Just as with dogs, our feline friends get dental and gum disease. And just as with dogs, the mouth is one of the most overlooked parts of the cat's body. So, on this helpline topic, I hope to let you know what causes bad breath in cats, and what you can do about it.

First and most commonly is periodontal disease or more specifically gingivitis. This is inflammation of the gum tissues surrounding the teeth. Tartar forms on cats' teeth, very much as it does in our canine friends, and begins to irritate and infect the gums. The gum tissue gets very red, swollen and increasingly susceptible to infections. These infected gums bleed easily and produce bad odors.

Cats on soft food diets have more of a problem with this because there is no abrasive action to help knock off some of the tartar, and to help exercise the gums. Cats who eat dry food get some relief, but are not immune. In moderate to severe cases, your veterinarian should tranquilize or anesthesize the cat and perform a dental cleaning. The doctor will also clean and flush the gums as well. Then you can keep this dental hygiene up at home by brushing the teeth a few times per week and try getting the cat to eat at least some dry food.

In some severe cases, there are other diseases that cause the bad breath. Eosinophilic granulomas or the so-called "rodent ulcer" may cause a cancerous-like growth to form on the cat's gums. Many viruses have been associated with oral diseases in cats. The Feline Leukemia Virus of FeLV has been diagnosed in many cats with oral disease as a primary complaint. Feline Immunodefiency Virus or FIV is known to produce a very severe gum-line redness and ulceration in almost half of all FIV positive cats. It's so closely associated with FIV that many veterinarians will run the FIV test for cats with chronic gum disease.

Occasionally, growths on cats gums may be cancerous. Various forms of cancer develop on the gums of cats. When these are found to be malignant, the outlook is very poor. But many long term irritations to gums in cats cause a granuloma like condition that resembles cancer, but is really benign.

Treatment of these problems vary and are not set in stone. The first thing your pet's doctor will try is antibiotics. Tooth extraction may be required to control persistent infection. Corticosteroids are of great help in these conditions and may likely be used with the antibiotics. Other treatments include the use of progesterone-like hormones , immunostimulants, surgical removal of diseased tissue and various vitamin reatments.

Experience has shown not to give up on these cases. If we can keep the cats eating and relatively comfortable during treatment, even though it may take several attempts and a few different drugs, many of these cases will recover.

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Dr. Jim Humphries is a veterinarian and is President of St. Francis Productions, Inc., a Dallas, TX based consulting firm for the pet and veterinary medical industries. He is the Pets & Animal Reporter for The Texas News Channel and a contributing editor for Family Circle Magazine and reports for CBS News, CNN, Lifetime Television, Crook & Chase, America’s Talking and Good Day New York as well as other print and television media. He has two books published by Howell Book House and various other training and educational materials available.