Are Silver Vine Sticks Safe for My Tabby’s Dental Health? (Vet Answered)
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Small Animal Veterinarian
Dr. Karyn is a small animal veterinarian originally from Australia, now based in the UK. She holds degrees in Veterinary Science (2010) and Zoology. When not helping pets, she tends to her 5 cats and garden!
The Question
Do vets think silver vine sticks for dental health are dangerous?
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📹 Vet's Video Reply (scroll down to see text answer)
Hi, Jane,
Thank you so much for writing in.
Overall, I would say Silvervine dental treats are quite healthy, but there are a few things you'll need to look out for.
The Silvervine plant has similar kind of euphoric effects on cats that catnip does. But what's interesting is that while catnip affects only around 60% of cats, Silvervine reportedly affects around 80% of cats. When it comes to the dental sticks, a lot of people are finding them to be really effective because, not being a food item, cats aren't just trying to eat the dental stick and doing away with all the benefits too quickly. Because it has that excitable kind of effect on them, they'll often wrestle with it, chew it, and that's obviously where we get the benefits.
In terms of safety, there are always going to be potential risks and hazards with any kind of dental treat or chew, such as trauma to the mouth, or smaller pieces could splinter off and become lodged in the mouth or work their way underneath the soft palate. If they were to swallow larger pieces, they could cause trauma in the gastrointestinal system or lead to an intestinal blockage.
While these are things to be aware of, they're also not something that I would consider to be a high risk. Silvervine is not specifically hazardous or toxic if cats eat it, and being carnivores, cats don't really have the right digestive enzymes to break down this kind of plant matter, so you'll probably find anything they do swallow comes out the other end virtually unchanged.
The most important thing when it comes to offering something like Silvervine dental sticks is to keep an eye on your cat. I'm not suggesting that you have to sit there and watch them the entire time they're chewing, but you should keep tabs on them, check in to make sure that they're not causing any trauma, and make sure they're not actually just turning the stick into splinters.
Overall, the potential benefits to your cat's dental health far outweigh the risks. Always read the packaging and make sure you're not getting anything that shouldn't be in there. If your cat has any pre-existing dental disease, I recommend addressing that before getting them onto a preventative like these treats, and if you have any doubts, talk to your vet. I hope that helps.
Take care,
Dr Karyn