I once read that cats can have bad breath if

Mary_NH

they have kidney problems...anyone know if this is true?

My foster, Tony, has HORRIBLE breath. It's head-turning bad, eye-watering skin-blistering assault on one's senses whenever he opens his mouth (I dated someone like that once). His teeth were cleaned while he was being neutered and that was only a little over a week ago. He prefers dry food over canned (I have also read that a steady diet of dry food can cause cavities).

And when I had his vet check done one kidney was enlarged, but the vet said that could be due to the anesthesia used during his neuter.

So does anyone know? Anyone here brush their cat's teeth? Anyone brave enough to do that....and if you do what do you use? I looked for one of those over-the-finger rubber tip pet toothbrush things but couldn't fine one (we have a one-horse pet store to go with our one-horse town and they specialize in FISH).

Thanks for any help.

Chessmind · Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 1:40 am Post subject:

Gosh darn it, Mary. I have to leave now and I love mouth related posts!I'll be back home in about 3-4 hours, so I'll answer your post then. LOL.

Mary_NH · Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 1:57 am Post subject:

I'll check it when I'm at work tomorrow then Chess...thanks Your the best

lynnhaz · Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 2:29 am Post subject:

hmmmm...dont know a darn thing about cat breath, but that was sure funny about the guy you dated. neow, neow, neeeaaaa, raaaaaaa. that is little maxie talkin. you know he sounds like a little wild cat sometimes. anyway, it's kitty talk for "i dont have bad breath..." =D>

nern · Moderator Joined: 14 Mar 2004 Posts: 5042 Location: NY

I think Chessmind will be able to give you a better explanation but from what I understand bad teeth can actually cause kidney, liver, heart problems because bacteria from the rotting teeth can make its way into the bloodstream affecting various organs or something to that effect. My grandmothers cat has CRF (I think?). Her teeth were so bad the vet thought her kidney problems could have been brought on by her rotting teeth.

Chessmind · Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 5:42 am Post subject:

That's right Nern. Very Happy

Well the #1 cause of bad breath (halitosis) in cats is from periodontal disease. I won't go into this Mary as you are already quite familiar with periodontal disease. However, something that you may not know is that this bacteria produces hydrogen sulfide which causes the halitosis (smells really aweful).

There are so many other causes of halitosis in cats. I'll just list a few of the major ones:
1)Something stuck or lodged in the gum/tooth (i.e.food). It will just sit there and start to really stink after days/weeks/months of rotting in there.

2)A broken tooth, where the pulp has been exposed. This will cause an infection in the tooth and also smell bad.

3)Ulcers/tumors in the mouth.

4)Tonsilitis

5) Lip fold pyoderma (when the fold of the lip collects food and bacteria and produces a foul smell).

6)Diabetes (breath will smell like a bad 'sweet smell.'), kidney disease (breath will smell kind of like ammonia), respiratory diseases, autoimmune diseases...and so on.

7) Gastrointestinal problems (breath will smell like stool).

Anyway, there are just so many causes of bad breath in cats. I would take the kitty to the vet and see if they can determine the cause of his halitosis. I know you just took him to get his teeth cleaned, but he still has halitosis. Poor kitty.

As for brushing cats teeth, I do brush Handsome's teeth daily. He doesn't care for it too much, but I only do it for about 30 seconds to 1 minute each time. I use a small kids toothbrush with no special cat toothpaste. Maybe he would enjoy it more if I bought the toothpaste. I don't know. I just don't want him swallowing the paste on a daily basis.

lynnhaz · Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 3:35 pm Post subject:

thank you chessmind...very helpful and thorough information.