Cat’s breath smells – why does it stink and how to deal with it?

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No matter how interesting the word halitosis sounds, it means nothing more than a disorder in a pet’s body, characterizing the smell of a cat’s breath . Ideally, no unpleasant odor should be heard from the mouth of a healthy animal: acetone or ammonia indicate a deviation from the norm.

The mouth of a meowing pet is home to many bacteria, both pathogenic and beneficial. The latter help maintain the normal condition of the oral cavity, inhibiting the growth of bad micro-residents, and a violation of this balance brings not only an unpleasant stench from the mouth, but also health problems.

Normal and abnormal odor from a cat's mouth

There are many shades of unpleasant and putrid stench. Strictly speaking, cats cannot smell like anything at all, since they are predators. Most often, they smell of the faint aroma of the food they consumed. Bad breath in a cat becomes pathological when it lasts too long or gives off sharp and unpleasant notes. Usually this indicates gastrointestinal disorders or diseases of the oral cavity, but there are also particularly “fragrant” brachycephalic breeds:

• Persians, especially extreme sportsmen;
• exotics;
• British;
• Scots.

Of the cats with a normal nasopharynx structure, the stench most often emitted by sphinxes due to caustic gastric juice and fashionable Maine Coons with Abyssinians, in which overgrown gum tissue sometimes becomes inflamed.

In kittens

Typically, kittens have not yet acquired gastrointestinal diseases, so their bad breath appears due to injuries to the gums and palate or excessive growth of bacteria during the process of changing teeth.

In case of injury, the mouth ceases to smell as the tissue heals, and in the second case, the odor evaporates when the replacement of milk teeth with molars is completed.

In adult animals

The average age is considered to be from 1 to 8 years. a cat develops bad breath in this age range

• infections of various etiologies affecting the oral cavity;
• diseases of internal organs;
• feeding cheap, low-quality food;
• various dental problems: caries, plaque, tartar;
• neoplasms of mucous membranes;
• lack of oral hygiene.

Each of the listed reasons is divided into a dozen more nuances, therefore, if you smell the stench from your pet, it is better not to guess, but to contact a specialist to solve the problem

In older individuals

Over the years, your pet does not get any younger, and in old age it may develop a variety of chronic and other diseases. The problems of mature cats include diseases such as:

• periodontal disease;
• kidney and liver diseases;
• hormonal disorders;
• stomach ulcer;
• diseases of the endocrine and cardiac systems.

You need to make allowances for age and not judge your aging pet too harshly, but it is better to check everything thoroughly to know that the stink does not relate to anything vital.

Reviews from veterinarians about halitosis

Veterinarians often encounter an unpleasant odor from the mouths of cats. The reason for this is often an incorrectly formulated pet diet, which leads to diseases of the stomach, liver, kidneys, and poor oral care of animals.

The owner will definitely be consulted on the proper nutrition of the cat. If the cause of the stench turns out to be poor hygiene, the specialist will recommend brushing the cat’s teeth regularly.

Common Causes of Halitosis

Very conditionally, the causes that cause halitosis in cats can be divided into four large subgroups. The owner is not always able to diagnose it on his own - sometimes the help of a veterinarian is required.

Diseases of the mouth and teeth

Dental diseases can be both serious and easily solvable conditions:

1. Stomatitis and gingivitis are inflammatory processes of the gums, palate and inner surface of the cheeks.
2. An abscess is a closed, encapsulated abscess formed as a result of the entry of a foreign body that provokes inflammation.
3. Changing teeth in a kitten can cause bacterial growth and, as a result, a bad odor.
4. Plaque and tartar can cause halitosis.

These problems are easily treated, especially at the initial stage. Plaque and tartar can be avoided through prevention, that is, regular brushing.

Diseases of the nasopharynx

Halitosis is a common accompaniment of polyps in the nasal passages. Once they are removed, the stink disappears.

Mustachioed friends also suffer from such human diseases as sinusitis and sinusitis. The symptoms are similar to a runny nose: discharge from the nose and eyes, frequent sneezing, and sometimes the animal’s temperature rises.

Viral diseases can also manifest themselves, which often cause the death of a pet. At the first alarming signs and lethargic state of your pet, do not be too lazy to go to the veterinarian.

Problems with internal organs

Diseases of internal organs are more common in older animals. Usually the stench occurs when there are problems in the gastrointestinal tract, tumors and neoplasms in the liver, stomach, lungs, etc.

Diabetes in older cats does not promote fresh breath, nor does reverse reflux or pneumonia. Severe conditions require mandatory treatment under the supervision of a specialist.

Parasite infestation

Even an animal that does not leave the apartment should be dewormed (that is, drive away worms). People can carry parasite larvae on their shoes, and if a cat likes to feast on fresh meat or raw river fish, worms can be waiting for it there too.

For individuals walking on the street, veterinarians set a deworming period once a quarter. It is enough to worm your pets once or twice a year, and always two weeks before the annual revaccination. This must be done, because if there are worms, the vaccination may not work or cause serious damage to the pet’s health.

How to treat

What to do on your own

If there is plaque or small deposits on your teeth, you can try to remove them yourself. At the veterinary pharmacy you can purchase a special paste or gel, brush or finger attachment.

It’s good if your pet is accustomed to brushing its teeth since childhood. He will experience less stress. To keep the cat from getting nervous, instead of a brush, you can wrap your finger in a cloth, moisten it with water and apply the paste.

If there are wounds on the mucous membrane, they must be treated with an aqueous solution of chlorhexidine, miramistin or any other antiseptic. This will help kill bacteria and speed up healing.

For inflamed gums, you should purchase ointment from a veterinary pharmacy.

Treat the cat with a course of antiparasitic medication if this is the problem. You can choose drops, tablets or suspension, at the discretion of the owner. It is more convenient to use liquid products; they can be mixed with wet food. Some cats may categorically refuse pills.

Sometimes a change of diet is enough . Remove fish or food containing fish from the cat’s diet: canned food, dry or liquid food. Replace cheap ones with flavorings and preservatives with more expensive and high-quality ones. Dry food is required in the diet. If it is chosen incorrectly, in addition to the smell, this can be easily determined by a change in stool - diarrhea or vice versa, as well as vomiting.

During the treatment process, you can use special odor eliminating agents. They are available at the pet store. However, they are not a substitute for full treatment.

In some cases, you should immediately contact a veterinarian. To find out the cause, he will prescribe diagnostics. This may be an ultrasound examination, urine, feces and blood analysis, x-rays, smears from the oral mucosa.

How to get rid of an unpleasant odor with the help of a doctor

In case of tartar and severe damage, cleaning is carried out only in a clinic. This painful procedure is performed under general anesthesia or using sedatives.

Ultrasonic cleaning is mainly used. In older animals, blood and urine tests are first taken to rule out other diseases. Throughout the treatment period, it is necessary to monitor the cat’s heart function.

If replacing baby teeth in kittens is difficult, the doctor will remove them, and the new teeth will continue to grow and form quietly.

When suspicion falls on serious diseases of the oral cavity, for example, pulpitis or periodontal disease , X-ray diagnostics are performed.

If there is a metabolic disorder, the doctor selects a diet and regimen. He will tell you what type of food to use. Most likely, he will advise you to remove ordinary “human” food - meat, fish, raw eggs.

To identify diseases of the internal organs, the animal’s blood and urine are examined. The veterinarian prescribes the necessary medications depending on the disease. To treat kidney and liver diseases, as well as diabetes, in addition to medications, a special diet is prescribed.

In some cases, medication is not enough and surgery may be necessary.

Some problems can be solved on your own at home, but in any unclear and difficult situation it is better to go to the clinic. To avoid running into doctors who want to make money from ill-informed owners, you should read reviews on the Internet or ask friends and relatives.

Types of unpleasant odor depending on the cause

Trouble can have a different nature. Depending on the shade, you can suspect a particular disease in your pet and get tested specifically for it first.

Fish

A weak amber from raw fish is a signal of oral diseases. This type of breathing occurs in purrs whose owners are not concerned about their hygiene, as a result of which the cat’s breath smells like fish. Tartar, inflammation of the gums and subgingival tissues - all this negatively affects the aroma emanating from the pet.

Putrefactive

If your cat's breath smells like rotten meat, the range of possible problems is wide. The most harmless one is unsuitable or low-quality food. This issue can be resolved by adjusting the diet: replacing food or type of food, enriching the diet with nutritional supplements.

It’s worse if the cause of the rotten stench is ailments of the digestive system: gastritis, ulcers, tumors, obstruction, infections - all these conditions require treatment, sometimes surgery. A helminthic infestation smells the same, in this case the animal is given anti-worm medications twice in the required dosage.

Acetone

If a cat does not digest carbohydrates due to the fact that the body produces insufficient amounts of insulin, then as a result of their breakdown, ketone bodies and acetone are formed. Of course, we are talking about diabetes. This is not to say that the smell of acetone is unbearable or completely unpleasant, but it is a very specific marker of a systemic disease. In combination with constant thirst, we can talk about diabetes with confidence. Therefore, pay special attention if you smell acetone on your cat’s breath.

Ammoniacal

If you smell ammonia in your cat's breath, there is a possibility of kidney problems and various forms of kidney failure. Urine production in the kidneys decreases until it stops completely, and creatinine and urea accumulate. Other signs:

• frequent urination;
• thirst;
• the pet avoids touching the kidney area (sides and stomach).

Kidney failure can occur due to hypothermia, inappropriate food and type of nutrition, and infections. In the early stages, the cat can be helped, but the disease is difficult to detect, and once symptoms become apparent, the condition is usually incurable. You will have to carry out maintenance therapy for the rest of the cat's life.

Sweetish

A sweetish, but no less nauseating odor, similar to the stench of rotting meat, comes from animals with liver diseases. The liver filters and neutralizes toxins, and if it does not work correctly, they accumulate and poison the entire body. If your cat’s breath smells like sweet rot, and the whites of the eyes and gums have a yellowish tint, then you and your pet are heading straight to the veterinary hospital.

Smell of acetone in cat urine

In addition to acetone halitosis, if metabolic processes in the body are disrupted, the smell of acetone from urine may be observed. Not paying attention to such changes is a direct path to the development of serious complications in the animal’s body.

If the smell of acetone appears in a cat’s urine, it is recommended to contact a veterinary hospital for help, which will allow for a thorough clinical examination and diagnostic measures.

Based on the test results obtained, the veterinarian will be able to identify or exclude pathological changes in the renal system.

If there are problems with the timely excretion of urine, diseases of the lower parts of the urinary tract are most often diagnosed. Lack of timely assistance can cause death.

In addition to the appearance of a specific odor of acetone from a cat’s urine, there are a number of signs indicating the development of a urological syndrome or diseases of the lower part of the urinary system. The cat may show increased attention to the area of ​​the urethral opening, and more often experiences the urge to urinate. The excreted portion of urine may be small, mixed with blood.

Before prescribing treatment, the doctor must find out what triggered the development of the pathology. Problems that provoke the development of urethral syndrome are as follows:

• urolithiasis (the presence of sand and stones in the bladder);
• inflammatory processes in the bladder;
• a collection of sediment from urine called a urethral plug;
• congenital anomalies;
• diseases localized in the spinal cord;
• tumor processes affecting the urinary system;
• increased water consumption by the cat and weak bladder walls, which leads to incontinence.

Pathologies of the urinary system and, as a consequence, the appearance of the smell of acetone, can be provoked by diseases of the endocrine system. Overactivity of the thyroid gland or disturbances in the functioning of the pancreas lead to systemic failures, affecting the kidney area.

In veterinary practice, doctors see cats with diseases of the urinary system that have reached the age of 4 years and older. Males more often suffer from blockages of the urethral canal due to anatomical features.

Problems with the process of urine excretion and changes in its characteristics often arise. The disease may be accompanied by problems with the process of urine excretion itself, as well as the release of blood fractions, which indicates damage to the mucous membranes of the canal.

Signs of lesions in the lower urinary system in a cat are:

• painful sensations in the animal when trying to urinate in the tray (the animal screams from the pain experienced);
• frequent visits are not productive visits to the cat litter box;
• the cat staying in the litter box for a long time or, on the contrary, the pet refusing to go to the right place (the pet begins to crap in the most unexpected places, even if it had been regularly going to the litter box before);
• the appearance of a characteristic odor of acetone from urine;
• depressed state of the animal, drowsiness.

During therapeutic measures, the specialist prescribes a course of antimicrobial drugs and also gives recommendations on adjusting the diet. It is definitely recommended to provide more drinking water.

In some cases, the doctor recommends surgery to remove stones from the urinary tract, as well as diagnosed tumors. When carrying out therapeutic measures, veterinarians install a urinary catheter.

Symptoms associated with the problem

Rarely does the stench appear on its own. Usually it is accompanied by various symptoms, which are noticed by an attentive owner. Based on the overall picture, one can assume a specific disease and direct efforts to identify it. This will save time and allow effective treatment to begin as quickly as possible.

Suppuration

The presence of purulent discharge requires determining the location of the abscess. With current pus, most likely there is a ruptured abscess. It can be caused by injuries to the mucous membranes, pulpitis, caries. Purulent processes require rinsing and treatment with antibiotics in most cases.

Brown discharge

If you don’t know why your cat’s breath stinks, but you see brown discharge coming from its mouth, the first thing you need to do is rule out injury. Ichure and caked blood have a brown tint.

If there are no injuries, but there is discharge, then it can be assumed to be calcivirosis. The settled virus causes the appearance of bleeding ulcers and ulcerative stomatitis in general, and its companions will be a brownish discharge and a putrid stench.

Excessive drooling

Increased salivation is also a sign of stomatitis. If your still “dry” cat has suddenly become like a bulldog in terms of drooling -

look for ulcers on the mucous membranes. This could be either ordinary gingivitis or dangerous calcivirosis.

Dental problems

Animals have the same dental problems as people. Pulpitis, caries, abscess, tartar - all this can cause an unpleasant odor to come from a cat’s mouth. When kittens replace their baby teeth, wounds remain in the place where the fangs fell out, and bacteria can multiply in them. In mild cases, rinsing helps, in severe cases, you need to go to the doctor and ask to be prescribed a course of medications.

The causes of odor can be divided by age category

Kittens will most likely have:

• Untimely replacement of teeth.
• Malocclusion.
• Wounds, ulcers in the mouth.
• Remains of food, a foreign body in the tooth, due to which bacteria begin to develop.

Middle aged cats:

• Tartar on the teeth, in which the gum moves away from the tooth itself. Harmful bacteria begin to colonize it, which leads to infections and inflammation.
• Injury to the gums, causing them to become inflamed. For this reason, the cat's breath stinks of rotten meat.

Adult cats:

• Malignant tumors.
• Diseases of the kitten's internal organs.
• Diabetes.

Diagnosis and treatment of halitosis

The surest way to rid your pet, and therefore yourself, of the stench is to find and eliminate its cause. After recovery, it disappears, but, unfortunately, cure is not always possible.

Visit to the veterinarian

If you notice that your cat's breath smells and you can't figure out why, the best thing you can do is take your cat to a professional. The veterinarian will check your pet’s mouth for damage, dental diseases, and ulcers. If your furry friend has developed a stone, the clinic can clean it with ultrasound under sedation; A teenage cat will have his baby teeth removed, which are interfering with the proper growth of his molars.

If the reasons are not external, then the doctor will suggest taking tests, and in some cases, doing an x-ray to find out for sure what is happening in the cat’s body. Based on their results, adequate treatment will be prescribed that will bring maximum benefit to the pet, and if a complete cure is not possible, at least alleviate its condition.

Help at home

Before visiting the veterinarian, in some cases you can help your pet yourself. For stomatitis, you can wash the sores with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, alcoholic chlorophyllipt or chamomile decoction. In case of injury, the owner can treat the wound with antiseptics.

Sometimes simple cleaning of incisors and canines helps if plaque is the problem. To do this, you will need a scaler or special veterinary wipes - you can buy them at a veterinary pharmacy.

Special preparations

If you are bothered by your cat's bad breath, you can use special aids. This:

• chlorophyll tablets, which inhibit bacterial growth;
• liquid for adding to drinking water;
• gels, sprays and cleaning pastes;
• tooth powder;
• antiseptic treatment with chlorhexidine;
• folk remedies - a soothing solution of chamomile or horsetail.

Before using any product, carefully read the contraindications, or even better, consult a veterinarian. Allergic reactions are possible, as well as the futility of measures - if the causes are hidden deeper than the oral cavity.

Treatment of kittens

Treatment for a kitten should be prescribed by a doctor, since due to its low weight, a particularly careful calculation of the dosage of drugs is required. When changing teeth, the doctor will determine whether removal is necessary or you can wait until the tooth falls out on its own, and will also adjust your diet.

If you have viral or oncological diseases, you cannot self-medicate – days, if not hours, count. The pet will need prompt and qualified help to save its life.

Prevention

To reduce the risk of bad breath from your pet and prevent recurrence, you should follow simple recommendations:

• Take your cat to the veterinarian regularly so that he can assess its health and promptly prevent unpleasant consequences.
• From birth, accustom your kitten to the procedures of brushing teeth and treating the oral cavity so that he gets used to them and is not afraid. This will make it easier to take care of him.
• Make sure your pet eats a healthy and balanced diet. His diet must include soft and hard food.
• Buy special toys that help get rid of problems with teeth and oral cavity. The cat will chew them and clear the gums of stuck food.
• Carry out antiparasitic treatment of animals at least twice a year.

It is easy to follow these rules, and the result of their observance will be the excellent health and well-being of your pet.

How to get rid of the problem

Of course, every animal owner, after discovering a problem, thinks about what needs to be done to solve it. First of all, you need to show your pet to a veterinarian.

It is not recommended to solve the problem yourself, unless you are completely sure that the cause of the smell lies in your diet. But even in this case, you will need to consult a doctor. The specialist will not only professionally examine the pet and prescribe a diagnosis, but will also be able to help immediately if the problem is not serious (brush teeth or remove lost milk, treat a wound, etc.).

You can remove an unpleasant odor only by getting rid of the cause of its appearance. If there are no serious problems, the doctor will tell you what preventive measures will help prevent the problem.

Additional symptoms to contact your veterinarian

Often, halitosis is not the only symptom that worries the owner. The animal's appetite may worsen. Often this phenomenon is associated with discomfort when eating food, especially if it is rough. A pet may approach a bowl of food and try to take food into its mouth if there are ulcers, stomatitis, periodontal disease, advanced caries and pulpitis.

If, in addition to bad breath, there are digestive problems (diarrhea, vomiting), then we may be talking about diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Increased thirst, changes in the animal's weight (obesity or emaciation), lethargy, apathy of the animal, along with the smell of acetone from the mouth, may indicate diabetes mellitus.

The animal may also experience frequent urination and pain when going to the toilet, which may indicate diseases of the excretory system.

Cat pose when urinating for diseases of the urinary system

An increase in temperature, fever, along with bad breath, can be the cause of an infectious disease, for example, calcivirosis, or signal inflammatory kidney disease.

What to do at home

It is extremely difficult to treat a cat’s teeth at home, and other diseases can only be cured in a hospital setting. All that cat owners can do on their own is to provide their pet with ideal conditions for recovery.

In some cases, owners will have to inject themselves and give tablets prescribed by a veterinarian.

Cat nutrition plays an important role during the period of treatment and recovery. It is selected according to the state of health and type of disease. Basically, it should be light, high-calorie food, soft, not traumatic to the tissues of the mouth, and easily digestible.

The animal must have unlimited access to water.