Diet and Oral Health in Captive Amur Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica)

Oral health problems in felids have become increasingly apparent to zoo veterinarians in recent years21314. The pathogenesis of oral disease may be affected by genetics, age, behavioral and environmental influences as well as by concurrent systemic disease. Excessive calculus accumulation, gingivitis and periodontal disease have been noted in animals offered a commercial, meat-based feline diet. It has been suggested that the soft texture of this diet does not provide adequate abrasive action to clean the teeth as would a firmer-textured natural diet7-10. In dogs, a dry diet is associated with less gingival pathology than is a soft diet3-6. Similar observations were made in a recent study with timber wolves16. Beef bones or oxtails are offered in many zoos as a prophylactic measure to maintain oral health. However, the effectiveness of this practice has not been investigated in a controlled study. This research was designed to explore the effectiveness of bones as a periodic dietary supplement in prevention of plaque and calculus formation and in maintenance