Hello!

Not sure if this post should go here in Health Care or if it should be moved over to Nutrition... My 6-month old Bengal has terrible breath, and I'm wondering if I should be concerned about it, of if there is something I could be doing to freshen up her mouth.

She is raw fed, and the only non-raw food she eats are Greenie treats. She is a great eater and seems to be perfectly healthy in every way, aside from her stinky breath. Anyone else's raw-food Bengal have this issue? I thought that raw-fed kitties' breath generally smelled better than cats on a commercially prepared diet.

Thanks,
~LIz

Bad breath can be caused by tarter buildup and gingivitis. Your kitty is quite young -- but I would suggest a visit to the vet to have the teeth and gums checked out. It could also be an infected tooth -- something like that. Normally, a cat's breath should not smell too bad.

Mine are raw fed and their breath doesn't smell at all. I would get it checked out. Are you feeding whole bones to keep the teeth clean?

Her breath is not quite as stinky now, but it does smell quite a bit more than our other guy's does. I'll get her into the vet early next week so they can check out her mouth.

She does eat ground bones in her raw food, but should I be giving her whole bones, too?

I don't know about giving cats whole bones. Ground bones should be fine for their calcium. You might want to find some "chew" toys for cats. And there are tarter control treats that will help clean their teeth.

Raw bones are fine for cats. Many raw feeders feed meat in chunks, bones included. The easiest bones for cats to eat are poultry wing tips and ribs. They will gnaw on larger wing and leg bones but will not likely be able to consume these entirely.

Do not feed cooked bones.

Good luck!

_________________
~ Kyenta