does bad breath *always* mean bad teeth?

my boy sheldon has really bad breath, but he is only about 2 yrs old. i have looked in his mouth, and he does have some inflammed gums(they are red at the base of most of his teeth), but no tartar or plaque, his teeth look clean.


of course when he sees the vet, i will have them checked out.
i got some oxyfresh stuff the vet told me about that is supposed to help keep the bacteria level down in their mouth. it does not seem to be helping him much.

he is the only cat who rubs his drooling mouth all over my face (of course!!) so i notice his breath a lot more.

any ideas on ways to make it smell a bit better???

you could try brushing his teeth with a cat toothbrush and cat toothpaste they sell at pet stores. Start by using your finger to gently rub his gums and his fangs. do this for a couple of weeks. This will get him used to having his mouth and gums touched and the next step is to use the finger brush without paste and then use the paste. I am currently in the 1st step still rubbing my cats gums and teeth with my finger.

To answer the question in your topic caption: no, bad breath isn't always because of bad teeth -- there are other health conditions that can cause bad breath. I think kidney problems are one such.