How do I get them to eat biscuits!!?

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

My Bear eats mainly dry food and just had 7 teeth removed !

[Corporal Smokey]

I feed RC Oral Sensitive with an occasional change to RC Diegestive comfort. The Corporal seems to be incredibly fussy but I'm certain its bacause of his silly persian face rather than taste. He can't manage small kibbles and wet food but shovels the Oral/Digestive one in and crunches away happily.

The large kibbles have finally banished the dicky tummy we were getting with Lord Chester Red Bear so it's Purrs all round at the mo.

The jury's definitely out on the teeth cleaning. My vet advised dry plus Logic Gel and the combination is working since Mr Smokey had teeth out but I imagine it's more down to the Logic.

My only other nugget kibble of wisdom is that if you're feeding dry only, try a water fountain to encourage drinking. Again I can't say scientifically that it helps 100% but mine drink quite a lot more than they used to pre-fountain.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I know the jury is still out on kibble and tooth health but I surely it must help a little bit to remove tartar? The crunching sounds my cats make while eating it certainly sound encouraging & it does vary their diet and mean that you can leave some food out during warm days without it going rancid.

Imagine yourself crunching some cream crackers - does that help clean your teeth?  When cats crunch kibble it actually shatters leaving lots of debris in the mouth.  As kibble has a higher carbohydrate content than meat, it is broken down into sugars in the mouth - so may actually be worse for dental health than wet food.

re Applaws - Encore is pretty much the same (identical?) as it is made by the same company but for supermarkets - Sainsburys sell it and I can't remember the other one - it is 80% meat and grain free but it is a bit cheaper than Applaws which you can only buy from pet stores.  I generally buy that for dry (Mosi has a little bit of grain free dry).

[maddercow]

Royal Canin Exigent is very good for fussy cats, it smells especially good and seems to tempt the most stubborn eater. It may seem expensive but is very good quality and there is never any waste.  Anyway I see that you have some on the way so hope it goes down well.

Mine also really like Hi-Life kibble which is a slightly better quality than Go-Cat etc.  Apparently Applaws kibble is also very good, 80% protein, I am going to try that out on my cats.

I know the jury is still out on kibble and tooth health but I surely it must help a little bit to remove tartar? The crunching sounds my cats make while eating it certainly sound encouraging & it does vary their diet and mean that you can leave some food out during warm days without it going rancid.

[shirleyp01]

We have started the girls on Purina 1 because a colleague recommended this especially through summer when i dont like leaving wet found out.  It isnt cheap but felt it was worth it if they liked it.  All we do is rattle the bag and they both come running to see what we have got for them.
It is difficult if yours have had to have teeth out, i think it would be just a case of persevering

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I agree with what has been said re kibble doesn't help teeth.  There are no studies showing that eating biscuits leads to improved dental health.  There might be a slight difference if you are using specific dental biscuits, but my boy will even swallow those whole despite the larger size and most of the ones I've come across are very poor nutritionally.  If dental health is the only reason you want to feed biscuits, I wouldn't bother and would stick to the wet food which is much better for them imo (water being very important to cats - it's hard to get enough water into them when they eat biscuits).   I don't know what toothpaste you have tried, but logic gel is very good and you don't need to brush with it - you can just let them lick it from the tube if they like it or smear it on a paw.  I agee with the raw meat/chicken wings suggestions too - the best way to clean teeth.

[Liz]

Chicken wings raw may help if they won't do biscuits - here at the Clan we have mainly Royal Canin and Hills and all love them I have some of them not eating wet food but we do Chicken wings about once a month mainly due to the fact I need 53 of them for this treat and if in doubt they will have a go at the dogs meats bones

[Angeladeedah]

Like what has already been said, it hasn't really been proven that kibble helps cat's teeth.

My 2 boys are extremely fussy when it comes to their food - they only eat dried food, they won't touch wet food but even then, they are so fussy with what brand I buy.    They absolutely love Proplan indoor cat food and Hill's indoor cat food, apart from that they just pick at it.

[Gillian Harvey]

Dry food doesnt clean teeth (nor of course does wet  ) Biscuits just shatter on impact sending debris all around the teeth  and in many cases cats will just swallow them whole - so definitely no dental benefit there lol! I don't see any point in trying to get them to eat something they don't particularly like, for no benefit.

Have you tried them with cubes of meat? large enough for them to have to tear and grind the pieces (although probably start small and work up to larger pieces) which will have more of an abrasive effect on their teeth. Raw or cooked, although raw would be better. Or maybe chicken wings (bones always must be raw not cooked), cut the wing into 3 at first until they get the hang of it - they will certainly help keep teeth clean.  You could also add something like Plaque Off to their wet food, its granules you just sprinkle, meant to help prevent plaque build up http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-dental-care-c-11/proden-plaque-off-animal-for-dogs-and-cats-p-298 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Moving this into the right place 

[Tiggy's Mum]

You could try James Wellbeloved, it's very palatable (duck, lamb or fish - don't think the turkey is as palatable). You can buy small sample bags for a couple of £ and if they do take to it you can often get it on offer from various places  so it works out really economical.

I was feeding my two the Pets at home premium dry which they happily ate but I switched to JWB (as it's hypoallergenic) and they absolutely love it. They seem much more interested in JWB than the PAH stuff they used to get.

[newmum]

Thanks all! 

I have emailed Royal Canin and asked for samples! My vet has given me 2 bags of biscuits to try them on and they ate some of them in the vets but got them home and they are not interested!!! 

[Rosella moggy]

I agree with Dawn that dry food may not help clean teeth much at all but the dry food you mention is not erm ..... the best quality    No offence but Go Cat in partic is very low in meat content.  If you can afford it, you might like to try them on this ....

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/royal-canin-veterinary-diets-royal-canin-dental-c-62_65_251/royal-canin-dental-so-feline-p-1207

My vet does sample packs.  Ring your vet and ask.  Worth a phone call.  If not I'd be cheeky and email Royal Canin and ask for a sample pack to try.  Can't hurt..

[Dawn F]

the jury is out on whether biscuits help dental health anyway, I wouldn't feel too guilty

[newmum]

Hi All

I am trying to get my 2 boys interested in biscuits again and failing 
They are rescue cats and I have had them for about 3 years! when they came to me all they had eaten was biscuits but I had trouble getting them to eat them so started giving them wet food which they loved! They had problems with their teeth about 6  months ago and had to have some out...since then I have been giving them toothpaste to try and help (cat toothpaste obvs!). I took them for a 6 month check and they have tartar build up again and the vet said to try and get them to eat biscuits - when we were in the vet she gave them some kitten kibbles to tempt them out of the cat boxes which they both ate as well as some larger ones which they ate! I am trying desperately to get them to eat biscuits but can't seem to manage it!! I have tried whiskas, go cat, Iams and one recommended by pets at home and nothing is working!!!!!! I know any change in food should be introduced gradually and at the moment I am leaving a bowl of biscuits down for them but they are not touching it!!!!  I don't want them to have to have the rest of their teeth out!!!!!

Help!!!!!
xx