority Dental Cat Treats #Ad #Sponsored


This post is sponsored by PetSmart, and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. 
I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Dental Health Month, but Tails from the Foster Kittens only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. PetSmart is not responsible for the content of this article.


National Pet Dental Health Month was founded in 1994 as a way to highlight the need for caring for our pet's teeth. This year ®PetSmart wanted to team up with bloggers to highlight this need and provide options.



There are a wide variety of ways to help a cats keep their teeth clean. Some say chewing on raw meat and bones will keep them clean, some say using a pet tooth brush and pet toothpaste, but these are generally options people are unwilling or unable to do for their pets. Enter the dental treats! We were asked to promote the Authority brand dental treats. They come in several flavors: Chicken, Duck, Tuna and Salmon. We chose chicken.




I know we would all like to do what we can to help ensure our cat's long lasting good health. Taking care of one's teeth can help more than the pet's mouth and the smell of their breath. Plaque can build up and cause a great deal of inflammation and even infection which can have long term health consequences if left unchecked such as microscopic changes in the heart, liver, kidneys*. Brushing your cat's teeth daily is ideal, but do not let perfect become the enemy of good. Most cat owners want their cats to be happy, and brushing rarely brings out the happy purr in our kitty..

Okay Muffin, which option do you like best?

Really Mom? is that even a question?
Can I haz the treats??

Can you 'brush' our teeth too?
Dental treats claim that they promote chewing action that helps reduce plaque and tartar. They are made in unique or larger shapes that encourage chewing. If the cats chew the treats (sadly most of my cats ate them whole) the fibers in the treat are aligned to scrape the tartar off the teeth. A lot of people still think that feeding regular kibble will help keep a cat's mouth healthy, but that is actually been proven as untrue and many cats who eat regular kibble need cleanings just as often as those who eat other types of food - with the exception maybe of food formulated specifically for dental health.

So if your kitty has breath that could peel paint off the wall, consider scheduling a visit with a vet to discuss your options. It is never too late to start doing something in regards to your pet's dental health, and while we would all love to be able to brush their teeth daily, do not let the fact that you can't do that stop you from doing something.

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