Hi everyone,

I have called upon this list for help sometimes, so I wanted to share
something useful which might help others.

My cat doesn't have a very good dental history...she's lost 4 teeth to
infection and every year when I took her to the vet, he'd recommend a
dental prophy (cleaning & scaling) because she had so much tartar and
her gums looked terrible.

Last year, after her dental cleaning, I decided to get serious about
attempting to brush her teeth. (I'd tried in previous years, without
success.) This time around, I never managed to actually get the brush
against her teeth, but she loves licking the toothpaste off the brush
while I hold it in front of her nose...in fact, she sits outside the
bathroom door while I'm brushing my teeth, waiting for her turn every
evening!

Well, I took her to the vet today and for the first time, when he
looked in her mouth he said, "Wow! Her teeth and gums look great!" And
he said she didn't need a cleaning. So I am thrilled that apparantly,
just getting that toothpaste into her mouth has made a huge difference
in her dental health.  I squish the toothpaste down into the bristles,
so she does end up biting and chewing on the brush to get to it.

I wanted to pass this along in case there are others who, like me,
gave up on the brushing at first because it seemed impossible. I use
the C.E.T. poultry flavored stuff, and it's the only "treat" she'll
actually come running for.

Lily