Cat breath and oral health

I have a 5 year old cat (Duffy) who has not had his teeth cleaned yet. I plan to this year but I wanted to ask if there are any tips to keep his breath down and oral health up.

I feed him 75% Wet (grain free wellness and Weruva) and 25% kibble (grain free orijen). He loves the fishy food specially the Mack n jack by Weruva which stinks as is. The only reason I give him any kibble is for him to snack throughout the day (he's not over weight) and to help cut down of the cost of the expensive canned. As from my research kibble is a no go.

I did try raw, did all the tricks on here but ended up giving up as he was not going for it at all. It was looking good at first but then he just refused. And there is no way he would eat any fleshy bones etc.

I'm wondering if other cat owners feeding similar diets cats breath smells as well? If I put my nose up to his mouth or when he yawns it's pretty bad. Overall his health is great. No vomiting or anything like that. He is past due his yearly checkup so I'll ask my vet to look next week when I bring him in.

I have tried brushing his teeth with no luck it's pretty impossible to get a good scrub with him. I've heard greenies are terrible so I stopped giving those to him 2 years ago. Are there any alternatives? Or cat good with big sized kibble he will actually crunch?

Thanks in advance.

My biggest concern is the breath.  A cat with a healthy mouth should not have bad breath so if his breath is bad it is likely connected to a medical problem and the sooner you get this looked at, the better (and cheaper) its likely to be, and easier to treat. So i would find out what his immediate medical needs are, get them addressed and then start thinking about oral hygiene.  There may be an additive you can put in his water to help, and have you tried the finger brush that slips on your finger?

Thanks! I have not tried the finger brush, but it seems like a good idea, is it coated with toothpaste or do you apply it? Any good brands or products you can send a link to? The way I see it at this point there is no point in brushing but after this cleaning which I plan to do soon I will start. 

I smelled his breath this morning, and it wasn't nearly as bad as last night (about 1 hr after eating) so I think its mostly his food. But Im still going to take him to a vet. Im trying to find a vet that also practises holistic healing, as generally they dont push the vet kibble which is annoying to hear "he shouldn't eat wet, only kibble" every time I go to the vet. 

His gums seem pretty healthy for the most part, his rear teeth do have plaque along the gumline pretty bad. Here are some pics.




It was too hard to get shots of his rear teeth while holding him and juggling my iphone.

Thanks.

Yea his gums look like they have issues, and is your cat food a stinky type? Brand and flavor?

Pet stores sell teeth brushing kits with special toothpaste and a rubber finger thing with bristles on it.  Or you can start just by getting them used to it by massaging their gums with your finger briefly.

Yes his favourite food is STINKY, the stinkier the better for him lol. Its Weruva - Mack n Jack

http://www.weruva.com/cat-cuisine-mack-and-jack.php

I also feed him Wellness Canned Grain Free mixed flavours. 

Your saying his gums look like they have issues? Bad?! They looked pretty good to me. Yeah I plan on starting to massage his gums with just my fingers for a bit when hes sitting on my lap.