Cat Breath.

Apip99

Can any one help.

My wife and I have been living in our house for just over a year and a cat adopted us, just for comfort not for food.

He belongs to next door, and I have explained to them that George (The Cat) comes into us most evenings. They were fine with this as they don't let him in their house. So we have an amazing pet, a real pleasure to have around, and no pet bills to pay.

Our problem is his breath. My god! it is the worst thing I have smelled!

Is there any cat mints, or something we can give him. As we can't really take him to the vets as he's not our cat, and it would be rude of us to ask the neighbours to.

Any help or advise?

Thanks,

Pip

Arcadian

He needs to see a vet and of course you can take him. If your feeding him and looking after him then he's your responsibility. He may have a problem with his teeth/mouth. Cats are very good at hiding any pain they may be in.



Just realised your not feeding him, but if you can't take him to a vet then do make sure to knock into the neighbours and let them know. It not being rude, it's showing concern.

Irish-Lass

I would get your vet to check him for FIV as cats with FIV normally have a very strong smell from their breath.

whiskeyman

it may also depend on what the owners are feeding him.
Anyone who took the Atkins diet will know one of the draw backs was an awful breath.
Cat food isnt the nicest smelling thing ya know

As other have pointed out though ,bad breath can also be a signal of other health problems (teeth/gums etc).

LegacyUser

There are a number of reasons why a cat can have bad breath.
One is kidney failure .. my boyfriend had a gorgeous little Russian Blue that got this at 8 months old!! Horrific .. a beautiful affectionate cat. In the end he had to get her put down.

Second time I came accross bad breath with cats (lets forget humans .. another story ) was with my own. I had her to the vet like a shot. She had red gums .. what do they call it "gingivitis". A course of antibiotics and she is fine now.

If its not your cat, then mention it to the neighbour. I wouldn't like it if someone took my cat to the vet. How do you know the cat is not already on some sort of medication. Having said all this, if a neighbour of mine came to me about my cat and mentioned it, I would be very appreciative of that.
Depends on the neighbour and how approachable you feel he/she is.
I think it is more polite to refer to the owner. Say you like the little fella and you noticed he has bad breath .. read some articles on the internet about it and maybe could be worth checking with vet. Offer to take it if you are willing to foot the bill! It is the least you can do for the little fella if he brings you so much pleasure in your house.

jinxycat

many moons ago i'd a cat before who had bad breath, didn't think much of it at the time, plus i was a school goer so didn't have the money to bring him to the vet.
unfortunately it progressed to bleeding gums which i was concerned about so got my daddy to bring him to the vet. turned out to be a side affect of aids. was put on medication. so i'd definately sugeest to your neighbours to bring the cat to the vet, or offer to bring the cat.

it maybe nothing just the food the cat is eating. better to be safe than sorry.