Bad Breath: Is There Something Wrong With Your Cat?
It would be a bit absurd to expect your kitty to smell icy fresh like Orbit. Yet, if your cat’s breath is nasty, this can indicate a health problem. Halitosis in cats can be treated with toothbrushes and toothpaste, but also may require medical intervention. A variety of reasons can cause your cat to have bad breath, and here’s what you can do about it.
Bacteria
Bacteria build-up is one of the most common reasons for that horrible smell out of your kitty’s mouth. If not treated in time, plaque, tartar, dental disease, and gum disease would cause infection, and, in worst cases – loss of teeth.
Treatment
- Prevention
Make sure to take care of your feline’s teeth from their young age. Poor quality dental hygiene always results in bad breath in cats. Take your kitten to the vet for regular check-ups concerning the cat’s teeth, gums, and breath. Keep your kitty’s teeth nice and clean by brushing them regularly.
- Diet
Feeding your feline with wed food encourages bacteria, as the food accumulates around the teeth. Include goodies that encourage chewing and ensure abrasive action – dry food, and combine with wet snacks.
Diabetes
Fruity breath in cats can point out to diabetes. Eating lots, but losing weight, drinking a lot but urinating a lot as well are other signs of diabetes in cats.
Treatment
- Insulin
Fortunately, insulin injections have become more user-friendly each day. Consult the vet about the correct dose of insulin, and your cat’s breath and the animal’s health in general will improve drastically shortly after the beginning of the treatment.
Kidney Disease
Bad breath that smells like urine may be a sign your feline’s kidneys are not working properly. When kidneys are not removing toxins from the body, bad breath will reflect it. Other signs of kidney disease are losing weight, urinating frequently, and drinking lots of water.
Treatment
- Proper diet
Goodies with a low level of phosphorus (salmon, duck, chicken, rabbit) are recommended for cats with kidney disease, while these ingredients will also make the kitty’s breath less smelly. High blood pressure and anemia should be treated separately. In rare cases, kidney disease requires hospitalization.
Lymphocytic Plasmacytic Stomatitis
Lymphocytic plasmacytic stomatitis is a condition causing foul-smelling breath, bleeding and swollen gums, and extreme pain. This serious inflammation is often associated with infections such as Bartonella, feline leukemia virus or immunodeficiency virus.
Treatment
- Vaccination and antibiotics
Vaccination against calicivirus protects cats from gum diseases, while more serious conditions require cleaning or removing the teeth, and taking antibiotics.
Summary
Plaque and tartar build-up between your feline’s teeth can cause nasty breath. Yet, cat bad breath can be a sign of serious conditions. If diagnosed in time, these health issues can be treated and cured in time, so make sure to visit the vet in case brushing your cat’s teeth and feeding it with an appropriate diet doesn’t help with foul-smelling breath.
