Why does one of my cats have stinky breath?

Question

I have two cats - one's breath is just fine, the other's is stinky. They eat the same food. He's been to the vet recently and his teeth are fine. He's SO cute and cuddly, but when he sits on his lap and starts cleaning himself, all the cute in the world can't overpower the smell. Help!

I meant sits on "your" lap. He can't sit on his own lap. Is that even possible?

He eats only dry food.

Answer 1

Hi Jo... wet food sometimes can contribute to bad breath, however when a cat exhibits bad breath it could be a result of either periodontal, kidney, respiratory or liver disease to diabetes, skin disease (involving tissue around the lips) or oral trauma, such as electric cord injury. However, by far, the most common problem associated with bad breath is periodontal disease. All which will require a veterinarian's evaluation to treat respectively. Consider an alternative opinion to be certain there isn't an underlying health problems.

More about feline bad breath causes by Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for Feline Health:
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/news/badBreath.htm

Cornell University video on how to brush cats teeth: http://www.felinevideos.vet.cornell.edu/brushing_teeth/index.shtml

Answer 2

Bad breath could be the symptom of a mouth infection, even though you were just at the vet you might want to go back and have them look specifically at his mouth. Also just a tip, wet food has more real meat and is more nutritious than just dry food.

Answer 3

My cat had this problem, and she had some "bad teeth" her breath was awful. Do you feed your cat dry food? Dry food is good to keep the tarter away. My cat was older. I have to warn you, I took her to the vet and she had to have surgery to have her teeth cleaned. They had to put her "under" to do it, and she had to have some teeth pulled. If she is really a good cat, you could try to get something at the pet store and brush them yourself. If the breath odor continues she probably has a bad tooth.

Answer 4

You may want to check with a vet. My daughters cat is allergic to the bacteria in it's mouth, and once a year or so has to take meds at the vets to control the bacteria. This is rare but does happen

Answer 5

Good job using the dry food, it really does help with the breath. One my kitties had gingivitis and really bad breath. This cleared up with antibiotics. Good luck.

Answer 6

Brush their teeth on a regular basis and it might help.

Answer 7

brush his teeth