Cat drooling: causes and what to do?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Saliva plays a vital role in the process of digestion in cats. With its help, food is split and its further promotion. Salivation is a normal physiological process in an animal. But if it becomes excessive, they speak of a pathology such as hypersalivation, or ptyalism. What causes the pathology and how to deal with it is the topic of the proposed article.

How can you detect?

When faced with excessive salivation in a cat, many owners do not know what to do about it. Signs of such a pathology are the following:

• pet swallows saliva;
• cat rubs its muzzle against pieces of furniture and others;
• animal often washes;
• wool gets tangled in icicles and looks untidy despite being cared for;
• tongue often falls out of the mouth;
• wet spots remain where the beast slept.

Physiological causes of pathology

Concerned pet owners often ask their veterinarian the question:Why does a cat drool from its mouth? The reasons may be different. Physiological include:

• Reaction to feed. It is caused by the approach of dinner time, the smell of food. Ptyalism in this case is explained by increased appetite. Some foods contain additives that cause a similar reaction in pets. In this case, the cat's drool is almost invisible, so there is no cause for concern. Sometimes veterinarians advise changing food, especially if the pet, in addition to salivation, began to show persistent meowing. Often the reason for this behavior is the stormy temperament of the animal.
• Change of teeth. Sometimes this process is accompanied by inflammation in the oral cavity, as well as an unpleasant odor and increased salivation. But in order to distinguish teething from pathologies of the oral cavity, which have similar symptoms, you need to take the animal to the veterinarian.

• Estrus in females or reaction to affection. In some breeds, for example, sphinxes, long-faced cats, a similar phenomenon is observed. If you scratch them behind their ears, they literally drool with pleasure.
• Effects of certain medications. For example, anthelmintics, No-shpa, antibiotics are very unpleasant in taste for animals, so it is not surprising that a cat drools like water after taking drugs. In addition, taking any medication causes stress in the animal, so salivation may increase immediately before or after taking them. Pet owners are starting to worry, but in this casenothing to worry about - it's a normal reflex.

Psychological reasons

Drooling from the mouth of a cat can be caused by some conditions of the animal:

• Nervous tension. If the cat is under stress, he often licks himself to calm down. This process causes increased salivation.
• Sickness in transport, stress experienced during the trip. The vestibular apparatus in cats is rather weak, so the occurrence of an unpleasant condition is understandable.
• Active communication with children can cause stress for the cat.

Identifying the causes of stress

If the pet has no obvious he alth problems, the owner should analyze the events that preceded the problem. Maybe the animal was stressed, and not noticeable to the owner.

Rough bathing, change of owner, moving to a new place of residence, meeting with dogs can lead to psychological trauma. Whatever the reason, the owner should make contact with the pet to calm him down.

Pathological factors

Drooling in a cat can be caused by diseases - contagious and non-contagious. Hypersalivation accompanies damage to the nervous system in some serious pathologies. Infectious are:

• Rabies. This is a dangerous disease, it can be transmitted to humans and other animals. Symptoms of pathology: aggressiveness, inadequacy, fear of water and light. Foamy viscous saliva comes out of the mouth. In other diseases, the cat's saliva is transparent. With rabiesforecasts are unfavorable.
• Viral leukemia is an infectious disease that affects the immune and hematopoietic systems. Symptoms are stomatitis, gingivitis, loss of teeth, with leukemia, lymph nodes increase, the cat drools. If the process is running, the pet may develop tumors and develop severe anemia. It is impossible to cure the disease in this case, and therapy is aimed at alleviating the condition of the cat and prolonging his life. The doctor prescribes antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs.
• Tetanus is a disease that manifests itself in tension and impaired muscle mobility, difficulty in movement, spasms, convulsions. The cat cannot eat because it has difficulty during this process, cannot open its mouth, drooling.
• Respiratory tract infections. In various diseases, there may be symptoms such as salivation, sneezing, fever, discharge from the eyes and nose, mouth ulcers.

Non-transmissible pathologies

In some non-communicable diseases, the cat also drools. The reasons for the condition are:

• Portosystemic shunt. This is a circulatory pathology, during which part of the blood rushes into the systemic circulation without entering the liver. Because of this, hepatic encephalopathy occurs, disturbances in the work of the central nervous system, hypersalivation.
• Diseases of the digestive system - tumors, hernias, inflammation of the esophagus, ulcers, flatulence.
• Diseases of the oral cavity - stomatitis, caries, gingivitis, tartar.
• Diabetes.
• Kidney failure.
• Cranial-brain injury.
• Pathologies of the salivary glands. Often, cats have inflammation of these organs - sialadenitis, parotitis. The animal becomes lethargic, the gland swells, saliva flows with particles of pus, blood, flakes.

Other states

As you can see, it is not uncommon for a cat to drool. The reasons may also be as follows:

• Domestic chemicals got into the pet's mouth.
• Anti-parasitic drugs were used incorrectly, and therefore the substances entered the animal's mouth during washing.
• The cat choked on something, something got into his mouth - for example, a bone. Due to the structure of the teeth, a particle of food can get stuck in the oral cavity. The animal cannot independently remove a foreign object, therefore saliva is secreted. The pet does not eat or drink at the same time, it sits with its head down.
• The cat was poisoned by eating low-quality products or those that are not intended for animal nutrition - for example, chocolate. In addition to salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and fever are observed. The condition is dangerously fatal in case of severe poisoning by hazardous substances.
• Trichobezoars are lumps of wool that enter the intestines of a cat and cause vomiting, among other things. Cats are clean animals, when they lick their fur, a small part of it is swallowed by the pet. There, the hairs are collected in a lump of a significant size, and therefore the animal has a desire to burp. This requires a large amount of saliva. With trichobezoars, constipation may occur. Atpalpation of the intestines, its swelling is felt. The animal loses its appetite and constantly drinks. The condition is dangerous in that intestinal obstruction may occur.
• Dislocation of the jaw, in which the cat cannot close its mouth.
• Heat stroke is a condition that occurs in hot weather.
• Eating toads, frogs, lizards, insects. A cat, exploring the world around him, can swallow a spider or some kind of insect, etc. The bitter taste and toxicity of the victim irritate the oral mucosa and provoke increased salivation.
• Insect bites.
• Allergy. Reactions can occur to any stimulus, including new food.
• Worms - in such cases, one of the signs is increased salivation, bad breath, restless behavior of the animal.

When should I go to the clinic?

The following signs should alert the owner:

• if severe salivation is not due to environmental exposure;
• if drooling flows involuntarily, and their volume either increases or decreases;
• the amount of saliva is increasing day by day;
• drooling continuously for more than 1.5 hours;
• besides hypersalivation, there are other disturbing symptoms.

Diagnosis

If it is found that the cat is drooling, the owner must take the animal to the vet. The doctor will perform the following diagnostic tests:

• blood, urine and feces analysis;
• ultrasound;
• inspection of the cavitymouth, throat and teeth;
• x-ray;
• tissue biopsy - if needed.

Vet consultation

The owner should tell the doctor in detail about how the cat has spent the last few days. It is important what kind of appetite the pet had, whether its behavior or appearance has changed.

The veterinarian will ask about vaccinations, medications used, possible toxins.

After that, the doctor will determine where and how the pet will be treated. Depending on the diagnosis, therapy is possible at home or in a hospital.

Treatment of hypersalivation

Salivation due to physiological or psychological reasons usually resolves without medication. After the transferred loads, stress, the pet needs to be allowed to rest.

In other cases, the veterinarian may prescribe antibacterial and antiviral drugs, a special diet, vitamins, and more.

If a cat is drooling, what should its owner do? First of all, you should examine the pet. Perhaps there is a foreign object in his mouth. It is necessary to remove it from there - manually or with tweezers. Then the mucous membrane should be treated with Miramistin or Chlorhexidine.

If increased salivation occurs after interaction with frogs or insects, the mouth should be thoroughly rinsed. In any case, the reaction will stop after a couple of days, when the irritation passes.

If hypersalivation occurs for pathological reasons, it should be shownanimal to the veterinarian. He will see that the cat is drooling. What to do will depend on the diagnosis.

Worms are treated with anthelmintic drugs. With pathologies of the kidneys, liver, drug therapy is prescribed. Diseases of the oral cavity are treated with external means - drops, ointments with antiseptic properties, feed the animal with soft pastes.

If neoplasms are found, surgery may be required. If rabies is detected, the animal is euthanized.

For pathologies of the salivary glands, drug therapy, physiotherapy, sometimes surgical procedures, traditional medicine are used.

In case of poisoning, droppers are used to help remove all toxins from the body. Hypersalivation stops after the animal is removed from a life-threatening condition.

In diseases of the digestive organs, a special diet, medicines are prescribed, sometimes surgery is required.

Prevention

To prevent the occurrence of hypersalivation, preventive measures are taken:

1. Regular cleaning of the pet's mouth, including teeth and tongue.
2. Antiparasitic agents are applied to those places that the cat cannot reach. Or use a protective collar.
3. Perform quarterly deworming.
4. Timely vaccinate the animal against rabies and viral diseases.
5. Provide proper nutrition, no bones.
6. No pointed toys that could hurt your pet's mouth.
7. Substances of household chemicals, medicines,building mixtures are stored in places inaccessible to animals.
8. Restrict access to indoor plants.

At home, it is important to keep the bin closed so that the cat cannot drag away food waste and get poisoned. It is also impossible to feed the pet with food from the master's table - smoked meats, pickles, sweets.

It is important to take your pet to the vet for regular checkups. Timely prevention will not allow the animal to get sick.

So, now it’s clear why the cat is drooling from the mouth and how the owner should behave in this case.