Q: Our 3-year-old collie, Jazzy, has really stinky breath and we don’t know why. What can we do to get this under control? It’s sad because my family avoids cuddling with her because of it.

A: If your pet has really sour breath, the first thing you need to do is take her to the vet and see if there is any tooth decay or chronic gingivitis.

However, if your pet’s teeth are healthy, the best thing to do is just regular brushing with a toothpaste made for dogs or cats. A clean mouth is going to smell clean.

Many people give dry food to their pets thinking that chewing on it will keep their pets’ teeth clean, but if you really believe this works, then try this: Pick up a bit of that kibble in your fingers, wet it and then rub it between your thumb and forefinger. Now smell your fingers.

Brushing your pet’s teeth is time consuming. These days there are some mouthwashes and gels that you put in your pet’s mouth that claim to keep teeth clean.

I have tried a few, and the one I like the best is called Tooth to Tail Antioxidant Gel. You let your pet lick some off your finger every day, and the oils and antioxidants in it seem to do a pretty good job of keeping a pet’s mouth clean and sweet.

Q: My neighbor has about six outdoor cats, and she feeds about six more feral cats.

For some reason, they like to hang out at my house (sunbathing on my front stoop, by my garage, in my flower beds on all four sides of my house, etc.). Although they are cute, and I am an animal lover, I can’t endure the piles of vomit I face when I leave my home, and the piles of feces in all my plant beds. In spring and summer, when one approaches my home, it smells like a litter box.

How do I get rid of them? If they were all feral cats, I’d get humane traps and deal with them that way, but some of them are hers.

A: I wish I had a magic formula for making cat owners more considerate of their neighbors. All I can tell you is how to repel the cats, and it is not easy because outdoor cats have a high tolerance for many things that indoor cats do not.

Here’s the only repellent that I have found to work fairly well: Sprinkle quite a bit of coffee grounds all over the area where you do not want the cats to hang out.

The nice thing about using coffee is that even if the grounds get wet, they still give off an odor the cats do not like.