Falcoon brushes his teeth

Maine Coon cats are particularly susceptible to gingivitis, so it's good to brush their teeth. I know that in humans, there is a connection between gingivitis and heart disease. My husband's dentist explained this to him when he was diagnosed with gingivitis. He had his special extra-painful deep cleanings and has been flossing 2x daily. He's almost entirely reversed his gingavitis. With the cat, though, I figured we'd just try to prevent it in the first place as much as possible.

I decided to train Falcoon to put up with having his teeth brushed, and I honestly anticipated bloodied hands from the attempt. However, the training went a lot easier than I anticipated, namely because Falcoon had already been brushing his teeth. I just didn't know about it until I caught him using my husband's soniccare toothbrush!!!

One day, I went to Walgreens for something else and saw that they were having a sale of buy one get one free on toothbrushes, so I bought Falcoon his very own toothbrush so he'd stop using my husband's! I did replace Craig's toothbrush btw. We don't use toothpaste, but Falcoon just loves brushing his teeth. He sits on the cat tree, and I hold the toothbrush for him while he brushes it around his mouth. He's a very oral (read bitey) cat anyway, so for him this is just great fun. It's his special game that he gets to play with me. And he gets cleaner teeth in the process!

I finally managed to snap a picture of Falcoon brushing his teeth this morning! At our last checkup, the vet said that his teeth and gums looked very nice.

Falcoon's lion cut

Here are before and after pictures of Falcoon's lion cut. He shed so much this spring that he developed some nasty matts. It was quite unpleasant for him, so we called in a groomer who gave him a lion cut. Craig thinks he looks "positively ridiculous." I think he's cute, but it's like looking at a different cat. I'm so used to seeing a cat with tons of fur. What surprises me most is how slender he is. He looked so big with all that fur!

Our other cats, Doc and Sid, are rather confused by Falcoon's new look, but I'm sure they'll get used to it. And I think most of all, he's going to be much cooler this summer. Today was 80 degrees, and he was acting so hot. Poor baby.

Falcoon and the Fish

Falcoon is entertained by the goldfish. I'd just fed them, so they were being pretty active. I sure do wish I could somehow keep my fish from knocking over the decorations in the tank! It looks prettier when the decorations are actually standing up.