We humans have a well-established protocol in place when it comes to maintaining our oral hygiene. However, felines might not have the best materials at their disposal to get rid of any dental problems. When ignored by pet parents, cats can develop a range of painful oral diseases that could also lay down seeds for other health issues.
As a pet parent, it is your duty to ensure your cat doesn’t have to deal with these dental dilemmas. This is especially true if your cat is a senior feline. So let’s find out the best cat food for dental problems.
With the right food, you can help control and even evade the onset of dental problems. So, let us check out how a special dental formula can help ensure better oral health for your felines.
| Image | Brand | Price | Prime | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 TopTop | HILL'S PRESCRIPTION DIET | PrimeEligible | Buy Now | |
 TopTop | Greenies | PrimeEligible | Buy Now | |
 TopTop | Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets | Prime | Buy Now | |
 | Virbac | PrimeEligible | Buy Now |
You might also choose food from our list of best grain free cat food these are trustworthy as well as easy to chew food.
Why Does Your Cat Need A Special Cat Food For Dental Problems?
As your pet transcends towards older age, they might become less active given that the metabolism slows down. However, even if your feline isn’t burning many calories with age, it doesn’t mean that they don’t need a high-quality protein-based diet to keep their body healthy.
Older cats require the right combination of protein, fat, & other vital nutrients to ensure their health is in prime condition for their lifespan. Here are certain factors that you need to consider when selecting the right cat diet for cats with dental problems.
1. Moderate Fat
We all know how fat-loaded food can lead to substantial weight gain with time. The same holds for kittens and adult cats as well. Although this doesn’t directly aid your pet’s oral health but helps avoid obesity.
We know that obesity leads to diseases such as high blood pressure, heart problems, or diabetes. In addition, unchecked diabetes can lead to different types of gum diseases, bad breath, & premature loss of teeth.
2. Premium Quality Protein
Regardless of their age, felines need access to a diet with a minimum of 26 percent protein. Cat food with protein as the prime ingredient tends to be ideal for older cats that need to maintain an ideal body weight & muscle mass.
This very protein also helps keep the teeth and gums healthy.
3. Balanced Nutrition
Your cat’s food should pack in all the necessary nutrients to ensure the gums and teeth stay healthy. Certain nutrients also help keep the bacteria away and help prevent plaque or tartar development in your pet’s mouth.
4. Easy to Chew
If your cat is old, make sure you get easy to chew and don’t cause issues such as chipping or breaking the teeth. However, this doesn’t mean that they always need wet or soft food.
An ideal mix of wet and dry food is suggested to ensure that the dry kibbles can eliminate tartar development in the teeth.
5. No Artificial Additives
Your cat’s food shouldn’t have any artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. This doesn’t just affect your pet’s sensitive tummy but also causes issues such as teeth rotting, plaque development, yellowing of teeth, and so on.
Certain additives can also harm the gums and make them sensitive to temperature changes.
How Should You Feed a Cat with Dental Problems?
With the basics of good food laid out for cats with dental problems, you should also know the right way to feed your ailing cat. The primary factor you need to worry about is the hardness of the food in context to your pet’s oral health.
If your cat has good oral health, continue giving them the current nutritious dry food.
However, if your pet’s oral health isn’t in its top-notch condition, you might want to give your pet a softer food that isn’t too tough on their ailing mouth. Look for a dietary option with smaller chunks that can be easily chewed.
Additionally, a dietary choice that has more moisture will keep your cat’s gums hydrated.
How to Prevent Dental Problems in Cats?
As compared to young cats, older cats tend to be vulnerable when it comes to dental issues. However, there are several ways to combat the problem with the right food. Listed below are some of the best ways to prevent dental problems in your ailing pets.
- Make sure your pet has access to a nutritious diet. Good nutrition serves as a major foundation to ensure that your cat has healthy and beautiful teeth.
- It would help if you also brushed your furry friend’s teeth to avoid dental issues.
- Dry food helps prevent dental problems as a scrubbing agent to keep off the plaque or tartar developed in the teeth.
- A combination of vitamins, cleanliness, & diet ensures that there aren’t any gum diseases ailing your cat.
- Additionally, check with the vet regularly if you feel that your cat is in pain.
Top 3 Cat Foods for Dental Problems
1. Best Cat Food for Dental Problems
Formulated by the best veterinarians and nutritionists, Hill’s Prescription dry food for dental care is chicken flavored, enticing your pets, even if they are picky eaters. In addition, the formula is clinically proven to bring down the incidents of tartar buildup, stains, or plaque.
Its unique dry kibble shape & size helps clean up the tooth’s surface and keep it clean for a long time. In addition, Hill’s dental care diet’s special fiber composition helps fight off the bacterial reproduction in the mouth while fighting off plaque.
This food for dental care has a complete & balanced nutrition profile that promotes complete oral health. It also helps prevent any inflammation that is created due to plaque issues. It can also help avoid any declining health condition of the pet’s oral health.
Pros:
- Features a tasty formula that is ideal for fussy eaters
- Includes a lot of fiber that helps prevent any tartar buildup
- It helps ensure a healthy metabolic system
- The chicken-flavored diet helps add to the protein factor
- Ideal for cat breeds of different sizes
Cons:
- Kibble isn’t appropriately crunchy for plaque removal
- It has a lot of filler ingredients
2-Feline Greenies Dental Care Tuna Flavored Food:
Crunchy treats help clean off any tartar buildup in the cat’s teeth while ensuring they stay healthy and rot-free for a long time. Feline Greenies is a classic example of taste packed with health in a jar. This tempting cat food features a tuna flavor that can be given in the form of toppers to your pet’s normal meal.
This natural cat food option has a balanced nutrition profile with minerals, vitamins, & other nutrients completely balanced. In addition, the crunchy texture & unique shape of the kibbles ensure that your pet’s teeth remain clean& eventually reduce tartar buildup with regular use.
Moreover, if your cat suffers from bad breath issues, this flavored food for pets ensures that the breath remains fresh for a long. Its natural formula has added minerals, vitamins, & taurine that help complete the nutrition profile while rendering optimum dental care.
Pros:
- Features a tempting tuna flavor
- It doesn’t contain any artificial flavors, fillers, or preservatives
- It helps keep your cat’s mouth smelling fresh for hours
- It doesn’t contain a lot of calories
- It contains premium-quality protein along with added nutrients
Cons:
- It contains grains that might cause digestive issues in some cats
- It might cause urinary issues in older cats
3-Purina Pro Dental Health Veterinary Cat Diet:
The Purina Pro dental health veterinary cat food is proven to reduce the tartar buildup along with plaque removal massively. This patented kibble formula has a unique texture that is palatable for most cats, even the ones that are picky eaters.
Also, the kibbles have high-quality protein that maintains your pet’s health. It is the best cat food for dental problems.
Moreover, this dental diet has the acceptance seal by VOHC that ensures your cat’s gums and teeth remain healthy for years to come. The protein composition of the food is ideal for helping maintain a lean body mass and a well-balanced nutrient profile.
The formula contains a chicken heart that is loaded with top-notch protein. It also contains ocean whitefish that is rich in moisture. This helps retain the strength of the gums while providing essential amino acids for better health.
Pros:
- Highly digestible formula with faster nutrient absorption
- Fiber-rich food formulated with natural minerals and vitamins
- Promotes better urinary health with dense energy supply
- High protein content with chicken as the main ingredient
- It contains biotin that keeps the gums and teeth healthy
Cons:
- Pocket-friendly pricing
- Kibbles are a bit large for adult cats
Learn to minimize your cat’s food obsession and you must know about the food ingredients which cause urinary crystals in cats as well as we recommend you to visit a well-researched piece from our experts why does my cat eat dog food? It will help you figure out ways to keep your cat away from dog food.
Conclusion
The next time you visit your vet, they recommend a healthy diet for your cat’s oral problems; you can select from these choices. Make sure you keep an eye on your pet as you transition from their original diet to the one designed for better dental health.
Your cat might seem skeptical at the start, but you would see your pet thrive with a well-planned transition protocol.