Cat Has Bad Breath And Drinking More Water Than Normal?

[erikaash27]

I've noticed recently that my cat has bad breath and is drinking a little more water than usual. The drinking has been going on for the past week and a half on and off. He will be 2 years old in december. We recently went on a trip and he was in a new place for a few days, but we are back home now.

I've posted other threads about how 2 months ago he had surgery to get a lump removed and then a month later he ate a long string off of one of his toys. I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid because I never found the string in my apartment or in his poo.

Every time I google something it just talks about kidney disease or diabetes. I feel like he is too young for kidney disease, but I guess diabetes could be whats going on. Is there any other possible causes for his bad breath and drinking more water? He is acting normally other than this.

Thanks.

 

[denice]

You are coming up with kidney disease or diabetes because of drinking more water than normal. Given his age either of those would be pretty rare, not impossible but rare. I know that as kidney disease progresses a cat will drink a large amount of water, a very noticeable large amount. Bad breath is a common symptom for dental issues and he may need a dental cleaning. Cats can start with this at a young age. Some cats can get into their senior years before dental work and they can also start young with them. I have two cats and one started much younger with needing cleanings.

 

[Tdizz11]

He might have a bladder infection or a UTI. My male cat was 2.5 years old when he first had a bladder infection. He didn't have any of the normal signs, like bloody urine or multiple trips to the litter box. His breath was really strong, like pungent, almost like urine. It can't hurt to bring him in to get his urine checked. If it is a bladder or UTI, you need to catch that quick before all hell breaks loose! I searched and searched and kept getting kidney disease too. My boy had to go through two rounds of strong antibiotics to cure his infection. I hope your cat is ok, but please get him checked out.

 

[Tdizz11]

Just read about him being in a new place for a few days. Is your cat urinating? My cat blocked from a bladder infection when I was on vacation and he was staying at my parent's house. They get super stressed and that can cause funky things to happen to their bladder. I would get him to the vet ASAP.
I also had a diabetic cat. I'm not saying that I'm an expert but the diabetic cat, before she was on insulin, would drink an entire dog bowl of water while I was at work and she would flood the litter box. Her breath smelled sort of sweet. I wouldn't call it bad. The bladder infection breath would knock you over!

 

[Antonio65]

Are you able to describe the smell of his breath? When you say it's bad, what does it resemble to you?

 

[LTS3]

If the breath smells like nail polish remover, that is a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis, a very serious illness that needs immediate vet treatment. It is not something you can "wait a few days and see" because it can be fatal if left untreated.

A 2 year old cat is unlikely to have diabetes but juvenile diabetes can happen although it's very rare. How much more water is your cat drinking? How is the urine output in the litter box? Are the clumps the same size are usual or are they bigger? Do the clumps smell sugary or are hard to scoop because they are sticky?

Bad breath is typically a sign of poor dental hygiene. Dental issues are common in cats but many pet owners overlook the importance of home dental care. Some vets do, too.

 

[erikaash27]

Just read about him being in a new place for a few days. Is your cat urinating? My cat blocked from a bladder infection when I was on vacation and he was staying at my parent's house. They get super stressed and that can cause funky things to happen to their bladder. I would get him to the vet ASAP.
I also had a diabetic cat. I'm not saying that I'm an expert but the diabetic cat, before she was on insulin, would drink an entire dog bowl of water while I was at work and she would flood the litter box. Her breath smelled sort of sweet. I wouldn't call it bad. The bladder infection breath would knock you over!

Thanks for your help! Yes he is still urinating. He doesn't seem to be straining, but I will get him to the vet ASAP! His breath doesn't smell sweet, it smells like maybe the wet food I guess. Kinda fishy. Just not a good smell lol.

 

[erikaash27]

Are you able to describe the smell of his breath? When you say it's bad, what does it resemble to you?

I'd say it smells like the wet food I give him, kind of fishy.

 

[erikaash27]

If the breath smells like nail polish remover, that is a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis, a very serious illness that needs immediate vet treatment. It is not something you can "wait a few days and see" because it can be fatal if left untreated.

A 2 year old cat is unlikely to have diabetes but juvenile diabetes can happen although it's very rare. How much more water is your cat drinking? How is the urine output in the litter box? Are the clumps the same size are usual or are they bigger? Do the clumps smell sugary or are hard to scoop because they are sticky?

Bad breath is typically a sign of poor dental hygiene. Dental issues are common in cats but many pet owners overlook the importance of home dental care. Some vets do, too.

His breath doesn't smell like nail polish remover. It smells like the wet food he eats. It is like a fishy smell.

It is hard to tell how much more water he is drinking. I haven't been measuring which i probably should. But like on normal days sometimes he would go without drinking at all or I would catch him drinking for maybe around 10 seconds once a day. Recently he's been drinking maybe like 3-4 times per day and he will stay there for like 20-30 seconds just drinking. The urine output seems like his normal. I haven't smelled the clumps up close, but they don't smell sugary from afar. About the stickiness and the clump size, I'm not sure, I use sweat schoop clumping and it doesn't clump the best so most of the time the clumps just fall apart.

 

[Elfilou]

Drinking 3-4 times a day doesn't seem excessive to me. My cat just kinda likes drinking water I think, whether out of a fountain or bowl, and that's about as much as she drinks I think. I don't always catch her but yeah.

The bad breath... idk. Mine is two years old and has no bad breath but I've met some cats of the same age with awful kitty-breath.

I say take him to the vet, better safe than sorry, but it doesn't seem that bad to me.

 

[erikaash27]

Oh..I should probably also mention that he's been sneezing some. Not a lot, maybe like 2-3 times per day. I'm not sure if that would have to do with anything.

 

[Blakeney Green]

I would get his teeth checked. Bad breath is often a sign of dental problems.

 

[Antonio65]

A fishy smell, similar to the wet food he's eating, should be normal, I think.