Dental Health of Cats eating Raw
Written by Natascha Wille
This video of Charlie consuming a meadow vole offers a striking example of how cats naturally “brush their teeth”, for a duration of up to four minutes, and as often as three, five, or even eight times a day, depending on the size of the prey. Larger prey, into which the teeth sink more deeply and which require greater vertical movement of the carnassial (rear) teeth to shear off swallowable portions, appear to be especially effective. It is nearly impossible to replicate with any diet that is not whole prey. One reason is that prey animals are conveniently coated in fur, which acts as a natural abrasive, rubbing against the teeth and helping to remove plaque. Sound up on the video!
Skull of a domestic female cat, belonging to our neighbor’s cat who fell victim to a coyote – leaving only the head. Poor sweet girl.
Remarkable dental health in a 10 year old raw fed cat, born as street cat in Jakarta (Indonesia). No gingivitis or calculus. Never had any dental treatments. These street cats are under intense genetic selection pressure and receive no human care.
Teeth as Tools: A Window into Feline Physiology
The teeth—more so than any other anatomical feature—reveal an animal’s diet and way of life.
Understanding the biomechanics of teeth and the biochemistry of the mouth offers valuable insight into the natural mechanisms that maintain dental and oral health, as well as the limits of these mechanisms.
Cats are perfectly adapted predators, and their physiology reflects this in every detail. The shortened skull, which accentuates eyesight rather than the sense of smell, provides only limited space for teeth – only sixteen in the upper jaw and fourteen in the lower jaw. The four prominent canine teeth, positioned at the front corners of the mouth, are designed for seizing and swiftly killing prey. Their size and spacing are believed to correlate with the typical prey species for each feline.
For safety, the cat must dispatch struggling prey quickly. The canines are used to pierce between the cervical vertebrae and sever the spinal cord, producing an instant kill.
The Design and Function of Feline Teeth
Behind the canines, the carnassial teeth—pointed and flattened molars—act like shears, cutting prey into pieces small enough to swallow. This is facilitated by the unique hinge of the jaw, which allows only vertical movement. The cat cannot, and does not, chew in the grinding manner of omnivores or herbivores.
Tiny incisor teeth, arranged in a straight row between the canines, help maintain grip on prey and assist in plucking feathers or longer fur. Feline teeth are highly sensitive to pressure, and cats instinctively avoid gnawing on hard bone to prevent tooth fracture—particularly of the canines.
The Role of Saliva in Dental Health
Saliva is an important fluid in the oral cavity as it bathes the teeth and the soft tissues. Produced by multiple salivary glands, it consists of 99.5% water and 0.5% electrolytes, glycoproteins, enzymes, and antibodies such as secretory immunoglobulins. These constituents contribute to digestion, protection from pathogens, and maintenance of dental health.
The pH, buffer capacity, and mineral content of feline saliva—especially calcium, phosphate, sodium, and potassium—are instrumental in enamel de/remineralisation. Normal feline saliva has a neutral to alkaline pH (7–9). This promotes enamel preservation and inhibits acid-mediated decay, which may explain the rarity of dental caries in cats. However, the same alkaline pH and high mineral content also encourage calculus formation and increase the risk of gingivitis and periodontal disease.
The Feline Oral Microbiome
The feline oral cavity hosts a microbiome comprising millions of bacteria from over 250 different types. Many of these organisms form biofilms on teeth, creating what we refer to as plaque. Over time, plaque calcifies into dental calculus, primarily composed of calcium phosphate crystals.
Salivary antibodies help regulate bacterial populations, and in natural conditions, the mechanical action of prey consumption helps to manage plaque. Nonetheless, even small wild cats—such as those captured during radio-collar studies—often show calculus formation by just two years of age.
Natural Mechanisms That Support Oral Health
- Cats naturally “brush” their teeth multiple times daily by biting into and shearing through furry prey.
- The saliva of cats ranges from neutral to alkaline (pH 7.0-9.0) to help maintain tooth enamel
- Unfortunately, high salivary pH and mineral content promote calculus formation.
- Calculus is a risk factor for gingivitis and periodontal disease.
- Saliva contains antimicrobial properties and antibodies, and healthy cats can keep gingivitis-causing bacteria in check.
- Eating, chewing, and even relaxing stimulate salivation, aiding oral cleansing.
- Dental issues are more common in certain purebred cats, suggesting a genetic component.
- Oral carbohydrates are broken down by bacteria into acids, which reduce salivary pH and can demineralise enamel. Therefore, starch-based dry cat foods may reduce calculus not through abrasion, but by altering salivary pH—especially in cats that eat frequent small meals.
Ageing and the Decline of Dental Health
The teeth and claws are a cat’s tools of the trade. Without them, the cat cannot catch prey and eat. It’s unique physiology has mechanisms in place to care for these indispensable tools. The high saliva pH created ideal condition for optimal tooth remineralisation – keeping tooth enamel hard and teeth strong. Frequent meals encourages saliva flow which releases antimicrobials into the oral cavity to combat bacteria that could cause inflammation at the gum line. Consumption of several furry prey animals in a day facilitates removal of plaque – offsetting some of the condition that encourages calculus buildup on teeth.
Despite these adaptations, dental calculus is largely unavoidable. No expectation should be placed on any type of food to clean teeth and prevent dental disease. Based on my own experience, and contingent upon good gum health and no eating discomfort, many cats can delay their first dental cleaning until the age of 8, 10, or even 13. This mirrors the natural lifespan of small wild cats. However, veterinary assessment should guide decisions on a case-by-case basis.
I typically schedule another preventive cleaning around 15 years of age—health permitting—to avoid the stress and risk of dental procedures and anesthetic later on in very old age. One female individual in my group lived 18 years without any dental cleaning, and at the time she was scheduled for a cleaning her teeth were only moderately affected by calculus.
Dental health declines naturally with age. A less optimally functioning immune system and possible metabolic dysfunction caused by chronic kidney disease are contributing factors. The kidneys regulate hydration, acid-base balance, electrolyte balance and metabolism of macrominerals. Older cats may produce less saliva that is more acidic, creating conditions of tooth demineralisation and an oral environment populated by potentially harmful bacteria.
13.5 year old domestic shorthair female, raw fed all life, at her FIRST and only dental cleaning in her lifetime.
3.5 years old, raw fed Siamese cat with gingivites. Despite this, he kept a full set of teeth until age 20. His body held the gingivites at that degree.
2.5 years old, raw fed purebred Oriental with plaque and tartar. Immune deficiency suspected. This cat had lost nearly all carnassials by age 18 by extraction or resoption.
Resorptive Lesions: A Unique Feline Problem
In addition to calculus, gingivitis, and periodontal disease, cats face a peculiar dental condition known as tooth resorption (also called resorptive lesions). Unlike cavities in humans—caused by bacteria and acids—these lesions involve the cat’s own immune system resorbing tooth structure. Cells called odontoclasts break down the enamel and dentin at the gum line.
The cause remains unknown, though links to viruses such as calicivirus and autoimmune responses are suspected. Affected teeth cannot be saved. Resorption, while thought to be painful, may go unnoticed until teeth are simply missing.
Kitten baby teeth! Permanent teeth begin to erupt between age 4-5 months
Can a Raw Diet Support Dental Health?
A diet modelled after a cat’s natural feeding habits supports many of the body’s evolutionary mechanisms for dental maintenance. However, this support has limits. Even wild cats do not maintain flawless teeth, though their dentition serves them well enough during their natural lifespan of 8–10 years. A wild animal must function at peak performance at all time to survive, and that is more true for the small cats than other animals. A small wild cat must not only be able to hunt successfully every day, but be able to outcompete its own kind while staying off the menu of larger predators. Any degree of age-related deterioration will compromise a cat’s survival edge.
Domestic cats, by contrast, live well beyond this due to human care and protection, food provision, and medical intervention. This extension in lifespan may surpass the evolutionary capacity of the teeth and gums to maintain function without assistance.
Factors Beyond Diet: Genetics, Immunity, and Early Life
Before delving into how a diet can contribute to dental health, it is important to understand that dental health is influenced by factors out of our control – factors which natural selection would normally weed out. These undesirable factors can be perpetuated in the domestic cat that lives under less severe survival pressure. Some of our cats may, therefore, be born with “bad teeth”. This appears to be exasperated with purebred cat that often draw from a even smaller gene pool. The immune system plays a vital part in dental health, and it, too, can be influenced by genetics.
Dietary deficiencies can impact the quality of teeth during development of permanent teeth in kittens. Viral infections and high fever in kittens have negative impacts on the developing permanent teeth, and carrier state of viral infection have been linked to gingivitis and stomatitis and are possibly involved in the cause of resorbtive lesions. For cats affected by one or more of these things, diet can only ever have a limited positive effect.
The Case for a Balanced Raw Diet for Dental Health
The raw meat diet I endorse checks off the necessary biochemical and immune system requirements to help maintain dental health:
- High moisture content to aid hydration and saliva flow
- Balanced to support proper development of teeth and maintain healthy salivary pH
- Absence of carbohydrates that could feed acid-producing oral bacteria
- Nutritional support for immune function
- Multiple small meals per day simulate prey eating and stimulate saliva production and result in more frequent release of antimicrobial antibodies and cleansing enzymes.
Replicating the Function of Prey
While no food fully replicates the benefits of whole prey, certain strategies can come close, albeit with some challenges. In the last 20 years I have incorporated none of these due to their inconvenience.
- Inclusion of meat chunks encourages use of the carnassial teeth. However, if chunks are fed in addition of a complete diet, they can create a dietary imbalance. The same goes for when the meat portion of the diet is only offered as chunks, which may cause the supplement portion of the food to be left behind.
- Meat chunks and regurgitation: Some cats bring meat chunks back up shortly after eating, possibly due to gastric issues. If the underlying cause is difficult to resolve, feeding chunks may simply not be an option.
- Mess and hygiene: Cats often remove chunks from bowls and eat them on the floor, creating extra cleaning chores and sanitation challenges.
- Raw meaty bones like chicken wings and necks may offer benefits, but they carry risks—bones getting stuck on teeth, wedged between teeth, or creating a choking hazard. They also pose a Salmonella risk and create extra cleaning chores. They should be fed under supervision only and ideally in a confined environment like a kennel that the cats have a positive association to.
- Whole frozen prey (e.g. mice, chicks) is an ideal analogue to wild prey, but costly and potentially an extra cleaning chore. Hygiene can be managed by feeding outdoors or in a dedicated space like a catio or kennel. Chicks pose a Salmonella risk.
- Tooth brushing: Effective in theory, but in practice often unsustainable. Cats must first learn to accept this, using positive reinforcement training methods, which can take time, skill, and patience. The back teeth, which require brushing most, are especially hard to reach, and the process may become unpleasant or impractical over time.
If you choose—or have already chosen—to feed a raw meat diet, it’s still important to work with your veterinarian to develop a dental care plan tailored to your cat’s individual needs. We can hope that a raw diet supports overall health, including oral health, and reduces frequency of necessary medical intervention to keep our cat’s mouth healthy and pain fee. But as you’ve read, many factors influence the health of a cat’s teeth and gums, and some cats may need help as early as two or three years of age.
