016. Dental Care: Smelly breath
Description
This article is from the Basic Health Care FAQ, posted to rec.pets.cats newsgroup. Maintained by Cindy Tittle Moore with numerous contributions by others.
016. Dental Care: Smelly breath
If your cat has smelly breath, there are various possible causes.
* Teething: at about 6 months of age, cats will lose their baby teeth and get permanent ones. If the gums are red and puffy and you can see the points of teeth breaking through here and there, the cat is just teething and the odor will subside as the teeth come in.
* Gingivitus: if the gums appear red and puffy and you've ruled teething out, your cat may have a gum infection of some sort. Take the cat to the vet.
* Diet: certain foods, usually canned foods or prescription foods, can make your cat's breath smell. If possible, try changing your cat's diet.
* Abscessed tooth: may show no symptoms other than smelly breath. Drooling sometimes occurs in conjunction. The cat must be taken to the vet to have the abscess drained and possibly the teeth involved removed. If this is not done, the infection can easily spread to the sinuses and cause the face to swell, especially just under the eyes.
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