From naps and cheek rubs to biscuit bowl top-ups, you don’t have to be a cat person to know what our feline friends enjoy. However, when it comes to medical treatment or unwanted grooming, pets are often less keen, to say the least. Take dental care, for instance. The whole teeth brushing process can be stressful for our four-legged friends, making it unpleasant for everyone involved, and difficult to make sure that their teeth are being cleaned properly.

Many pet parents may choose to avoid the whole debacle altogether, which can cause dental issues for our furry companions down the line. With 85 per cent of cats over the age of three having some sort of dental disease, it’s recommended we brush our cats’ teeth regularly, to keep issues such as gum disease, pain and bad breath at bay. This is where the Inventor Cat dental wand comes in.

Designed to take the drama out of your cat’s dental care, the peculiar-looking dental wand will seem like prey to your pet. As they bite down on the wand, toothpaste will be squeezed onto their teeth, while small, flexible bristles help to remove plaque.

Ahead of the teeth cleaning tool appearing on this week’s episode of Dragons’ Den, my cat Pusky and I have been taking the dental wand for a spin. If you want to see whether inventor Victor Carpio left the den feeling like the cat that got the cream, you can catch the show on BBC One on Thursday 1 February. In the meantime, keep reading to find out how we got on when we tested the wand.

How I tested the Inventor Cat dental wand

I followed the instructions in the dental wand manual, waiting until evening to use the wand for the first time, as this is when Pusky tends to be most playful. I wanted to see how he responded to the wand, how interested he was in using it properly, and whether he seemed content during the teeth-brushing process. How easy it was to set up and use for pet parents was considered, along with whether or not the wand seemed to be working effectively.

Inventor Cat dental wand

Wand material: Food-grade silicone

Why we love it

Fun for you and your cat

Relatively affordable

Take note

It’s a bit messy

The dental wand starter kit comes with the wand itself, which is made from food-grade silicone, a telescopic rod for interactive play, a worm-toy attachment to make play more engaging, and, to Pusky’s delight, a small bag of catnip. Keep in mind there’s no cat toothpaste included in the kit, so you’ll need to buy it separately.

To get started, I unscrewed the two halves of the wand and added a little bit of toothpaste and a small amount of Lick-e-Lix yoghurt (£1.50, Amazon.co.uk) to both (to make the toothpaste more palatable). I added a small sprinkle of catnip to the inside of one half of the wand, too, as per the instructions, which, naturally, grabbed Pusky’s attention.

At this point, I noticed things were getting quite messy. It’s quite tricky to squeeze the toothpaste into the wand without some overflow, and it started to seep through the little holes. Still, I’m sure there’s a toothpaste tube out there that will let you fill with more precision. However, I also would have liked something to make it easier to clean the inside of the wand between uses.

When I gave the wand to Pusky, he seemed more interested in licking it than biting it at first, which may have been due to some of the yummy contents leaking onto the surface of the wand. He was also a little gooey from the catnip and seemed to enjoy rubbing his face on the wand and wriggling around on the floor, so I’ll try without the catnip going forward.

He did end up biting down, though, tentatively at first, but enough that I could pull the wand through his teeth several times, and he seemed engaged and happy enough while munching away.

I’m not sure whether the cleaning objective was totally fulfilled during our first session. Inventor Cat says you might need to do several sessions, long or short, depending on how your cat plays, so I’d say it might not be a quick job.

However, the excitement really started to ramp up once the interactive play began. I attached the wand and the worm toy to the rod and moved them in sweeping motions over Pusky’s head, which immediately had him hooked. He jumped to catch it, batted it with his paws and at times bit down on it, but I did find he sometimes went for the worm (or even the rod) rather than the wand, so I’ll probably remove the toy in future.

Inventor Cat stresses that you should figure out your cat’s routine to make sure they’re going to be receptive, which I found to be very true. I repeated both parts of the cleaning process the next morning and found that, while Pusky did enjoy chewing and licking the wand a bit, he wasn’t really interested in playing with it.

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The verdict: Inventor Cat dental wand

The dental wand starter kit was certainly something Pusky was on board with during his initial session, and using it is going to be far more pleasant than brushing his teeth in a more conventional method. While I’m not a vet and it’s hard for me to say whether the wand was working well, it seemed like something Pusky would warm up to over time, once we’ve established a proper routine. What’s more, it was great fun for me. I got to have a nice time interacting and playing with Pusky, so I’ll be more likely to keep it up, too. Plus, with every sale, five per cent will be donated to the Cats Protection charity.

Want more recommendations? This Furbo cat camera helps to keep tabs on your kitty while you’re away