cat with rotten breath

Hi, I don't get a chance to come to this site very often. I need to make more time for it. The information is wonderful.

On to my problem. About two years ago my calico cat, Wink, came down with the virus Panlukopenia ( please excuse the spelling). After several days in the vet's office, she recovered with one lasting side effect. Her breath smells like she is rotting, for lack of better terms. I have had her to the vet thinking there was something more wrong, but he claims that her bad breath will stick with her for the rest of her life. I am not one to settle for the just deal with it answer. Is there anyone who might have any information that could help me out? I would really appreciate it


Thanks,

Shannon

have you had her teeth cleaned?

Take her to another vet immediately.

She needs to be checked for possible gum infection, gingivitis, (I know a cat that had that and his breath stunk, it took many supplements and teeth cleaning sessions to get it rectified), and to see whether any teeth have to be removed. This is of course if it is indeed rotting teeth.

Besides gingivitus, there is also an oral disease called stomatitus. Both will cause their breath to smell. Shep has stomatitus, and without regular treatment, her mouth will be so sore that she would will stop eating. Treatment runs from antibiotics and steroids, to full dental treatments (scrape out the bacteria under their gums while under anesthesia). Some antibiotics work better than others depending on the diagnosis.

Don't let this go - if it becomes chronic, it becomes more and more difficult to treat.

Good luck!!

Charlie had stomatitis...and I got rid of it with an antibiotic called Clindamycin...took about 3 weeks and he had a clean bill of health. Bad breath means breeding bacteria.

Pretty Kitty had that problem for a while. Then she got really sick, so I took her to the vet. I think he said she had a virus or infection (can't remember for sure). He put her on an antibiotic. That not only made her better, it got rid of the bad breath. I'm not sure what was causing the bad breath, but the medicine made it go away. She hasn't had it since then.

Wink does have another appointment for her shots, so she will be seeing a vet soon. The thing that gets me is she has been to the vet, he gets right down in her face to look her over. For as bad as she smells, I would have thought he would notice. Not to mention I have asked about the smell before.

Outside of her problem coming from her teeth or gums, does anyone know if it really is an after effect of her virus?

Thanks

Shannon

Pretty Kitty had the bad breath way before she ever got sick, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't happen. I'm not sure. You should ask your vet about it again, but be persistant this time. I have to do that with our vet sometimes.

Just bumping this up to the top again so it might get more replies to your question.

Shannon...it is pretty common for cats who have had any of the upper respiratory infections to have problems with gingivitis. It is something you will want to pay attention to. With every annual vet visit, make it a point to have them check her teeth and gums. Every so often she may need a dental or a course of antibiotics.

You should pursue this. Bad breath can come from ifnected gums, infected teeth, stomatitis or even (hopefully not!) a tumor growing in the mouth. Most likely it is an infection & will respond to antibiotics.
Fingers & paws crossed!
Deb E

One of our cats had panluk. when she was a young kitten and her breath scent is just the cat food scent. She had the digestive part of the illness, though, not the respiratory part. She also didn't have antibiotics.
Do you have her on a good quality food and have you given her any probiotics? The latter is good to give after a course of antibiotics to re-establish the intestinal bacteria.
Hopefully she doesn't have dental problems. Good luck!