Does my cat have a dental issue?

[Sukh1983]

Hello

I am new here so be a little gentle

I have a bengal cat, he is about 11 hooman years old now. A few weeks ago, his breath was slightly worse. His breath is normally fine.

I looked at his mouth area and it looked like this... Pictures attached.

Any advice people? I don't want to be going to the vets and paying a ridiculous amount for nothing.


Any helpful advice is appreciated.

[Mollycat]

Unfortunately it's impossible even for a vet to tell without a proper look. It would be like sending a picture of yourself smiling to a dentist and expecting him to work out from that if your molar needs a filling.

There are other issues that can cause smelly breath in cats, not only dental issues, so maybe wait until his annual check if you don't want to make a special trip and he seems fine in himself, but he will need to see a vet for answers.

I don't think it's really "for nothing" when it comes to a cat's teeth. They hide pain very well so it's not always even possible to know there is quite an advanced problem. My girl recently had no symptoms at all except a small lump on her gum, but being 14 years old I had her in for a proper dental where they found the lump was a resorbed lesion and there was also a cracked tooth at the back that may have also been a resorbed lesion. Both were extracted and the cat is a much happier little pudding. She never had bad breath or any visible plaque, inflamed gums or anything.