Cat has bad breath, teeth problems?

Question

One of my cats has some stanky breath. Because I switched to a mostly wet food diet or could she have teeth problems? She seems to enjoy hard food, so I'm not sure if her teeth are bugging her or not.

Any help would be great.Thanks!

Her breath smells fine right now. I must just catch a whiff after she eats more than not. I'll still have her checked out.

Answer 1

Hi there...generally, 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. Another likely culprit is tartar/calculus buildup in the left and right upper rear quadrants of the mouth/teeth. Daily brushing with toothpaste formulated for cats will help reduce the continued buildup. Here's an instructional video by Cornell University Veterinary College on how to brush a cats teeth: http://www.felinevideos.vet.cornell.edu/brushing_teeth/full_movie.shtml

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

Answer 2

Bad breath is a distinct sign of trouble, whether it be teeth, gums, infection or acid imbalances. Any of these issues must be treated as soon as possible. Ignoring treatment can cause severe pain (which cats are expert at hiding), permanent kidney damage in addition to affecting the appetite. Have your vet examine the cat and also do a blood test while she is there. If the teeth have tarter, then can do a scaling. Some cats need this done annually. If the teeth begin to decay as a result of unremoved tarter, they will have to be extracted. It was previously thought that dry food was better for the teeth, but more recent studies seem to indicate that this is not accurate. What is important for general good health is a 'quality food' - not the cheap commercial junk sold in the supermarkets. Cats require high protein. Grains, by-products, fillers, additives, preservatives and such are very detrimental on a cats health in the long run. When their system balances have been upset by chronic poor nutrition, many times you will begin to see complications such as poor coat, loss of appetite, bad breath, etc.

Answer 3

possibly your cat may have a bad tooth BUT cats are meat eaters and their breath is fetid at the best of times. Like someone on that total meat diet can't remember the name.
Wet food is good for your cats so that is not an issue. perhaps feeding them wet food and putting biscuits down may solve the problem.
I have 5 cats and this is what I do 4 are ok but one has oral cancer his breath smells like poop. the cancer is non-invasive for now. get her checked out to be sure

Answer 4

Bad breath very often means dental problems. If untreated, dental problems can be fatal (as I sadly know), so get her checked. My cat was happily munching dry food right up until the day he collapsed, and I, like you, thought this meant his teeth must be fine. I was wrong, and I lost him - so get her checked while it's still a minor problem.

Answer 5

To take care of ba breath you can buy a type of tooth past that you put a dab on your cat's paw or noes and he licks it and it cleans there teeth.

Answer 6

I had a feline for 20 years. She unfortunately passed away last year but her breath started to REAK when she was 15. I mean REAK, if she opened her mouth near me i wanted to vomit.
So what we did and had recommended was to have her teeth cleaned, we did that, no improvement.
Then we switched food, took hard food away to add wet food and even changed the flavor to a more mild chicken like rather than seafood(her favorite!). That also did nothing. Finally we ended up having her teeth removed and feeding her canned/wet food for 4 years. We could finally be face to face without me plugging my nose or holding my breath!

Answer 7

The teeth would indeed be my first suspicion. Another possibility is the food.

You might want to make an appointment for a check-up for your kitty- and make an appointment for a dental cleaning.

Good luck!