My cat has bad breath

QMy eight-year-old male neutered cat seems to have bad teeth (and breath). I noticed the teeth when he yawned recently. The curious thing is that he shows no sign of pain and is eating normally. Should I consult the vet?

ASurprising statistics from several surveys show that, by four years of age, 50 to 90 per cent of cats suffer from some form of dental disease.

The three main problems are inflammation of the gums, periodontitis and tooth resorption (rejection).

Inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) begins with the formation of a bacterial film called plaque. This soon becomes mineralised, forming tartar, which causes further inflammation. Tartar cannot be removed by brushing as it is too hard.

Finally periodontitis, where the tissues surrounding teeth become infected, leads to tooth resorption and loss of teeth.

Cats are known to hide pain, so I am not surprised you haven’t seen signs of this. They are subtle with, for example, unusual movements of the head while chewing dry food, head shaking and a slightly reduced appetite.

Later, pawing at the mouth, drooling with blood-tinged saliva and dropping food are more obvious.

I recommend a vet consultation to see whether a dental examination is required. This is very likely in your cat’s case and will greatly improve his health.

Blood tests may be necessary and there will be an initial expense, but subsequently your vet will advise on ways to maintain oral health.

This involves brushing with special cat toothbrushes to prevent plaque, and other measures. See the Veterinary Oral Health Council for recommended products for cats (vohc.org). Q My 12-year-old rough collie’s nose has become crusty and she bleeds from her left nostril. The vet says her teeth are bad, which may be the cause of the bleeding, or a tumour. I doubt it’s a tumour as she hasn’t lost weight, and we don’t want a general anaesthetic because of her age. Do you think the crusty nose and bleeding are related?

AThey could be related but without a precise diagnosis it is not possible to be sure and therefore I strongly recommend an anaesthetic.

Modern anaesthetics are much safer than ever before and a major advantage with your dog is that bad teeth can be removed and the rest cleaned up.

If a canine tooth root abscess is the cause of the bleeding, it will solve the problem, and your dog will be free from any dental pain and cured.

Tumours causing one-sided nasal bleeding are another possibility. Under anaesthetic, your vet could look up the nose, and do an X-ray if necessary.

A common tumour here is a nasal adenocarcinoma. A different tumour, squamous cell carcinoma, is also a possible cause of the crusty nose.

To confirm this, a biopsy would be necessary.

Both these tumours are slow to spread and would not be expected to cause weight loss initially until advanced. If diagnosed, however, you would have to decide whether to proceed with specialist treatment.

Excess keratin, or occasionally autoimmune diseases such as pemphigus, can also cause crusty noses.

In experienced hands, treatment offers a good prognosis.