My cat suddenly drools a lot – what can I do??
Heavy drooling can have many different reasons. From normal and not worrying causes to diseases. In this article you will learn how to recognize it. What you can do about it.
Not only we humans produce saliva, but our cats do too. So our cat can Swallow food better and take care of her coat. This saliva is produced in various small glands in the mouth area. If your cat comes in from outside with a lot of saliva in his mouth, or you notice at home that he loses saliva in his sleep, this can have many different reasons. The causes can vary from not harmful reasons, dental diseases or even foreign bodies in the mouth.
Cause
Saliva is produced not only to better swallow food parts, but in cats also to be able to devote themselves devotedly to their coat care.
A cat's tongue is very rough on the surface and serves so the removal of loose hair, as well as smaller parasites (z.B. fleas). Likewise cats carry so their saliva not only on the body, but can lick off the loose hair better. Here the top 8 causes for heavy drooling with the cat:
1. She relaxes a lot when cuddling and loses a few droplets of saliva 2. When sleeping and completely relaxed 3. Inflammation of the oral cavity 4. Inflammation of the teeth such as z.B. Tartar 5. Diseases of the respiratory tract like z.B. Cat cold 6. A foreign body in the oral cavity 7. catnip or valerian stimulates the production of saliva 8. Poisoning or side effects with medications
So it may be that your cat also with increased drooling during grooming, without the need for a disease to be present. This is also true in cases where she feels particularly well and put it z.B. purrs strongly. But of course also if your cat sometimes vomits some drops of saliva may be visible in the beginning. With strong stress, however, your four-legged friend can also begin to salivate strongly! For example, has a new roommate moved in, or has your outdoor pet just come home foaming at the mouth after a wild chase. These moments belong to the possibilities in which you stronger drooling in your cat you can notice. It is important that these moments in the Rule only stop for a short time and you can connect them partially also with an event. The situation is different if your cat suffers from a disease suffers. In these cases you will often see that your velvet paw drools heavily. She has then at the mouth constantly wet fur, perhaps the saliva drips also up to the chest. In the same way, she will then lose saliva in your home and everywhere you can find wet spots.
Source: Chalabala
symptoms and diagnosis
Hear that heavy drooling in your cat no longer occur, or you may notice other things about your cat that are not normal, it may be a disease. If your cat at the same time with stops eating, you should definitely find out the cause.
The most common diseases include inflammatory complaints in the mouth, diseases of the respiratory tract, but also foreign bodies and poisoning.
To the most important diseases of the oral cavity belong:
Mouth rot and gingivitis (Stomatitis or Gingivitis): The inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth (Stomatitis) or the gums (Gingivitis) go usually with a strongly reddened and swollen mucous membrane in the oral cavity. This is very painful and also often shows throughblood in the saliva of the animals. They are not only caused by bacteria, but can also be permanent (chronic) due to viruses, autoimmune diseases or genetic predisposition. Feline calicivirusThis viral pathogen is one of the most common causes the causative agent ofcat cold. It can cause ulceration of the lips and palate when infected. Dental diseases like z.B. FORL (feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions) is very common and denotes a decalcification of the tooth substance. Since the nerves are intact this process is very painful for the affected cats. In this disease, besides inflammation of the gums, you can find. tartar formation also indicates the degradation of the tooth substance (z.B.B. broken teeth).
Diseases of the oral cavity include mainly various inflammations of the mucous membranes and teeth. In these cases you observe not only that your cat drools more, but possibly also increasing Bad breath and perhaps even blood in the saliva has. In these cases, then swollen and reddened gums, or even severely discolored teeth detected become. Similarly, discomfort with the teeth can lead to loss of appetite or to lead to completely changed eating behavior. For example, your cat may suddenly meow repeatedly from hunger, but then stand in front of the full bowl and not eat, or eat only small amounts, shaking his head repeatedly. With some four-legged friends, it can also be observed that they are increasingly on the Jaw rubbing or discomfort when swallowing have. Some cats only chew with a crooked head posture. Let the food partly also fall out of the mouth again. When a foreign object is in a cat's oral cavity, in addition to salivating profusely, it may cause the cat's Can no longer close his mouth. Most cats then have a permanently open mouth. Depending on the location of the foreign body, try to bring it out by rubbing the jaw or constantly wheezing. With a cold or a Infection with cat cold it can also be that your cat drools more often. In addition to the changes for the z.B. the pathogen feline calicivirus are responsible (s. above) there are also other symptoms with respiratory diseases added. For this we have written a separate article for you.
In addition to the ingestion of Toxic medicines or eating poisonous plants, it can also come with unsuitable food to the fact that your cat drools increasingly. Of course, some cleaning products, pesticides and many others are also among the triggers of poisoning. In these cases, cats may still experience symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, movement disorders or muscle cramps show. Of course, depending on the toxin, there may be considerably more symptoms to go along with it. Mostly are free from poisoning affected.
Therapy
The Treatment depends on the cause. So, of course, poisonings are cared for very intensively. Foreign body in the mouth possibly even removed in surgery. Minor bacterial inflammations of the oral cavity or colds, on the other hand, can last with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs be treated.