Genetically Bad Teeth?

My cat Binx is almost 11 months old. He’s always had awful breath, and I’ve noticed his teeth have lots of brown tartar build up on them....already. He had a really bad start to life and almost died as a kitten from a really bad flea infestation before we got him (he was a rescue). He spent a week in the hospital trying to live. He had all sorts of testing done before he was put up for adoption to make sure he was healthy. When we got him, his leg fur was shaved due to getting another blood test to make sure he was all good in every way.

He’s due for a rabies vaccine, so I’m going to get the vet to look at his teeth. I’m quite concerned because his breath is horrendous and his teeth are yellowing with the brown tartar build up. I’m completely fine with paying to have him sedated and having a good teeth cleaning done....I feel that might be a regular thing for us. Kaia’s teeth are white as can be and no bad breath and she’s just a couple months younger.

Is it possible for cats to just be genetically predisposed to having bad teeth? Poor Binx.

Hi. I have heard of genetics being one of the reasons for dental issues in cats, so perhaps that is poor Binx' problem. But, there are other conditions to consider as well. I am including a link to an article about dental disease in cats - not to scare you, but to help inform you of things you might want to discuss with the vet when you see them.

Dental disease in cats | International Cat Care

Do you do anything for Binx in terms of teeth cleaning? If he is predisposed he (and your bank account) would probably benefit from brushing. I know that you feed them both wet food. I have always found that a wet food diet causes more build-up on my own cats teeth and makes brushing really necessary.

My cat had gingivitis very early in life too. At 6 months of age is when I noticed but his breath was already bad before. He also had a hard start in life. He was in the shelter for 2 months recovering from URIs and such. And he has other ailments now. I got him a dental at around a year old and have been keeping his teeth under control with regular teeth brushing and dentals every 2 years.

I don’t brush his teeth but I definitely need to start. I’m hoping it isn’t anything more than genetically bad teeth. He’s so sweet, and he had such a hard start...he deserves health!!

If you want to start slow, you can try to rub his gums with some yummy food - maybe even Gerber baby food (meat)? Then, you could move on to a good cat toothpaste, and finally to this - a finger toothbrush:

I really like this one for cats.

Kittyteeth - Cat Toothbrush, Cat Toothbrush, Cat Grooming

Ritz (pictured) has bad teeth, first dental around age 12 months. My vet at the time thinks it was due to poor nutrition for the first five months of her life (she and her siblings and mother dumped in November 2009, neighbors sometimes left out milk and cereal for them.) She is due for another dental this spring. Note if you have pet insurance: ask the vet to code it as gingivitis, not dental cleaning. PetPlan won't pay for dental cleaning, but will if the diagnosis is gingivitis.

My cat Lupita -- I have had her for 12 years now and it seems like she always needs her teeth cleaned but her breath does not stink. She has also had to have teeth pulled as did my cat Timmer. I would definitely get this cat's teeth looked at, sooner rather than later. Something could be rotten in there.
And as a second thought - Timmer's breath was always bad, even after teeth cleaning. It turned out he had digestive issues. Just like some people who have digestive issues also have bad breath.