The cat is around 14 years old and has lost a few teeth. Siamese and gets fed the best food- apart from a few lazy rodents it manages to catch when they go to sleep.
Every few months it goes to the vet to have its teeth cleaned and any rotten ones removed (it has three main teeth remaining- the other one was buried in a Russian Blue when she was younger but I digress).
Anyway, within two weeks of her having her teeth cleaned she can yawn and she smells like a litter tray- what on earth can I do?
How does her breath smell right after she’s had her teeth cleaned? Does it smell a LOT better, or just a bit better?
If it smells a LOT better right after she has her teeth cleaned, she may simply be keeping bits of food, saliva, etc., in her mouth. This will start to stink as it builds up between cleanings. You may be able to keep this under control between vet cleanings by brushing her teeth yourself if she’ll let you do it. To do this, you’d use a toothbrush that fits over the end of your finger and a meat- or chicken-flavored toothpaste for cats.
If it only smells a bit better right after the vet has cleaned her teeth, it sounds like something else is going on. Any chance of prying more information out of this vet, or taking her to a vet with more experience with feline dental/oral issues?
Foul breath can be a sign of kidney disease or other problems. Every few months for a teeth cleaning? Is your cat getting anesthetized every time? Have they every done any pre-anesthetic blood work? If your vet doesn’t satisify your needs by discussing your pet’s health with you, find a new vet.
I agree. You’re spending money on a vet who isn’t communicating with you, rather than a different vet who can tell you what you need to know. At 14 years, your cat can have any number of problems.
Could the cat be getting into something that stinks. Like maybe there are dead mice somewhere and she’s eating them? Maybe she’s developed a taste for rotting meat and can get into the your (or the neighbor’s) garbage, or found a source of dead meat that rots.
I had a dog that loved anything foul smelling. Yeah I know dogs ain’t cats, but at least with a dog you could give it those charcol dog treats, and those worked well with him
Maybe you can buy charcoa capsuals for people and split them open and put some on some meat and she’d eat them. I guess you’d have to check with the vet to see if activated charcoal would hurt a cat
Sorry to be so long in getting back. Cwthree- the cats breath is fine straight afterwards. It just doesn’t last that way for long. MarkXXX- this cat is increibly selective about her food- she wouldn’t east anything rotten. Also she is now showing her age and isn’t up to getting into wheelie bins.
Re the vet- he is very good at his trade but you have to ask the right questions to get the answers- he doesn’t volunteer much. But he loves the animals and has been their lifelong vet. No change there.
Well, I took the cat to the vet today to get it’s claws clipped. The vet wasn’t there but I did notice a product they have out called “Aquadent”. Seemingly you put 5 mls in their bowl of water and it helps maintain fresh breath and keeps their teeth in good condition. We’ll see how it goes.