Drooling Cats

One thing I never thought cats did so much is drool ~ Ginger drools a lot, while Vicktor drools when he's happy. What causes it and what can you do about it?

Ginger's giant saliva bomb.

First of all, if you notice your cat drooling out of the blue, take them to the vet. When we took Ginger to the vet for her drooling problem, we found out that she had some tooth decay and needed teeth removed. You can check to see if your kitty has tooth decay by looking at the color of their teeth. Are they gray or brown? Can you see yellow tartar? Are the gums red? Are they bleeding or swollen? If so, they have tooth decay, goodness knows you can't rely on bad breath as an identifier. They may even have mouth ulcers or tumors. You can get their teeth professionally cleaned and try to brush them regularly yourself. Wet food is more likely to cause problems because it sticks to their teeth. You can always switch between wet food and dry food (if they let you), or Greenies for cleaning.

Even more important, make sure they didn't swallow something they shouldn't have, or ate string, floss, hair ties, long grass, or thread that could have wrapped around their tongue! In this case the foreign object could be stuck, they might not be able to swallow or have throat inflammation.

Poisonous Plants can be a huge problem. If they ingest a plant that's dangerous seek medical attention asap.

Heatstroke can cause your cat to drool. It's especially worse for flat faced cats like Persians. Make sure there's enough water at all times, especially when it's hot outside. How much is enough? You can read about it in Kitty Hydration Station.

Cat drool only going to the vet? Motion Sickness while riding in a car can cause your cat to get upset, and make it start panting. Slowly get the cat used to riding in a car by putting them in a carrier in the car and not driving anywhere. The anxiety should decrease once they get more comfortable and less fearful.

Liver and kidney disease can cause your cats to drool along with Upper Respiratory Infections or Oral Cancer, but with regular vet check ups they should be able to diagnose any of these problems.

Finally, on a happy note, some cats drool when they are extremely relaxed and being cuddled. This is an indication of a happy cat. The positive bonding and stimulation may even cause them to purr. Vicktor only recently started purring when I pet him. I think he finally likes me after ten years. I like to call this "Cool Drool", even though it still smells like rotting Doritos.