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Cat Bad Breath Problems
Feline halitosis simply means bad breath in cats. There is a bad smell coming from their mouth. This smell is mainly due to a number of bad breath causes that you as pet owners should be concerned of.
Avoid expensive medical bills and stressful worries by caring for your cat’s oral hygiene. Don’t forget an old adage, prevention is better than cure.
What is Bad Breath
Just like humans, cats develop bad breath at some point in their lives. Bad breath, also known as halitosis, produces an unpleasant odor at the same time also signal underlying medical condition.
It is important to know that every cat naturally has bad breath owing to its carnivorous and fish-based diets. Nonetheless, don’t neglect signs of significant of cat with bad breath. There are some cases that a simple bad breath can threaten your pet’s life over time.
What are the Symptoms of Cat’s Bad Breath?
Aside from the unpleasant odor from your cat’s mouth, watch out for following symptoms of bad breath of dental in origin:
- Reluctance to eat even when the cat in hungry
- Frequent drooling
- Untidy and poor coat condition
- Red, swollen, and bleeding gums
- Plaque and tartar deposits on the teeth
- Pawing at the mouth.
Additionally, your cat may have non-dental causes of bad breath when showing symptoms of:
- Weight loss
- Increased thirst and urination in cats
- Lethargy
- Upset stomach or diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Enlarged liver or kidneys
What are the Causes of Bad Breath in Cats?
When bacteria build up in the cat’s mouth, gums, or teeth, it can pose serious problems for your cat’s whole health system. When bacteria travel away from the mouth, through the bloodstream, it gives off a toxic effect on the various parts of the animal’s body. The spread of bacteria could potentially harm your cat’s overall health.
The non-dental cause of feline bad breath can be coming from a different part of its body and is simply released through the mouth. Thus, it makes cats develop bad breath.
Perhaps, the most common cause of feline halitosis is periodontal disease. The bacterial part of plaque and recurrent infections cause cat’s bad odor with periodontal origin. A plaque is a combination of bacteria, minerals, and decayed food that sticks to the teeth. Thus, it causes inflammation of tissues supporting the teeth.
How is Cat Bad Breath Treated?
Cat bad breath treatment varies depending on the exact cause. Thus, it is best to consult your trusted veterinarian on how to find the most suitable bad breath treatment.
Based on the underlying cause of the problem, specific treatment plan can be taken to lessen symptoms of cat bad breath as well as improve your cat’s comfort and health. The most effective means to eliminate feline bad breath is to provide dental care.
A full, professional tooth and gum cleaning service can do wonders for your cat bad breath. Decayed or abscessed teeth are removed leading to a greatly lesser chances of developing other diseases.
7 Cat Breath Remedies That Work
Given that pets aren’t capable of brushing their own teeth, it’s not surprising to know there’s bad breath in cats. The good news is that there are bad breath cures. Bad breath afflicts almost anyone including your pet cat.
Hydration
Always provide a fresh supply of drinking of water in a clean bowl. Cats, just like humans, develop bad breath cats when dehydrated. Although cats are not typically big water drinkers, you can invest in a cat water fountain to attract cats into drinking more water.
Regular vet visit
An appointment to see your vet can be an effective cat bad breath remedies. Your vet would be able to pinpoint the exact cause and suggest treatment for cats with bad breath.
Your vet may perform an oral exam of your cat to check any signs of infection or a decayed tooth. Many serious oral disorders can be treated effectively with medication although a majority of them do not improve on their own.
Regular brushing of teeth
One of the sure-fire bad breath cures is to regularly brush your cat’s teeth. Regular brushing gets rid of plaque and tartar that attracts bacteria to grow and multiply. The build up of these particles in your cat’s mouth, teeth, and gum is one of the cat bad breath causes.
Meat-based cat food
Meat as a staple in your cat’s daily diet helps maintain a healthy mouth environment. As one of the cat breath remedies, it hampers development of infection and bad breath. Check your cat food label to see if your cat’s dry food contains more grain-based protein than real meat.
Allow your cat to chew on raw chicken necks or wings. The bones found in these foods promote chewing the bone to massage cat’s teeth and gums. In the process of chewing, it removes food residue and tartar.
Oral hygiene
Cat breath remedies would not be complete if oral hygiene is excluded. Supplement your cat’s regular brushing with an oral hygiene product to help minimize tartar and plaque formation.
Breath mints
Control cats with bad breath with the use of cat breath mints. Pet supply stores usually sell mints that taste like liver, chicken or fish as well as chlorophyll as a breath freshener.
Plant wheat grass
The compound chlorophyll found in wheat grass will freshen bad breath cats. If your cat is not keen on nibbling wheat grass, break some into bite-sized portions and sprinkle them on the cat’s food.
Taking care of your cat’s teeth may be the answer when your cat has bad breath, but if that doesn’t do the trick there is probably something else causing the problem. When your cat has horribly bad breath it could be because of an abscess or tumor, and you should have it checked out by your vet. There could also be other problems underlying your cat’s breath, so a visit to the vet is always in order.
Cats are not immune to diabetes, lung disease, liver disease, or kidney disease, and all of these conditions can lead to bad breath. Taking your cat to the vet is the least you can do for your friend who has given you many reasons to smile, and your vet is the only one that has the tools to diagnose her properly and provide the treatment needed when your cat has bad breath.
Here are some signals that your cat requires a visit to the veterinarian’s office.
- Too much brown tartar on your cats teeth, particularly if it is also accompanied by red, inflamed gums, drooling, and has difficulting eating.
- A sweet, fruity odor to the breath, which could be an indication that your cat has diabetes. This is particularly true is she has been urinating more often than usual, and drinking more water also.
- If your cat’s breath has the odor of urine it may indicate that she is developing kidney disease.
- She is pawing at her mouth.
- Loss of appetite, vomiting, foul breath odor, gums and corneas that are yellow may be a sigh that your cat’s liver is not well.
When is it time to brush the teeth to get rid of cat bad breath?
Bad breath can be caused by fish-based diet of cats. Thus, it is not unusual that cat bad breath has a fishy odor to it. Normal cat bad breath has a minimal odor that should not be offensive. In the absence of pain, you would know that your cat only needs good brushing by the smell of its breath. The process on how to stop bad breath should start with brushing cat’s teeth.
How to get rid of plaque on teeth?
Cats with bad breath are results of tartar and plaque build up on teeth. Thus, the best way on how to get rid of plaque on teeth is to brush the cat’s teeth.
What steps should I take to start brushing my cat’s teeth?
The first step is to make an appointment to see your veterinarian. Your vet will know if there are any serious medical issues to diagnose and treat. A sweet breath indicates diabetes when accompanied with increased urination and hunger and thirst.
The second step is to give your cat prescribed medications when other causes of bad breath are known. These medications may be used to better manage the bacteria found to cause cat bad breath.
How To Brush Cat’s Teeth To Get Rid of Bad Breath
Put tuna juice on your finger to rub it over your cat’s gums. Continue doing this everyday. This step introduces your cat to the tooth brushing process as part of its daily health care.
The next step is to repeat the put tuna juice on a gauze then wrap it around your finger. Use tuna juice if your cat likes the taste.
Dip cat toothbrush in tuna juice. Allow your cat to lick it to get used to the feeling of bristles.
Then put flavored toothpaste on your finger. Rub it into your cat’s mouth and gums. It allows your cat to get used to the taste. It is best to choose cat toothpaste in flavors of tuna, poultry, and other familiar taste.
The final step is to add flavored toothpaste to your pet’s toothbrush. Do not attempt to brush the entire section of your cat’s teeth. Start brushing your cat’s front teeth only. After a few sessions, your cat should let you brush further back.
Cats with bad breath greatly benefits from brushing when done twice or thrice a week. Start slowly on this process to allow your cat to adjust and cooperate. Bad breath solutions need to be done on a consistent manner to see long-term results.
It is difficult for cats to tell you that they need oral care. It is up to you to brush cat’s teeth to get rid of bad breath.
