How to fight the bad breath of cats
Seven out of ten cats suffer from halitosis, that is, bad breath. This may be due to some disease, so if you suspect that it may be, take your little cat to the vet for advice. If you are sure that your cat is a simple halitosis, read on. In this article, we explain how to combat the bad breath of cats with different tricks. It is very annoying for the humans who live with these animals and surely the same cats are not pleasant either. So let's help them!
Detect it: what can be the causes?
There are many causes that can cause halitosis in these animals, and it is very important to know and then understand how to combat the bad breath of cats. The main causes are:
- Poor oral hygiene of the feline, which causes dental problems such as tartar, decay or teeth in poor condition.
- Diabetes.
- Diseases related to the stomach or the kidney.
- Certain types of cancer
- Gastric problems
- A diet very rich in proteins.
- Problems in the respiratory tract.
Most of these causes must be diagnosed by a specialist, because he is the one who will best know what happens to our pet. If you tell us that you do not have any disease and that it is tartar or other minor oral problems, we can apply treatments at home.
Fight bad breath with food
Look very well at feeding your cat, because the cause of most cases of halitosis in cats is due to poor eating habits of the cat. It is very important that you do not always give wet foods to eat such as cans.
Why give them then dry foods? Because we force the cat to chew stronger, and that makes the same hard food favor the elimination of possible bacteria that it has in the teeth. So if you want you can give him food from a can, but mix it with hard food, either in the same food or alternating it. Think that the more friction there is between the food and the cat's teeth, the better it will go to keep the mouth without tartar and without cavities.
Water, also an ally
Sometimes cats have a hard time drinking all the water they would need (average weight, they need approximately half a liter of water per day). However, as happens in humans, a deficiency of fluid intake can lead to bad breath also in the cats that we have at home.
The explanation? When they drink water, it increases the amount of saliva that they swallow and, with this saliva, they eliminate bacteria and tartar, besides helping to prevent their appearance.
Brush her teeth
It is very important that you take special care with brushing the teeth of cats. Ideally, do it every day but if you can not, the minimum to keep your mouth healthy are twice a week. Never use human toothpaste, as it is toxic to cats. Go to the vet, there they will give you a special paste, either in the form of gel or spray. In addition, the best brush you can use to wash the cat's teeth is those that roll on your finger. In the following article you can see more details on How to clean your cat's teeth.
In parallel, we recommend that once a year you take your cat to the veterinarian for a deep oral cleaning, which also serves to rule out possible diseases.
Consult a specialist
Before applying any product or treating your cat, it is vital that you consult a veterinarian ; He will give you solutions on how to combat the bad breath of cats, the possible causes, consequences and treatments that will best suit your pet.
