Does Anyone Else's Cat Have Terrible Breath?

[saleri]

Both my cats have terrible breath even though they've being eating large chunks for quite a few weeks now and being on raw for several months. Their both older kittens, but still kittens and growing.

I feed pork, chicken, beef, and turkey. I do mix into a slurry sardines in tomato sauce, eggs, bones, liver,kidney, so I have to assume the slurry is what's causing the bad breath.

Anyone got any ideas??

 

[Catlover579]

My cat had bad breath when he was a kitten. He's a year and 1 month old now and it's gone. I was also worried at the time and I read online that it's normal for kittens to have bad breath. I think it has something to do with their teeth still developing, not sure but if it continues into adult then I would ask a vet about it.

 

[saleri]

My cat had bad breath when he was a kitten. He's a year and 1 month old now and it's gone. I was also worried at the time and I read online that it's normal for kittens to have bad breath. I think it has something to do with their teeth still developing, not sure but if it continues into adult then I would ask a vet about it.

Alright one of them is turning one tomorrow, and the other one is almost 10 months old. I guess the younger one has worse breath.

 

[Azazel]

Mine have bad breath right after they eat for about an hour or 2 but in the morning their breath barely smells. I think it’s fine if it’s just after a meal. Same with humans who get bad breath when they eat something stinky, it can happen with cats too. I think if the smell is overwhelming or constant then you might want to open their mouth and have a look at their gums, or get a vet to do it.

 

[lisahe]

If a dietary change (e.g. the slurry) doesn't help, bad breath is something to discuss with the vet. One of our cats had very bad breath, which was resolved after we had the cats tested for the bartonella bacterium (here's a page about bartonella). Which they had. Treatment for that and daily toothbrushing have kept Edwina smelling fresh. It's also kept her teeth and gums looking nicer. (She and her sister both needed full dental cleanings when they were only two.)

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Both my cats have terrible breath even though they've being eating large chunks for quite a few weeks now and being on raw for several months. Their both older kittens, but still kittens and growing.

I feed pork, chicken, beef, and turkey. I do mix into a slurry sardines in tomato sauce, eggs, bones, liver,kidney, so I have to assume the slurry is what's causing the bad breath.

Anyone got any ideas??

saleri , are you using these recipes which you posted in your thread, here, recently? >>
Thoughts On These Two Recipes For My Cats, Low Supplements.

I'm wondering if you are both adding Morton Lite salt PLUS including the 15 oz. sardines-in-tomato sauce slurry?

@mschauer wrote here that there are 250mg Sodium in 1/4 t. Morton Lite salt
Can I use normal iodized salt in raw cat food?

If you combine that with the sodium also in your sardine cans, maybe too much sodium?
In any case, even if not adding both to your recipe, 15 oz. of a Crown Prince can of sardines in tomato sauce has a ton of sodium in it...
Sardines in Tomato Sauce with 1g Omega-3 | Crown Prince Inc.

See:

and a 15 oz can-
Nutritional Information | Crown Prince Sardines in Tomato Sauce​

there's a 7.5 oz can (doubled, of course, equals 15 oz, though)-
Nutritional Information | Crown Prince Sardines in Tomato Sauce​

If you look there, the amount of sodium shown is 240mg Sodium per one serving size (55g, or one-third of a cup) in the 15 oz can; and 300mg Sodium per one serving (55g, or one-third of a cup) in the 7.5 oz can. That means the 15 oz can has 1920mg Sodium, and each 7.5 oz can has 1200mg Sodium! (I'm not sure of your portioning in the homemade food you are making?)

So my thought is maybe that, even though sardines and liver are stinky foods in the first place and probably give a cat stinky breath, if a cat is getting an overload of Sodium too, it could be throwing several things out of whack with the blood chemistry and electrolytes, etc., and perhaps the cats are actually getting dehydrated.

Have you taken them in to get a blood chem panel just to make sure their blood work and electrolytes are in normal ranges?

Dehydration really decreases normal saliva amounts in the mouth, and this can actually cause a bacterial overload on the teeth, gums and tongue. Dehydration is notorious for causing bad breath, because of the higher bacteria count. Dehydration is not just about a cat lacking water but about the balances of electrolytes, etc., in the cat's system.

 

[saleri]

saleri , are you using these recipes which you posted in your thread, here, recently? >>
Thoughts On These Two Recipes For My Cats, Low Supplements.

I'm wondering if you are both adding Morton Lite salt PLUS including the 15 oz. sardines-in-tomato sauce slurry?

@mschauer wrote here that there are 250mg Sodium in 1/4 t. Morton Lite salt
Can I use normal iodized salt in raw cat food?

If you combine that with the sodium also in your sardine cans, maybe too much sodium?
In any case, even if not adding both to your recipe, 15 oz. of a Crown Prince can of sardines in tomato sauce has a ton of sodium in it...
Sardines in Tomato Sauce with 1g Omega-3 | Crown Prince Inc.

See:

and a 15 oz can-
Nutritional Information | Crown Prince Sardines in Tomato Sauce​

there's a 7.5 oz can (doubled, of course, equals 15 oz, though)-
Nutritional Information | Crown Prince Sardines in Tomato Sauce​

If you look there, the amount of sodium shown is 240mg Sodium per one serving size (55g, or one-third of a cup) in the 15 oz can; and 300mg Sodium per one serving (55g, or one-third of a cup) in the 7.5 oz can. That means the 15 oz can has 1920mg Sodium, and each 7.5 oz can has 1200mg Sodium! (I'm not sure of your portioning in the homemade food you are making?)

So my thought is maybe that, even though sardines and liver are stinky foods in the first place and probably give a cat stinky breath, if a cat is getting an overload of Sodium too, it could be throwing several things out of whack with the blood chemistry and electrolytes, etc., and perhaps the cats are actually getting dehydrated.

Have you taken them in to get a blood chem panel just to make sure their blood work and electrolytes are in normal ranges?

Dehydration really decreases normal saliva amounts in the mouth, and this can actually cause a bacterial overload on the teeth, gums and tongue. Dehydration is notorious for causing bad breath, because of the higher bacteria count. Dehydration is not just about a cat lacking water but about the balances of electrolytes, etc., in the cat's system.

Hello,

I don't add any additional salt. The recipe I used is below.


So if my math is right one can is spread with 14.44 pounds of meat.

I use the larger can of 15 oz I believe. One can has 1920 mg of sodium.

14.44 pounds is 6550 grams of meat. That'll usually be 54.5 meals for my cats.

Haven't taken them in for the "blood work and electrolytes are in normal ranges?"

Although to be honest they really haven't ever drank from their water bowl in months and their skin condition is good. I also add water to their food. Not the same thing of course as you said, but I'll take them for that testing.

Although to be honest it seems to be that the older 12 month cat has decent breath and only the 10 month kitten has bad breath.

 

[saleri]

So yeah I just did some quick calculations and if I were to follow Dr. Pierson's recipie it seems like I would have to add 4000mg of morton salt. So I should be fine I assume?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I'm not one who makes homemade raw, I just was giving you my thoughts on dehydration (imbalances of electrolytes/etc in the body) possibly causing bacteria overgrowth in the mouth. Possibly from an overuse of Sodium.

I do note, though, that in @mschauer's post part of the idea of using Morton Lite salt was that it has, in part, iodine in it, which seems important overall.
Can I use normal iodized salt in raw cat food?

 

[saleri]

I'm not one who makes homemade raw, I just was giving you my thoughts on dehydration (imbalances of electrolytes/etc in the body) possibly causing bacteria overgrowth in the mouth. Possibly from an overuse of Sodium.

I do note, though, that in @mschauer's post part of the idea of using Morton Lite salt was that it has, in part, iodine in it, which seems important overall.
Can I use normal iodized salt in raw cat food?

Alright will take another look at it.

 

[35 year catdad]

My 13 yr old boycat has worse breath than I!! so I bought "Fresh Breath" liquid to add to water. Its only about $7 for 16 ounces at Chewy. Try some in filtered water but leave a test bowl without it to see if your cat likes it added. It has green tea chlorophyll omega 3 and 6 fatty acids citric acid and some other ingredients.

 

[2azwildcats]

My cat had bad breath and i thought it was food related as he was eating raw at the time but it was from bad teeth. Unfortunately he had tooth resorption and had to have some teeth pulled.