# Smelly saliva



## joshgamble (Nov 9, 2009)

My one kitten is healthy, nice clean teeth, but her saliva is smelly so when she grooms herself and her friend(our other kitten) they both start smelling a little foul. They are on raw food, but she has had this issue since we got her.Any ideas?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

IMO, cat-breath should smell slightly 'fishy'. If it has a strong odor that could indicate a tooth/mouth problem, one where bacteria is flourishing, and I would have to suggest a vet visit to check the kitty's mouth and/or a blood test to determine if she is fighting off any infection. We had a stinky-breath kitty who turned out to have a sinus infection.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

How old is she and how long have you had her? Kittens often have foul breath when they're teething...


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## joshgamble (Nov 9, 2009)

They are both about 6mnths old. She was at vet a week ago and she is just getting over fighting off an upper-respitory infection she had from shelter so maybe thats it. She has improved heaps so it might just go away by itself? Her teeth look great though.


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

When Gracie was teething as a kitten her gums were a bit inflamed and all. If your kitty was on antibiotics, probiotics might help - not only for health but for bad breath. It is worth a try...

Fran


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## joshgamble (Nov 9, 2009)

Any suggestions regarding a source or brand for probiotics?


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## KittyMonster (Nov 8, 2009)

My cat has smelly saliva, but only right after he eats and it's like... raw meat smell (ew). Honestly it's not any worse than cat-food breath right after they eat though. 

The fact that she has a URI definitely makes sense to me as a possible cause... The same thing happens in humans; people who have really bad colds have "sick" smelling breath, presumably because of the mucus in their throat. 

You can pick up probiotics from most pharmacies from a variety of producers. You can also use yogurt, as they use probiotic enzymes to ferment the milk in order to make the yogurt. Don't waste money on "probiotic yogurts" as it's exactly the same stuff. All yogurt has "probiotic cultures". Just make sure you don't feed too much or she'll get the runs - maybe a tsp or tbsp at mealtime? Or use goat's or sheep's milk yogurt, which is lower in lactose.


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

I think that something from the health food store that is safe for children would be safe for cats, and of course, powder is easier to put into food than pills. Try doing a search online - I think there are products designed for pets, come to think of it. We haven't used any yet, or I would be able to be more specific. 

Fran


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## Jenyfyr (Dec 29, 2009)

Our vet recommended Fortiflora, which is a powdered probiotic that you can sprinkle on or mix into their wet food. We're trying to switch our boys to wet food and apparently one of the first ingredients in this product is animal digest, which is what they add to dry food to make it smell more appealing to cats, so we're hopeful that adding it to the wet food will peak their interest a little more. Its main purpose is as a probiotic, and our vet gives it to all of her cats to keep their digestive tracts healthy (it's supposed to help with diarrhea as well). I haven't been able to find a store here where I can buy it, but I can order it through my vet - it's approx $30 CDN for a box. I've also seen it on Amazon.com for $20-25 USD.


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