Just over a year ago we adopted a couple of rescue cats. We took one for his booster jabs a couple of weeks ago (the other refused to go in her carrier and we are still trying to work out how to get her there for her boosters), I had noticed that although Saturn was eating fine, and full of himself he did have rather more fragrant breath than most cat's I've had. I mentioned it to the vet and the cause was obvious, he has quite inflamed gums, however the teeth are in good condition, so it was diagnosed as viral gingivitis. When I enquired what could be done, I was told that there really wasn't anything, he will probably need some dental work and extractions later but for the time being it's best left alone, even trying to clean his teeth would be likely to cause problems as it might damage the gums and the teeth are relatively clean to start with.
I've had several cats in the past but this is something I haven't had to deal with before, so it seemed a good idea to come here and see if any one else had experience of it and if so, whether they had found anything that might help delay any further problems. We have 3 cats in the household, the two youngsters and a 13 year old grumpy granny cat. All are (or will be when I can box her) vaccinated against anything they can be. They all share food and water bowls, and litter trays although they also have access to outside. The vet didn't seem to concerned about it being transmitted to the others. I am not majorly worried about him but I do want to do everything I can to prevent this becoming worse in the future.
Viral Gingivitis
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Crewella
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Re: Viral Gingivitis
I'm afraid I've little experience, but I did take on a cat who had to have her teeth removed due to gingivitis issues (can't remember if it was viral - I was relatively new to cats and it was a long time ago). I did find that certain foods irritated her gums less, and I have heard people on here say that foods like Butchers Classic, which has no cereals and no added colours, preservatives or sugars, have helped. Apparently the additives can sometimes cause irritation.