Virbac Enzymatic Toothpaste Fish Flavour 43g

My vet suggested I get some enzymatic toothpaste for my nearly 20 year old boy.His teeth have always been really good, partly because I’ve always taken my first vet’s advice to feed hard food, because it prevents plaque and tartar building up, as does allowing them to hunt and eat small rodents. Oz has always only eaten the heads of mice (I think he’s been looking for the iodine in their thyroid glands, normally cats eat the meaty bodies first, but Oz never has, and we still find decapitated mice outside the back door or on the drive now), and it’s the bones that keep a cats teeth clean, not the meat.In 2013, he developed a dodgy looking canine tooth on his upper left, which was resolved by giving him Dentals. Can’t think of the brand now, but they’re chunky big pieces of hard food and you only need a few added to their normal food. Worked very well, and no further issues until his breath started stinking about a year ago. We thought it was caused by his aging digestive system, because the litter tray bears witness to a deterioration in that department, too.To our horror, he started pawing at his mouth one day a few months ago, and couldn’t pick up any solid food at all. Upon inspection, his lower left canine had subluxated and was lying completely flat, pointing forwards. Straight to the vet, who was able to pull it out with pliers. We felt incredibly bad that this rotting tooth must have been the cause of his stinky breath, and not his tummy or guts after all. He must have been in so much pain for so long. A two-week antibiotic injection took care of the remaining infection.Breath then fine, until very recently when it began to get distinctly niffy again. My vet suggested some enzymatic toothpaste to help break down the bacteria that cause these problems. Older cats tend to have drier mouths and stickier saliva, so bugs that would normally be washed away by a healthy production of watery saliva stay attached to the teeth and gums instead of being washed away, and cause problems. He’s had another 2-week antibiotic injection (we can’t risk putting him under to extract any problematic teeth due to his age) and she applied some stuff out of a big tube. It looked a bit like fish paste. It was browny-beige, and definitely a paste, not a gel. This one, for cats, in the 43g tube, is a gel.I realise now that she used the Virbac Enzymatic 70g tube, which seems to be the one advertised on here for dogs. The questions section asks if that one can be used on cats, too, and people have said that their vet says yes it can. I’m sure that it was the For Dogs one in the 70g tube that my vet used on Ozzie recently.This one is a sticky gel, doesn’t smell of anything much to me but says it’s fish-flavoured. The dog one is poultry-flavoured. I tested the gel product on my two younger girls first. One sniffed politely, then turned away. I persisted, and she took a tiny lick, shook her head and declined any further efforts to interest her in it. I put some on the paw of my other girl, because several reviewers have said that was the most effective way for them to get their cats to take it into their mouths. My girl sniffed it then pretended it wasn’t there. I picked it up off her paw and smeared it round her gums and lips, and she licked it up, but with displeasure. She wasn’t at all happy with the taste.Smeared it all round Ozzie’s gums and lips (my vet said that brushing isn’t necessary, because it works once in contact with their saliva, and even sticky, old-cat saliva will carry it round all the teeth, as well as the rest of the mouth, as long as they lick it up. When my vet applied it, she rubbed it on the outer surfaces of the top and bottom teeth with her finger, so that’s basically what I did. You can gently lift the lips up to access the teeth, or if you’re a seasoned cat-handler, you can gently open the mouth by putting your thumb behind the front teeth and applying very light pressure, and have even more access to the teeth). Anyway, Ozzie was completely disinterested. He licked it up, because that’s what they do to anything you apply to their mouths, but he wasn’t looking for any more of it afterwards. Since he’s got older, he’s permanently looking for things to eat, so this is a clear sign that he isn’t keen on the flavour.I’m going to get the dog one and see if that is more acceptable to any of them, but Oz in particular. I need him to actively like it, because the bacteria in his mouth that are causing his dental distress will definitely be reduced by regular applications of enzymatic toothpaste, and my potential success rate for achieving this will obviously be affected by how well the flavour is received.I found the gel very sticky and not especially easy to transfer to their teeth. One of my girls ended up with more of it on her chin than her teeth. The stuff the vet used looked as though it went onto the teeth more easily, and Oz looked fairly pleased with himself when he was licking it off his lips, and I think he would have happily had some more.I’ll review the dog poultry-flavoured version separately as and when I get some. I’ll use this one up before I get the other one, unless Oz takes a serious dislike to it before then. Geriatric cats don’t cope well with stress, so the last thing I want to be doing is increasing his stress levels by forcing something unpleasant-tasting into his little mouth.Delivery was several days, and I expected it sooner. I think I ordered it 10/12, and it arrived the following Thurs, 14/12. Prime has spoiled us all!Only three stars as expected it to be the same paste as my vet uses, which it isn’t, and hadn’t realised the tube would be so small. As you can see from the photos, 43g turns out not to be a very big tube at all. My own fault for not checking, but the photo of the product looks bigger to me than the one I received. I think the product photo is misleading.

No issues using this product, they love the taste

My cat absolutely loves the taste, but hates me trying to brush her teeth with it 🤣

Initially tried a different brand (meat flavour) none of my three cats would even come nearer than 6 inches from that tube . They just recoiled when got a scent of it .This virbac brand is a gel formula , doesn’t smell too strongly and cats are at least licking it from my fingers so that’s a good start . One is letting me rub on her gums after 3 days so hopeful the others will join in . Work in progress so can’t comment on effectiveness for the teeth but may update review after next vet check .

After sharing with friends and family that I had spent money on this toothpaste for the cat, I got laughed at. A lot. "Toothpaste for cats? They're cats. They don't need to have their teeth brushed." Anyway, it was worth it having to prove I still had all my skin and fingers after the first brush. I also had to get video evidence of said tooth brushing as it was such a novelty to them.My little void loves it. Licked it off from the first go. I have one of those silicone scrubby finger condoms for him too. He takes much pleasure in being allowed to chew it all over and his breath is so much nicer.The toothpaste itself doesn't have a strong smell (I got the fish flavour).I was slightly surprised that it came out of the tube so eagerly so don't squeeze it when you open it! Anyway, it works as far as I can tell though my cat is only six months old so doesn't have any problems yet. His breath is much better and I feel good that he has good oral hygiene now to prevent problems in the future.

I've only been using this for a little under two months now, so I'll need to come back and update the review as my cat's teeth are checked. For now, all I can judge on is ease of use.I hadn't cleaned the teeth of my previous cats before, and I wanted to change that with my new kitten. Primarily for her sake later in life so that she doesn't have any dental problems. I expected it to be difficult to clean a cat's teeth, and intended to start with my kitten while she was still young. My vet recommended Virbac, and said that it's a good thing to do though in her whole career she's only had one other client clean their cat's teeth!Clementine (my kitten) was about three months old when I started. The teeth at that age will be lost anyway, but I wanted her to get used to it. I just added a little pea-size amount on my little finger, and would run it along the inside of one or both sides of her mouth. I tried to do it most days, but probably forgot more often than not! I then bought a Virbac dual ended toothbrush from my vet (they don't sell the Virbac ones on Amazon, but something like  this one ) last week, and I've been using that every day since.There's been a little bit of reluctance from Clementine, but nothing that couldn't be handled without making her distressed. Today, she just sat and allowed me to clean all her teeth thoroughly without fuss. I believe the trick is to work slowly, and allow the cat to see and/or sniff both the brush and the paste so she knows what to expect.I've had no problem with the paste being too gloopy, as some other reviewers have mentioned. And Clementine likes the taste of it, though she's happy to eat anything put in front of her so that was to be expected.I'll update this review as her teeth are checked by the vet.

It i isn’t easy to brush cats teeth, but my cat loves the taste - it’s like a daily treat for him and it’s perfect to just simply squirt out a little on a spoon and then get them to lick it off. An animal’s first instinct will be then their chops so it cleans their teeth