hi all i posted this problem about Shamus a year and a half ago when he was a kitten: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1904&p=20107&hilit=bad+breath#p20107

he still has the bad breath. my wife wanted me to ask any of you if there is an additive that you recommend that can go in his water dish to help with the bad breath? or a mouth spray/gel that is recommended?


tx in advance

Do you brush his teeth?

Also, you might want to try Greenies. I feel like they help with my kitties bad breath. His bad breath could also be a sign of infection or dental disease. My Chunk has terrible breath because he has stomatitis.

Hope this helps a little!

hi and tx for the info!

we do not brush his teeth, never tried it. we've had problems giving him a pill, so we have an inkling of the "fun" involved with trying to effectively brush his teeth

he can't take the greenies, they all have chicken parts in them. Shamus and his sis Tula are both allergic to anything chicken and their stool becomes bloody....not pretty

but we might have to give these a shot, even though 1 ingredient is listed as "Poultry Digest": http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=24908

Try Tropiclean Fresh Breath Water Additive. It helps remove placque and actually seems to work. The cats don't mind it.

If Shamus and Tula get bloody diarrhea to poultry, the greenies may or may not upset them. My non-poultry eater can eat them fine, but I only use the fish ones as they have much less of the poultry than the chicken ones.

Or does Shamus need teeth cleaning perhaps? I cannot remember if you wrote in the past anything about taking him to the Vet and having the Vet comment on his teeth at all... I think I'd make sure there was no medical reason for it as well tho perhaps you already have.

I would have your vet check him out, teeth are not always the reason for bad breath, it can be kidney or liver problems.. also she can make sure his teeth are ok and there is no infection in his teeth or jaw.. some foods can give them bad breath also. If the greenies have chicken in them and they are allegic then I would not even try them. there are cat chewies for bad breath, and there is drops to put in their drinking water, I have never checked out the ingredients so you should do that. Dr Foster an Smith have some good products.. good luck..

tx y'all, great advice! LindaH, the missus ordered some Tropiclean. MarLo & Azurine101, a teeth cleaning would def help.

we called the vet for pricing on a teeth cleaning but all they would tell us was "oh i see Shamus hasn't been in here for 18 months, we cant talk until you get him in here for a checkup." - which we translate: "we need $ so get him in here before we'll help you with answers."

he vomits for 2 days after every rabies shot - no more rabies shots for our indoor boy. some vets i think will look the other way on this front, this one will not. very frustrating. he acts the same...no changes in behavior, so we both feel he is healthy. he just has bad breath...teeth are yellow

we're going with non-invasive ideas first, before we try anesthesia and teeth cleaning. instead of Greenies, we're going to try C.E.T. Enzymatic Oral Hygiene Chews for Cats - Fish-Flavored...they have the "Poultry Digest" in them as the last ingredient. hopefully they wont bother him

Like you I'd probably go non invasive first as well however I think the reason the Vet requests to see Shamus is much can happen in a 18 month span of time. I've had 2 cats under a year that had to be pts for certain conditions. It's not always just about $ but rather making sure that by assessment of the cat's mouth and/or other body organs there's likely not a medical reason that needs to be ruled out re the bad breath. Especially if anesthesia is used for dental cleaning a good Vet will make sure the cat is healthy enough to withstand this.

good luck w/the non invasive remedies and hope that one will work well for Shamus.

tx MarLo if he does have to be put under we'd def want him to be examined, it's just all the other "stuff" that they pressure you to do shots-wise that is sometimes bullcrap

We're lucky with our vets. We don't vaccinate our cats for rabies either as they are both strictly indoors as well. Our vet knows this and doesn't pressure us.