The eerie howling echoed down the hallway at 5 am sharp, and I knew that it was the start of a new day. There have been countless times where I’ve opened my bedroom door to be greeted by the darkness, a pair of gleaming yellow eyes, and bad morning breath. It’s Ducky. No, not a duck, but our family’s orange tabby cat fondly nicknamed from Lucky, because he’s our little ‘lucky ducky’. He normally waits until the light is turned on, and then he leads the way down the hallway. With a flick of his tail, he makes a sharp right turn into the kitchen, pauses for a moment, and then proceeds to meow loudly to remind everyone that they need to wake up with him, enjoy the most important meal of the day, and have a fresh side of water.
Like Ducky, we all have our own morning routines. Usually we wake up, brush our teeth, have a cold glass of water with breakfast, shower, get dressed, and then start the day without so much as a second thought. These are the little things that we do daily, but add up to make a difference. On the news and social media, we’ve heard about the importance of staying hydrated, and taking care of our oral hygiene by brushing our teeth to get rid of plaque and tartar, and prevent gum disease. But what about our pets?
If you have a pet, then you know the struggle is real when you’re trying to figure out a product that not only works, but that is easy to use without your pet running around the house. It’s definitely intimidating to walk around the pet store and see shelves of pet products lined up with multiple brands all claiming to do the same thing. How do you know where to start?
Even though they’re cute, one of the major problems with cats is that they don’t like you to open up their mouths. I’m sure that even dog owners can relate, too. Whether it’s trying to give them medicine, or trying to pry something out that they’re not supposed to chew on, they put up a good fight. We have not one cat, but two. Ducky, our morning wake up cat, and Scooter, our Seal Point Siamese. Both are cute in their own way, but what’s not cute is their bad breath when I’m sitting next to them on the couch watching TV.
Recently, we tried the ZYMOX: Oratene Brushless Oral Care Water Additive for Dogs & Cats, as well as the ZYMOX: Oratene Brushless Oral Care Toothpaste Gel sent to us from Pet King Brands. Both products target symptoms of Dry Mouth in pets such as halitosis (bad breath), plaque, and inflamed gums to name a few. Below, I’ll break down Scooter and Ducky’s experiences with each one.
ZYMOX: Oratene Brushless Oral Care Water Additive
The first product that we tried was the ZYMOX: Oratene Brushless Oral Care Water Additive. The directions on the back of the bottle were simple enough. Just add two pumps of the additive to four cups of water. We quickly discovered that this was way too much water for our cats, but would be the perfect quantity for a dog. The next day, we halved the measurements to one pump of the additive to two cups of water which perfectly filled two small bowls.
While it took a few days for Ducky and Scooter to adjust, once they did, they started drinking more water. This was great news, because before using this, Scooter didn’t drink a lot of water. I also noticed an improvement in Ducky’s bad breath, which the water additive helped to tone down the odor. After using the product consistently for two weeks, the plaque and tartar that had been towards the top of both cats’ teeth are gone.
Symptoms that the ZYMOX: Oratene Brushless Oral Care Water Additive helps to improve:
- Dissolves plaque biofilm
- Inhibits bacteria that cause bad breath
ZYMOX: Oratene Brushless Oral Care Toothpaste Gel
The next product that we used was the ZYMOX: Oratene Brushless Oral Care Toothpaste Gel. While this product is a little trickier to use with cats and dogs who don’t like to stay still, the key to using this is to apply it in the morning, or towards the end of the night, when your pet is more relaxed and tired.
The easiest way that I’ve found to quickly distribute the toothpaste gel, is by measuring it into a 1/2 in strip on a napkin and using a Q-tip to apply it on my cats’ gums using my right hand while I lift their mouth open with two fingers on my left hand.
When it’s applied, the gel toothpaste emits a spring-like clean fragrance that banishes halitosis (bad breath), and lasts all day through eating and drinking water. The difference of Scooter and Ducky’s gums after two weeks has been stunning. Before, the cats had inflamed gums. You can see this pictured below in the before pictures where they have red rims surrounding their teeth on their gums. After using the gel toothpaste, the inflammation is gone, and their gums are now a healthy pink, and their plaque is gone.
Symptoms that the ZYMOX: Oratene Brushless Oral Care Toothpaste Gel helps to improve:
- Plaque & Calculus
- Halitosis
- Dry Cracked Tongue
- Thick Saliva
- Ulcerations or Lesions
- Inflamed and Receding Gums
BEFORE
AFTER
My Thoughts
At the end of the day, I can now sit next to Ducky on the couch and watch Hallmark movies without cringing every time he yawns, because he now has fresh breath. Scooter and Ducky can eat as much food and cat treats as they want without having inflamed gums, tartar, plaque, or bad breath. Most importantly, your pets don’t have to take a trip to the vet’s office to get oral care treatments for dry mouth when they can have them in the comfort of their home.
ZYMOX:
FTC: Products were sent for review from Pet King Brands. This is a paid review, but all opinions are my own.
