You’re a lot more sensible than I am! I adopted Melbcat as a senior so too old already for insurance.

After the vet suggested teeth brushing I tried out some toothpaste from a pet shop. I think the brand was Petsmile. But it was so not worth the excessive money. She didn’t like it, it all went to waste, and I wouldn’t buy it again. There are oral gels that can be used if the pet won’t allow brushing, or additives for their water.

But yeah. There’s a lot of marketing to pet owners. Since there’s no fluoride involved it’d probably be mostly something antibacterial (zinc, or sorbitol - which is an artificial sweetener and in excessive amounts can give them the runs but isn’t as dangerous as xylitol) and a flavour to make brushing more tolerable to the pet.

Ask your vet, but I’m guessing unless they specifically tell you to use paste or unless there’s serious gingivitis or bacterial problems and they really won’t allow brushing… wiping or scrubbing off the plaque before it can harden is probably the most important bit and can be achieved with something really simple. You might be able to get away with not using it.

Edit: Nevermind, I could be wrong. Don’t use baking soda though. By all means get an enzyme toothpaste if it’s in your budget.

I found this guide and some suggested pastes? And some have bundled brushes? I bought the blue Petsmile tube for the meat flavour but it looks more expensive than the others which are fairly cheap. There’s also brushes and finger brushes sold alone but your link looks smaller and closer to the one I bought. Uhhh… good luck I guess. Don’t get scratched https://www.petcircle.com.au/discover/how-to-brush-cat-teeth

There are finger toothbrushes sold at some vets or on eBay too but some might be a bit big for cats as they’re also made for dogs. There are very tiny long handled toothbrushes for cats on eBay but see how you go with the tip of the smallest little kid toothbrush you can find before you drop any serious dough, because specialty ones can be very overpriced.

I’m not familiar with all the toothpastes but a lot of things are dog products rebranded for cats (or generalised to pets) and can be dangerous to them. I’m not sure of a specific toothpaste that is dangerous to cats but good looking out.

That’s probably a good idea, wet food for the kidneys and a bit of dry food for the teeth. It’s what I did. I haven’t done this due to poultry allergy but I heard something about giving them uncooked chicken necks to chew. (Never cooked bones, which splinter.) But you might want to check with the vet if raw chicken is safe. It’s free to ring up and ask a quick question on the phone. Otherwise there are dental treats for cats which I haven’t tried.

The added water is great. Cats originated as desert creatures so they have an extra long Loop Of Henle in their kidneys to concentrate their urine and conserve water with maximum efficiency. But that is very hard on their kidneys, so keeping them hydrated may help delay chronic kidney disease which is very very common in cats especially as they get older.

Yes, premium parasite stuff is so pricey. Even cheaper brands can be. Buying multipacks is expensive up front but can make it cheaper per tube.

I was going to suggest Aristopets for the flea and worm stuff. Because I haven’t used it before, it was such a good price, and that brand is sold in supermarkets (sus) I specifically checked with the pet shop manager that it was safe. And it is! It’s a generic of another brand, while Purina wasn’t recommended.

However the Aristopet spot ons haven’t been in stock for a while now. I found a brand called Neopet that is similar in value but I haven’t tried it. Definitely ask the shop manager or the vet about it because I’ve only just seen it.

You can buy worm pills like Milbemax quite cheaply and add a cheap flea only spot on. But the all in one spot ons (usually described as Plus, +, or will say on the packet) cover those and everything else including heartworm mites and ticks. I got lazy and went without parasite treatment for a bit because I figured Melbcat was inside only… but you can still track or carry fleas in, or a mosquito can come in and spread heartworm. (Yeah, she still got fleas and I had to start dosing her again.)

Also some pet shops will give you short dated or expired spot ons for free if you ask. They will still be effective enough. Also at least one of the pet food banks I posted will give flea and worm treatments as well as food.

As for his weight, you can either get him weighed at the vet checkup which is quite standard. You can stand on the scales holding him then subtract your weight. Kmart has baby scales which are functionally similarly to the vet ones.

Or you can just guess. I was worried because I didn’t know the weight of a random visitor cat but was told you would have to be way way over the amount for there to be any danger of overdose. I knew Melbcat was about 6.5 kg (absolute unit) and he was big but skinny so I guessed him about 5kg and someone else agreed. There are also some pretty wide recommended weight ranges on some of the brands. A lot of brands are even just simply deciding between Over 4kg and Under 4kg.