Really Bad Breath

[its tom the cat]

I have a young male (about 15 months old) that came to me from Cuba. This cat is blind as he has no actual eyeballs. That is not a problem but his bad breath is. Its so bad that when he licks or nips me I can smell the stench on my hand.

He is otherwise very healthy, had an export exam leaving Cuba and another bigger exam when he got here. He is always hungry and will eat anything (he does not get human food). He is not fat but quite lean and muscle-bound.

He is very active and sleeps well and his stools are perfect.

One thing I should add is that he was never neutered because in Cuba and here they could not find testicles. I would definitely have I could find them.

Any ideas?

 

[imjustacatmom]

I just saw an episode on Doctor Jeff he's on Animal Planet...he had a patient with an inverted testicle...and he had to search...so may be the same for your guy...worth looking into

 

[Columbine]

I think it's definitely worth taking him to the vet for a thorough health check. If his breath is really bad that suggests he needs a dental exam - he may well have gum disease, or at least inflammation, to some degree. A cat's breath shouldn't be foul, though it's normal for it to smell of their food - especially if they've just eaten

Whilst you're at the vet's, talk to them about the testicles/neutering issue. They may well be able to locate them, especially if he has to go under for a dental cleaning, and he'd be far better off once neutered [article="30206"][/article][article="0"][/article]

 

[its tom the cat]

Thank you for the responses. He has had a dental check and his teeth are perfect. He is sill young and I cannot imagine dental problems at this age. But I am not a vet. 

As to the testicles the area has been palpitated by two vets from two different clinics with the same result. An ultrasound was suggested but at $400 plus 12% tax I wonder if its worth it. Again I could be wrong. He does not display any of the symptoms of not being neutered such as spraying or urinating outside his liter box.

 

[colbey]

it is likely not this, but i'll post it just in case.  my cat also had bad breath--i mean truly HORRID breath.  she'd had it for awhile, and then it got worse (we'd moved and i didn't yet have a new vet, so i put off taking her in, which was/is awful of me).  it was so bad, i thought she must have teeth that were rotting out of her head.

anyway, the vet looked in her mouth and said her teeth and gums were fine.  but when she felt her, she found hardness in her sides and took an x-ray.  she showed me the x-ray and it was startling--she was COMPLETELY full up with stool.

later, i realized that her extremely bad breath had to be, literally, from the poop stuck inside her.

she had no symptoms of anything wrong, except for the bad breath, and that she wasn't eating well.  (which i also figured was because of a tooth/teeth problem.)

but she was still eating some; she played; she even pooped.  i scooped poo out of the litter box, and it never struck me as odd, except....i did sometimes think that she seemed not to have a BM every single day.

so...just a thought.  but i'd certainly think with all the times he's been checked, that someone would have noticed if this were the problem.

 

[its tom the cat]

Thank you for posting. Interesting comment.  It may not be the case as he has good bowel movements at least once a day and usually in the early evening. And he eats like a horse.

Another point but not regarding this topic. Why am I having so much difficulty signing in? I am not on Facebook so use my email address or user name. I have tried three times and its always rejected. I even changed my password, tried it again and was rejected.

But when I clicked on Forums I found that I was on-line.

 

[Columbine]

Another point but not regarding this topic. Why am I having so much difficulty signing in? I am not on Facebook so use my email address or user name. I have tried three times and its always rejected. I even changed my password, tried it again and was rejected.
But when I clicked on Forums I found that I was on-line.

I'm afraid I can't answer that one. I suggest you try posting in Site Help. Hopefully someone there can help you :cross: