4 Tips for Keeping Your Cat's Teeth Healthy

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of the day we had to leave my beloved cat Patch at the vet to have several teeth extracted. I still remember my mother crying in the car when she picked me up from school as she told me how he had climbed up her jacket, practically pleading with her not to leave him there. As she explained the surgery he would be undergoing I couldn't help but wonder if my best friend would be coming home. Thankfully Patch made a full recovery, and as a result I learned the importance of caring for my cat's teeth at a very young age.

Image: VladAli via depositphotos

February is Dental Health Month, serving as a reminder of how important it is to make your pet’s dental care a priority. If left untreated poor dental hygiene can be associated with more dangerous medical conditions such as kidney, liver, heart complications and diabetes. Unfortunately, most cats develop periodontal disease by age three showing symptoms such as swollen gums, increased drooling, whining while eating, loss of appetite, weight loss, bleeding, and loose or discolored teeth. Periodontal disease in pets is a chronic, irreversible condition, which is why taking care of your pet's mouth before there's a problem is so important.

Here are some tips for keeping your pet’s teeth as healthy as possible:

Monthly Checks: A monthly examination of the mouth can stop dental problems in their tracks. Things to look for include bad breath, cysts or tumors, missing or loose teeth, redness, inflammation and too much moisture or drool. It's important to get familiar with your cat's mouth and desensitize her to touch as early as possible in order to do regular checks and report anything unusual to your vet right away.

Veterinary Visits: Your veterinarian should examine your pet’s mouth at each visit. Many vets offer dental services at a discount during the month of February so this is a great time to make an appointment!

Image: Byelikova via depositphotos

Brush Their Teeth: Brushing your cat’s teeth at home is not as scary as it sounds! Look for pet specific toothpaste since human toothpaste can upset their stomach. As for brushing, you can use a toothbrush or simply wrap some gauze around your finger. Go slowly and gently as your cat gets used to the consistency of whatever you’re using and the taste of the toothpaste. Make it a fun experience, and try to do it a couple times a week. A regular routine will make training much easier.

Diet: Like humans, a pet’s diet can affect their overall health. There are many cat treats and foods on the market made specifically to help reduce tartar and plaque build-up. Food debris feeds the bacteria that causes gingivitis, so make sure your cat always has lots of fresh water available to wash away any particles left after a meal.

None of us can stand the thought of our beloved pets being in any sort of pain or discomfort, and since cats are notorious for masking signs of illness, it's up to us as pet parents to remain vigilant about all aspects of their care, including their pearly whites. Preventive care isn't difficult and the payoff is huge!

Sleepy Sunny #SundaySelfie

 We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Caturday Art

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. Gone with the Wind is a movie I can quote by heart.

2. Biting my nails is a bad habit that I would like to stop doing.

3. I look forward to the return of When Calls the Heart.

4. Amongst my family and friends, I'm known as the crazy cat lady. (I should say that crazy cat lady is not a phrase I like. I come from a long line of cat ladies on my mom's side of the family, but not so much on my dad's side, so I'm sure that's how they think of me.)

Is That Even A Cat?!?!?! #PetPhotoFails

Meows from Mudpie!

Thank you for joining us for this month's edition of the Pet Photo Fails blog hop! The winter sure has zoomed by this year, mostly because we haven't even really had a winter. The temps haven't been terribly cold, no snow storms (although some of our biggest storms in years past have come in March), this is even the warmest February on record! Hopefully the window whiffies won't be very far away...

My blooper this month is a real doozy. Can you even tell that's me in the picture? I guess you can by the beige spot on my chest. Talk about a selfie going completely off the rails!!!

That's my blooper...let's see yours!

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A Hump Day Funny

Meows from Mudpie!

We have a really funny story to share with you, but I should start out by saying we wouldn't be laughing about it if he'd been hurt, but he's fine, so here goes...

On Sunday evening my grandpa headed into the bathroom. He started to sit down on the toilet too soon before he was completely over it, and down he went.

Where did he land? 

Right in the middle of my litter box.

Once Mommy was finally able to help him get up she couldn't stop laughing. She even said she wished she'd taken a picture! I don't think grandpa found it nearly as amusing as Mommy did!

Where was I during the commotion? Sound asleep in my KatKabin, completely oblivious to what was going on in my potty. Thankfully he didn't leave a calling card behind.

Working On My Telepathic Powers #SundaySelfie

 

You want to give me a squeezie...

 We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Caturday Art

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. The 2020 pandemic taught me that I enjoy social distancing.

2. A game I enjoy playing is Clue.

3. My perfect day would include never having to leave the house.

4. If I could only listen to one song for the rest of my life, I would choose anything of Conway's. As long as I could hear his voice, it wouldn't matter the song.

Unboxing January's CatLadyBox

 The theme of January's CatLadyBox was Hug All the Cats...here's what was inside!

Featured Cat Lady Artist:

Art By Kay Rae

(There's a tortie on the card!!!)

Cat Cuddling Sweatshirt:

I'm always excited to see a sweatshirt in the box and this one is super warm and cozy to wear while doing my favorite thing in the world - cuddling Mudpie!

Paw-romise Ring:

This ring is so sweet and delicate. I have very thin fingers so I appreciate that it's adjustable too.

Meowtivational Coasters:

I love the sayings on these coasters! My favorite is "always dance like the red dot is just out of reach".

Cattitude Journal & Huggable Catnip Kicker Toys:
Mudpie loves to rest her head on the journal after filling it with her purr-ivate thoughts, 

and the purple cat-shaped kicker is too cute, and very soft too!

Not a subscriber yet? Visit CatLadyBox today!

Interested in purchasing individual items from past boxes? You can do that too!

Disclosure: I receive a discount on my CatLadyBox subscription as a thank you for my monthly review. Regardless of compensation received, we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers.

Wordless Wednesday: Meowy Valentine's Day!

 

Remembering Toby #MewsicMovesMe

Mommy here. Mudpie has graciously allowed me to take over the blog today to pay tribute to Toby Keith, who we lost last Monday at only 62 after a brave battle with stomach cancer.

 
Toby is second only to Conway in my country music loving heart, and while I missed a good portion of Conway's career before I was born, I've been a Toby fan from day one. Ironically, Toby hit #1 on the charts for the very first time with Should've Been a Cowboy on the very day Conway died in 1993. And just like Conway, he was taken from us far, far too young.

While I never got to see Conway live, I was able to see Toby FOUR times at our local fair, in 2002, 2004, 2008, and 2013. I've attended a good number of concerts in my life, and I saw Toby more times than anyone. He was absolutely incredible, and I'm so very thankful to have my memories of his concerts.

Champlain Valley Fair, Essex Junction, VT, 9/1/13

2002's concert was also memorable because in the aftermath of 9/11 I was frisked for the first time! (The second time was a few years later when I went to see Newt Gingrich speak at the local university.)

And in 2013 I had adopted Truffles less than 2 weeks before the concert and I hadn't left her for any length of time yet. My mom stayed with her and said she was a furry basket case without me. Truffles was a very vocal tortie, and she cried and cried for me.

On a funny note, dad went with me that year, and after the concert we lost the car in the fairgrounds parking lot. We must've walked for miles, back and forth, back and forth, trying to find it. We even passed Toby's tour bus a number of times! He didn't invite us in to rest our legs. He probably thought we were stalkers.

Toby's loss has hit me tremendously hard. I've been streaming Prime Country's Toby Radio nearly nonstop for the past week and hate to see it end. I've never seen country radio play an artist exclusively for so long following their passing, which goes to show the icon he was. 

In honor of this week's Mewsic Moves Me blog hop theme of love songs, here are a few of my favorite Toby love songs...

Lil Miss Innocent #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

Yesterday morning Mommy woke up to find a poop on the floor outside the bathroom, and three poopy smudges on the bathroom rug.

It would appear that some kitty had a dingleberry during the night and had a heck of a time getting it off. Of course, I got the blame. (That's the trouble with being an only child - there's no one else to blame!) As nicely as I could, I reminded Mommy that grandpa is rather old and might've had an accident but she didn't buy that story. She said there's no way he could've dropped to the floor to rub his butt on the rug. MOL!

While making breakfast, still rather perturbed with me, she looked down and saw this precious little face blowing her a raspberry. She instantly melted and wanted to eat me up. (Yes, my beloved pizza box is still on the kitchen floor. It's nearly 3 years old now!) All was forgiven and I enjoyed my breakfast squeezie while she drank her coffee.

 

 We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Caturday Art

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. On Super Bowl Sunday, I will be watching the Puppy Bowl and the Great American Rescue Bowl. I miss the Kitten Bowl though.

2. The toy I couldn't live without as a child was my ALF plush doll. I still have him!

3. My cooking skills are much better than my sewing skills.

4. I am particular when choosing bananas.

Feline Friday Flashback with Angel Truffles: Somebody's Watching Me

"Do you ever have the feeling that you're being watched?" -- Angel Truffles

Note from Mommy:

This picture was taken 9 years ago. I still use the same laptop, and that's still my wallpaper!

(Mudpie is on the home screen of my iPad and cell phone.)

Feline Friday is simple to join. All you have to do is:

Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (They may be silly or cute).

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: What the Heck Did You Buy, Mommy???

 Can anybody even see me???

Sunshine On My Tortie Makes Me Happy #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

Does anyone know what that bright thing shining in the sky is??? When Mommy opened the door yesterday morning I immediately squinted and took a step back. It was startling! 

The other night on the local news they said 87% of the days in January had an overcast sky, making it the cloudiest month on record since 1951!!! I am one sun-deprived tortie! I'm very happy to report we're supposed to have a sunnier week ahead.

 We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Caturday Art

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. Some people make their own pizza dough, but I prefer store-bought.

2. February is a good month to take down the Christmas decorations. (Oh, you mean most people do that in January? Oops...)

3. Dad having a happy birthday was the best part of this week.

4. As a child I always wanted to be older, but as an adult I wish time would slow down.

Feline Friday Flashback: Can You Handle the Cute???

 

Feline Friday is simple to join. All you have to do is:

Post a picture, drawing, cartoon or video of a cat (They may be silly or cute).