Red gums in older kitten

I was hoping I could get some help about red gums in an older kitten. My kitten, Gus, is 8 1/2 months old, more or less. He's had kind of stinky breath from the day he came home at 6 months old - not awful, but a little smelly. I wouldn't think much of it, would figure it's just cat food breath, but it is noticeably smellier than his co-kitten's breath.

He tested negative for FeLV/FIV and was given a clean bill of health, and I have been tentatively chalking this up to him getting his molars in. But his gums look red tonight, and I think we're going to have to have the vet take another look. While I'm fretting before the appointment, does anyone have any insight for me?

- He eats very well and gives no indication of being in any pain.
- There does seem to be some teething going on, but pretty much all the teeth seem to be presenting, and there's a little redness around his front canines, which have long been fully in.
- Can't see any ulceration in his mouth
- Like I said, he tested FeLV/FIV negative, but has only been tested once, when he came home - how reliable is the snap test? He's only been exposed to my other kitten since, who also has tested negative for both.
- He's eating a wet diet only right now
- His teeth don't seem to have any plaque on them
- He has plenty of energy, a good looking coat, and has been enthusiastically putting on weight and size.

I'm a total newbie to dental issues, and my Googling is only confusing and distressing me. What could I be looking at?

Edit for one more thought: his gums are only red on the outside of his teeth on the left side. I did treat him and my other kitten to Feline Greenies dental treats when they were playing well together this afternoon. Could this just be irritation from the harshness the treats?

I probably wouldn't worry about this if it doesn't get any worse, and doesn't continue into adulthood. My foster kittens are close to that age, and they've got a little bit of redness, too. Seems to be fairly normal. They eat dry and canned food. They also like to chew Milk-Bones and dehydrated duck feet.

A friend's cat had severe redness of the gums and lips and turned out to have an allergy to his own plaque. He was an older kitten at the time. She put him on the Hill's Oral Care diet and his mouth looks really good now. That was rather unusual, though, most kittens just outgrow it.

As far as the bad breath goes, sometimes the way they digest their food can produce bad breath. Have you tried adding probiotic, or something like Wysong Dentatreat to his food? It can't hurt, and it might make a difference.

Thanks! This is reassuring - we'll still see the vet to make sure she thinks he's doing fine, but I won't be a nervous wreck between now and then. This is pretty mild redness, and I wouldn't worry about it at all if I hadn't seen so many articles insisting that it might be FeLV or FIV.

I imagine both my kittens would love dehydrated duck feet - I'll look into it and see if I can find any around here. And thanks for the tip about the probiotic. The smell of his breath and his poop has been improving since he got here, but there's still a ways to go, and a probiotic would probably help him along.

Hi, my vet just saw my 8 month old the other day.  She said that my cat had some gingivitis, which causes redness.  She also said that this can happen sometimes around that age as they are teething.  I wouldn't worry too much.

I understand a little redness is quite common when kittens are teething and it may be nothing more than this.  However breath should not smell and you say this has been noticeable for a while but recently worse.  It is always going to be  worth keeping a close eye on this and to check again with your vet.  If the redness gets worse or Gus seems to mouth food before eating, and not eat as much this would definitely ring alarm bells for me and would definitely go to the vet.

If you don't already have a daily dental routine this would be a good time to start - using an enzyme toothpaste which Gus cat can lick off your finger or a cotton wool bud or finger-brush.  I wouldn't try brushing when the gums are red or until he is used to you touching his mouth but the enzyme paste works even without the brushing and will keep bacteria in his mouth to a minimum.  The paste isn't too expensive, lasts ages and can have a major impact in reducing vet bills for cats prone to gum problems.

Mouse always had what I called 'meaty' breath which got worse when he started to teethe, then his gums got more noticeably red and quickly deteriorated to red and bleeding with ulcers around his mouth (which I couldn't see but the vet certainly did) before I noticed how sick he was.   He does show rapid plaque build up too though.  The vets now think his gum problems and ulcers in his mouth were due to feline herpes as he later showed other signs of this with one of his eyes.

I really hope this is down to teething for Gus and his gums settle well, but please watch more closely than I did as if they do get more inflamed it is very painful and can make Gus extremely sick.

Thanks to both of you for telling me about your experiences, and thanks very much for that information, MServant. Gus does have feline herpes and I wondered if there could be a connection.

His breath has been slowly getting better rather than worse, but this redness is new. It's just a very thin edging along where his gums meet his teeth. I haven't seen any ulcers, but thanks for letting me know that that doesn't mean they aren't there. There hasn't been any bleeding, and he's a very enthusiastic eater - but he was inhaling food with a full blown herpes flare-up and snot-filled nose, so appetite isn't the most reliable indicator of health for him (for which I am very grateful!)

I did get toothpaste for him, but I'll have to see if it's enzyme toothpaste. I'm pretty sure it isn't. I'll be on the lookout for that, too.

His appointment is for tomorrow afternoon, and I'll let you know what I find out. I hope it's just a case of me fussing too much, but if it's something more, I want to be on top of it as quickly as possible.

Aw, good luck with the appointment tomorrow.  It is unusual for the herpes to affect the mouth as far as I am aware so chances are Gus is teething and nothing more complicated.   Always better letting a vet take a look though - I couldn't see any of the ulcers in Mouse's mouth (he wasn't that happy at me trying either) but the vet instantly saw them, including one under his tongue.  

The toothpaste I use is Logic but there are a few different ones.  Some are listed in the review section on this site I think, but most people seem to feel they work well whichever kind they use.  Mouse loves his and licks it off my fingers as a treat.  

I haven't seen a toothpaste for cats recently that wasn't enzymatic. Can you imagine asking Fluffy to rinse and spit?

LOL! It was Petco brand toothpaste, sold in a kit with a little toothbrush and a fingertip gum massager. It might be, but I still haven't checked - I picked up a sample of enzymatic toothpaste at the vet last night when we were picking up my housemate's dog and let him try it. He's a fan.

We're at the vet right now. They're rerunning his ELISA test at the moment, and they've given me a handout on stomatitis. The vet does think the redness is surprising, given his age, but she doesn't see any tartar buildup. Everything else has checked out well - top marks in all subjects!

Hope Gus has been well behaved and chilled out at the vets.  Then maybe he can have some of the yummy toothpaste as a reward.      Loads of positive thoughts coming your way for Gus, that the test is still clear, and his gum inflammation clears and you see it settle with that little bit of extra care for a while.  Just keep an eye on his gums, and for any changes in the way he eats, or how much.  Sometimes with cats things can go on with teeth below the gum line so the changes in eating can be the first indicator they are in pain.

Mr. Poe had red gums. Don't remember exactly when or his age at the time but it was well over a year ago. He was eating fine, no other problems. Veterinarian put him on an antibiotic for two weeks.

I started him on raw chicken gizzards, which he loves - fortunately enough! He gets one every day along with his dinner. He gnaws and chews and eats it up. His gums are just fine now.

I buy a package of chicken gizzards and hearts at the supermarket, about a pound in weight. Divvy it up into 5 gizzards to a snack pack bag. Put the bags into a heavy weight freezer bag, then into the freezer. Take out one of the little bags the evening I use the last previous gizzard and put it in the refrigerator. By the next evening it has usually thawed out. If still a little icy I can pull one off and add a spoonful or two of hot water to finish thawing it out.

Thanks so much for the advice and support! He's always super chill at the vet, and has become a bit of a favorite there because of it. Completely the opposite of his co-cat, Claude, who hisses when the tech just pokes her head into the room.

ELISA came back negative, thank goodness! He's on 10 days of antibiotics, and we'll see if there's any improvement. I also got him some C.E.T. dental treats, which are about a centimeter and a half in diameter and maybe an inch and a half, two inches long. They look about as fun as chewing on a toilet paper tube, but Gus loves everything, and so of course loved carrying his first one around like he was smoking a cigar, batting it about and gnawing on it.

If there's no improvement after his abx, we'll look into prescription diet, cleaning his teeth and taking a closer look.

The vet tech wondered if he was perhaps older than the rescue guessed, since both his gums and his size suggest an older cat. He's put on four pounds in the two and a half months that I've had him, and is now 9 pounds, 13 oz - a little on the large side for an 8 month old cat. I don't know his history, just that when I first saw him at the rescue, he was almost four pounds, and a month later when he came home, he was almost six. He's such a rapidly expanding cat! It's entirely possible that he was older than we thought but underfed and undersized because of it.

Kittens come in many different shapes and sizes. Rupert, who is almost eight months old, is pretty darn close to nine pounds. His brother, Noah, is about seven pounds. I saw their sister, Kazuri, a few days ago (she was adopted months ago), and she's a dainty five and a half. She was always the runt.