The cat has a wet mouth. Why do cats salivate excessively?

Drooling is caused by excess saliva that begins to drip from the animal's mouth. Saliva is constantly produced by the salivary glands. Excessive production or secretion of saliva is called hypersalivation (or ptyalism). Oral problems and central nervous system disorders are the most common causes of ptyalism and subsequent drooling. There are times when normal saliva production may seem excessive in animals with an anatomical abnormality that allows saliva to drip from the mouth. This condition is called false ptyalism. There are many causes of drooling in cats, often harmless but sometimes very serious.

Normally, healthy cats do not drool. However, some pets drool when they are petted and caressed or are about to be fed. The sight or smell of certain foods may cause these cats to salivate if they find the food extremely attractive and tempting.

Other pets drool when they are very nervous. When a cat feels stressed, she will begin to lick herself excessively as this helps her calm down. This licking can promote increased salivation.

Also, some cats begin to salivate when they know they are going to be given a bad tasting drug or an injection (this is psychological). Well, saliva will definitely start flowing if you give a cat a bitter and tasteless medicine. For example, no-shpa tablets always cause profuse salivation, as do deworming medications.

Some cats suffer from motion sickness (which can cause them to drool when traveling). Foaming at the mouth may occur in a cat who is feeling nauseous or vomiting (particularly due to a buildup of hairballs in the stomach).

All these reasons lead to drooling, which is usually mild and does not last long. But if your cat is drooling or foaming at the mouth for no apparent reason, if the drooling persists for more than an hour and a half, or if there are other symptoms, then it's time to call the vet. If drooling is not normal and typical for your cat and it suddenly starts, it may be a sign that something is wrong with your cat.

Causes of drooling in cats may include:

· Poisoning;

· Infection or damage to the salivary glands, salivary gland cyst;

· Dental problems (gum disease, dental abscess, etc.);

· Foreign object in the mouth;

· Leukemia;

· Heart attack;

· Abscess;

· (if, in addition to drooling, the animal behaves inappropriately);

· Pseudorabies ( false rabies);

· (,), especially if drooling is accompanied by watery eyes and runny nose, sneezing, fever, loss of appetite;

· Heat stroke (hyperthermia);

· oral cavity;

· Portosystemic shunt (liver shunt);

· ;

· Poisoning from certain poisons (for example, insecticides, flea sprays, or arsenic);

· Eating certain species of lizards and toads;

· A wasp or bee sting (if the cat tries to hunt and eat these insects);

· Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (inflammation of the esophagus, tumor of the esophagus, hiatal hernia, bloating, stomach ulcer);

· Nausea;

· Botulism;

· Tetanus.

Diagnostics

As you can see, there are many different reasons for excessive salivation. When contacting your veterinarian, you will need to provide as much detail as possible about your cat's health, including its vaccinations, medications, possible exposure to toxins, and other symptoms associated with drooling. Your doctor will need to differentiate between drooling caused by difficulty swallowing and drooling from nausea, accompanied by smacking and gagging. A complete physical and neurological examination of your cat should also be performed, with special attention to the mouth and neck. Diagnostic tools may include x-rays and ultrasound to determine if there are problems in the structure of the liver or any other internal organs. If an immune disorder is suspected, your veterinarian may also want to perform a tissue and cell biopsy.

Treatment

Your veterinarian will treat the underlying cause of ptyalism once it is identified and diagnosed. Depending on the cause of the drooling, your veterinarian will want to monitor and examine your cat as often as necessary to ensure that treatment is effective.

Increased salivation before eating is normal. Even if the cat is not hungry, when it smells something delicious, it may well begin to salivate.

A lot of saliva is also released if the cat has eaten something tasteless: a bitter pill, spicy or simply tasteless food - this is how the animal’s body reflexively tries to get rid of what it considers poor-quality food.

During licking, salivation also increases. And, if you interrupt the washing process, the cat will drool. Increased salivation accompanies the process of getting rid of hairballs accumulated in the stomach.

Stress often causes the salivary glands to temporarily stop working. If the negative impact was short-term, then in the process of adapting to a stressful situation, the salivary glands at the first moment may secrete more saliva than usual. That is why, after experiences, cats begin to lick themselves vigorously. Another cause of excess salivation during stress is nausea.

Many people wonder why a cat drools from its mouth when it is petted. At the same time, the already unnecessary sucking reflex is triggered: experiencing pleasant emotions, the animal remembers its early childhood, when the mother cat fed and licked her kitten. And the sucking reflex enhances the secretory function of the salivary glands. By the way, there is a pattern: the less the kitten suckled its mother, the more in adulthood the cat drools during moments of affection.

When is drooling a cause for concern?

Typically, natural reflex reactions are short-lived, go away on their own and are not accompanied by other symptoms. But if a cat drools from its mouth for a long time or immediately very much, looks like foam, and is accompanied by some strange symptoms, an urgent diagnosis is needed. The cause of increased salivation can be various infectious diseases, pathologies of the digestive system, poisoning and trauma to the pharynx and oral cavity, and dental problems.

Hypersalivation or ptyalimsis requires urgent diagnosis, since some diseases are dangerous not only for the animal, but also for others.

Infectious diseases

The causes of ptyalism in infectious diseases are multidimensional:

• nausea;
• ulcers and other problems with the oral mucosa;
• rhinitis or;
• damage to the nervous system.

This symptom should be treated very carefully, since sometimes, with atypical infections, hypersalivation is the only symptom. However, most often, hypersalivation during infections complements the characteristic clinical picture - and among other symptoms, fever, symptoms of dehydration and intoxication, and others typical of a particular disease are most often encountered. Moreover, with some diseases, the cat drools at those stages when treatment is already delayed.

Poisoning

As a rule, any poisoning is accompanied by increased activity of the salivary glands - this is a kind of protective reaction of the body to a harmful substance. If there is a suspicion of poisoning, you should consult a doctor immediately, because sometimes minutes count. Each chemical substance has its own symptomatic complex. However, without experience, it is difficult to independently determine the cause of poisoning and even distinguish poisoning from an infectious disease - the main symptoms (,) are similar, and time can be lost.

Injuries

Any injury to the pharynx and oral cavity will be accompanied by increased salivation - this is also a protective reaction, since saliva has bactericidal and wound-healing properties. Sometimes minor injuries to the oral cavity do not require serious treatment - the action of saliva is sufficient. But the help of a doctor is still required, since the cause of the injury may be a foreign object that needs to be removed.

Dental problems

The cat drools from its mouth even because of ordinary caries, which is also accompanied by damage to the oral mucosa. Dental problems in themselves do not pose a serious danger. But advanced caries and other dental diseases can lead to their loss: this is a serious problem for a cat, since it will not be able to eat normally.

Internal illnesses

Most often, hypersalivation is a consequence of nausea and is more typical for diseases of the digestive tract. However, it can be a symptom of other pathologies: kidney disease, tumors. But even if the owner knows about the diagnosis, a symptom of which may be hypersalivation, it still doesn’t hurt to clarify the diagnosis. Why? It is possible that your cat is drooling more for another reason.

There is always saliva in the cat's mouth, but it begins to flow out if it no longer fits in the cavity. This happens for two main reasons - when more saliva is produced than usual, and when it is not swallowed. In this case, saliva can flow down in drops, strands, or roll up in the form of foam.

When you definitely shouldn't worry

A cat may drool if it smells very tasty food. This is a completely normal reaction. After all, this is how the body prepares to digest food.

Drooling also occurs when something very tasteless comes into contact with a cat's tongue. Many owners have encountered this phenomenon when they gave their cat deworming tablets. In this case, the animal can fill all surrounding objects with foam from saliva.

Also, salivation occurs before regurgitation of a hairball, which is perceived by the stomach as a foreign object. To avoid this, you need to give your cat malt paste.

Nausea with drooling also occurs in cats that are seasick. Such animals need special preparation for the trip. There are also cats that drool from pleasure. The owner can determine this when he sees regular drooling in the absence of any bad manifestations.

Excessive saliva production during painful conditions

Then there are more terrible reasons. Increased salivation occurs in cats gagging. The reason for this can be both poisoning and manifestations of internal diseases. Nausea and vomiting accompany gastritis and gastroenteritis, as well as kidney and liver pathologies. In these cases, other symptoms are also visible - refusal of food and water, lethargy. Sometimes the temperature is elevated.

Painful sensations in cats are visible not only by dilated pupils, but also, often, by drool flowing from the corners of the mouth. Typical signs of feline pancreatitis include refusal to eat, nausea, drooling, and the desire to lie down on a cold floor.

Oral diseases(for example, stomatitis or tartar) are often accompanied by increased salivation. In order to detect this reason, it is enough to open the cat’s mouth (with gloves so as not to exchange bacteria).

A fish bone stuck in the teeth also causes a profuse flow of saliva, which stops once the cause is eliminated.

Various pathologies of the salivary glands, for example, a cyst or injury, lead to the continuous flow of saliva. In this case, the liquid may have a reddish or yellowish tint, an unpleasant odor, or may be no different from ordinary saliva.

There is also a group of cancer diseases manifested by excessive salivation. In this case, masses of tissue may be found in the oral cavity, but they may not be visible. Most of these cases in cats are associated with decreased appetite or unusual thinness.

Contagious diseases of cats that make them slobber

A host of cat infections can cause increased salivation. These are infections of the stomach and intestines, upper respiratory tract, and oral cavity. In this case, the owner may also notice coughing or vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and the cat’s desire to hide in a corner.

Eg, calicivirus In cats, it causes ulcers on the tongue and gums. At the same time, saliva flows from the mouth almost continuously.

Rabies is one of the most terrible diseases common to humans and animals. Unfortunately, rabies in cats is not always accompanied by standard signs. It happens that the animal only notices drooling. Rabies infection should be suspected in any cat bitten by an unknown person that has not previously been vaccinated. It is clear that the home-vaccinated Tuzik does not transmit this terrible virus with his saliva. Country cats are especially often infected with rabies.

It should be remembered that cats are vaccinated against infectious rhinotracheitis and calicivirus, as well as against panleukopenia and rabies at any veterinary hospital. The remaining infectious diseases remain at the mercy of the animal’s immunity.

For what reasons may a cat not swallow saliva?

If a cat cannot swallow saliva, which is produced by the salivary glands in normal quantities, then the saliva hangs in strands at the corners of the mouth or merges into “ waterfalls" The voice may become hoarse, and breathing may become heavy and whistling.

All conditions leading to impaired swallowing of saliva are urgent, that is, they require the immediate intervention of a competent veterinarian or paramedic. These conditions include: laryngeal edema, esophageal edema, heat stroke, foreign object in the pharynx or larynx, tetanus.

There is neither time nor opportunity to determine what specific type of lesion a cat has. However, we need to remember what preceded this state. This information will be very useful to a veterinarian.

Spasm and swelling of the larynx often occur when a cat is bitten by poisonous insects. This can happen if, for example, a cat played with a bee and swallowed it while still alive. The captive can finally sting the cat directly in the throat.

Mechanical trauma to the larynx (impact, puncture) can cause such severe swelling that the cat’s voice simply disappears.

Heatstroke occurs in cats that do not have shelter or access to water on a very hot day. In urban environments, heat stroke strikes cats forgotten in the car.

Any object that the cat chooses to play with can become a foreign body in the pharynx. In the excitement, the animal may not even notice how some piece of wood ends up across its throat.

Tetanus It is rare in cats. This is due to the fact that more and more owners are turning to hospitals due to injuries. After all, as you know, tetanus develops in cases where the body has stale wounds infected with tetanus bacilli. Cleaning fresh wounds is sufficient to prevent tetanus in cats. If an infection is suspected, the doctor may also suggest administering tetanus toxoid to the animal. This is a small subcutaneous injection.

So what should you do if your cat is drooling?

First of all, you need to calm down and mobilize. After all, drooling does not start out of the blue. You need to remember whether the cat is vaccinated and whether anyone has bitten it. If there are any signs of poor general condition, and drooling has been going on for more than a quarter of an hour, then the animal should be immediately shown to a doctor.

A good owner is obliged to carefully monitor the health of his pet. Common occurrences may be signs of illness or injury. These things include excessive salivation, so you need to be careful and know some nuances in advance in order to understand why your cat is drooling, whether it is safe and how to deal with this problem.

What is the norm of saliva secretion?

There are times when it is normal for a cat to drool. Saliva is an important fluid in the body that performs a number of functions: protects teeth, gums and oral mucosa from damage, facilitates chewing food by lubricating or gluing it, facilitates swallowing, has a bactericidal effect, and much more. That is why, in some cases, copious amounts of saliva should not cause you concern, namely:

• when an animal sees food or smells it;
• during feeding;
• while chewing food;
• when she is stroked and your pet enjoys it;
• Current drooling in a cat can be observed when taking tasteless and bitter medications (for example, no-shpa or deworming medications);
• with strong nervous feelings.

The amount of saliva produced usually only increases slightly if the cat's health is good. Usually, saliva can be seen a little on the fur around the mouth, but if the process lasts longer than 10-15 minutes and there is much more drool, you should start to worry.

The process of secreting saliva or drooling is called salivation., therefore, if you notice any abnormalities regarding this phenomenon and decide to see a doctor, do not be alarmed if he diagnoses hypersalivation or ptyalism. These scary words just mean that the cat is drooling more than it should from its mouth.

Causes of excessive salivation

Before treating your pet, you should figure out why the cat is drooling, in other words, find the irritant and find out why this is happening. The reasons why a cat has hanging salivation can be very different - ranging from any damage in the oral cavity or digestive tract to viral diseases.

1. Most often this occurs due to the accumulation of hair in the stomach. Cats are very clean animals, they take care of themselves and groom themselves often.
2. Already during licking, more saliva may be released than usual, and along with it, fur enters the esophagus, and over time, a lump of quite impressive size may form. What does drool have to do with it? It's simple - you need to burp it up, and it's difficult to do this without additional saliva.
3. The next most popular cause is poisoning. If you know your cat well, then you should know that they love to eat what they “caught”. Unfortunately, their “trophies” are not always healthy or safe, and often cause excessive salivation.
4. Cats often drool when they have allergies. If for some reason you decide to change your pet’s food, and during adaptation there is a large amount of saliva, nausea or vomiting - these are signs of allergy or poisoning.
5. A foreign body in the throat or esophagus can also cause a large amount of saliva to be released.
6. If a cat has any mechanical damage in the oral cavity, there are also neoplasms or ulcers, wounded cheeks or lips, sore teeth or damaged enamel.
7. Viral and oncological diseases.

One of the worst causes of excessive salivation is rabies. Hypersalivation is a symptom of this disease. In addition, the animal may be afraid of light, be aggressive or, on the contrary, overly affectionate, appetite changes, etc. Rabies is incurable, but it is quite difficult for a cat living in an apartment to catch it, especially since today they are regularly vaccinated to prevent the development of this disease.

Symptoms and signs

Suspended drooling is accompanied by a number of other physiological changes that are not so difficult to notice:

• at various viral diseases or diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, loss of appetite is observed. That is, if your cat has no desire to eat, but saliva is released in sufficiently large quantities, you should be wary, consult a doctor and take action;
• if your pet dental problems, oral cavity or digestive system, he may refuse solid foods that he previously ate with great pleasure. Food may fall out of the mouth, the animal may hold its head in an unusual position;
• behavior may change. Like a person, a cat may experience some discomfort during illness and, as a result, be irritable and aggressive;
• vomiting or nausea;
• the cat has difficulty swallowing;
• Bad breath may appear;
• if the cat is in pain or any discomfort in the oral cavity, she will often rub her muzzle;
• A variety of neurological symptoms may appear.

So, we figured out why a cat has bad breath and drooling, what the symptoms are and what this can lead to. All that remains is to figure out what to do to cure your pet.

Treatment

If you see your cat drooling from its mouth in very large quantities, you should immediately contact your veterinarian. Only he can make a correct diagnosis. Listed above are many reasons for excessive salivation, and depending on them, treatment is prescribed.

A professional will conduct a full examination, including the oral cavity, and will be able to tell exactly why your cat is drooling so much and what to do about it. If some foreign object gets into the mouth, pharynx or esophagus, the doctor will be able to quickly remove it, which is very difficult to do at home.

If the cause of a large amount of saliva is any disease, the specialist will prescribe treatment and give recommendations on how to achieve a speedy recovery for your pet.

Here are some tips you need to know and implement if you want to as soon as possible. return your pet's saliva production to normal:

• the very first thing is to hide all substances, drugs and preparations that are dangerous to its health in a place inaccessible to the cat;
• give more fluid so that the animal’s metabolism is activated and there is no dehydration;
• Products should be introduced into the cat’s diet gradually, starting only with liquid food;
• In order not to aggravate the situation and avoid its recurrence, carefully monitor what you feed your cat: you should not give it bony fish or food that may contain small hard pieces;
• if there is any damage to the oral cavity, it must be promptly treated with disinfectants;
• When treating your pet's fur for fleas and ticks, put a bandage on the cat's neck to prevent the cat from licking the preparation from the fur.

If salivation decreases, the amount of saliva gradually returns to normal, then all the doctor’s recommendations are being followed, and your pet is on the mend.

Bottom line

Drooling in a cat is quite common, but fortunately its causes are very rarely life-threatening.. Most often this happens due to the carelessness of the owners and the curiosity of the animals themselves. But, if you still encounter a problem with saliva secretion, quick and qualified help from a specialist will help solve all the issues. All that is required of the owner is to be attentive and take care of his cat. During the period of illness, she needs your love just like regular treatment; it won’t cost you anything, but it will help the animal a lot.

In domestic cats, like in other mammals, the process of salivation is physiological in nature.

When is salivation normal in cats?

The secretion of saliva in the oral cavity in healthy animals increases in the following cases:

• before feeding,
• when smelling an attractive food odor,
• while eating.

At the same time, you will not see how the cat drools from its mouth. Normally, this process occurs inside, in the cat's mouth.

Can a cat drool with pleasure when you pet it?

It is not uncommon for a cat to notice a slight salivation when being petted. When the animal is in the mood for affection and purrs, the secretion of saliva from pleasure may increase slightly. But, nevertheless, it will be limited to a slightly damp pug near the mouth.

If the cat drools more profusely - so much that it can be seen with the naked eye - and for a long time - more than 10-15 minutes - then it’s not a matter of pleasure at all!

How can you tell if your cat is salivating excessively?

If you see that your pet has a wet face and neck, the fur on its chest is matted with wet icicles, the cat often swallows, rubs its muzzle on the furniture, constantly washes itself, and after sleeping wet spots remain on its bedding, it means that your animal has excessive salivation. .

Causes of excessive drooling that are not related to diseases

Let's look at the reasons for excess salivation in cats:

Accumulation of hairballs in the stomach

Cats are very clean and regularly do their toileting, that is, lick themselves. In the process of licking, fur can get into the oral cavity, esophagus and, further, into the stomach. Over time, an impressive hairball accumulates there, which demands to be regurgitated.

Why is the cat drooling at this moment? The fact is that vomiting a hairball is not always easy. Therefore, in preparation for this moment, cats salivate more.

Poisoning

Another cause of excessive salivation in cats is poisoning. You've probably noticed more than once that pets really love to feast on what they think they're hunting for.

Inappropriate food

And these could be flies, and cockroaches, and a piece of food unsuitable for cats, and pills for people that fell from the owner’s table, and even rats, mice and birds on the street, if your pet roams freely.

Medicines

A cat can also become poisoned by licking fur treated with flea medication, or react to medication such as an anthelmintic.

Household chemicals

Chemical poisoning in a cat can be caused by any household chemical: washing powder, dishwashing or floor detergent - anything that is kept within easy reach of a curious animal.

The animal may simply taste it, may inhale fumes or suspended matter in the air, or may decide that the floor or household furniture after special cleaning, from the cat’s point of view, has become dirty and smells bad, and they definitely need to be licked.

Poisonous plants

House plants can also cause cat poisoning. The juice of some of them is poisonous. It is known, for example, that if a baby mammal of any kind appears in your house, be it a crawling baby, a puppy or a kitten, you need to get rid of Dieffenbachia.

And if you notice that the kitten is drooling, and the leaves or flowers of the plant have been eaten, it is likely that he was poisoned by them.

Observing other manifestations of the disease will help you understand that the cause of drooling is poisoning: it will not be limited to just excessive drooling, the cat will be lethargic, he will experience vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.

Allergy

For some reason you changed your pet's food. Temporarily or forever, it happened. This may also explain why your cat is drooling. Difficult adaptation to a new diet, possible nausea or vomiting, excessive salivation are indicators of either poisoning or an allergic reaction.

Foreign body in the throat or esophagus

If you feed your cat food from your table, he may swallow a fish or chicken bone. Or, while playing, you accidentally swallow something small and hard, for example, part of a toy.

A foreign object irritates the mucous membrane of the pharynx or esophagus, causes pain, the pet tries to cough up and induce vomiting. In this case, the cat drools from its mouth, does not eat anything, drinks a lot and sits with its head bowed.

Similar reactions can be observed if a foreign object gets stuck in the cat’s mouth: it sticks into soft tissue or gets stuck between the teeth.

The drooling will stop either when the pet regurgitates the foreign body or if it is pushed further into the stomach.

Diseases that cause cats to drool excessively from the mouth

Rabies

Along with some cancers, this is the most terrible diagnosis possible, since it is fatal and incurable.

In modern conditions, it is very difficult for an urban domestic cat to catch rabies. Firstly, there is vaccination against viral diseases, including rabies. Secondly, rabies is contagious, which means it can only be transmitted from an infected animal, which is unlikely at home.

In addition to increased salivation, rabies in a cat is accompanied by changes in behavior: it becomes unusually aggressive or, conversely, affectionate; demonstrates strange and unusual manifestations of appetite - eats non-stop or practically loses it. The animal develops hydrophobia and convulsions occur.

In this case, the only option is to take the cat to the veterinarian to have it euthanized.

Other viral diseases

Fever, gastrointestinal problems, coughing, sneezing, discharge from the nose and eyes in addition to excessive drooling are all symptoms of viral diseases.

Their true nature can only be determined by a veterinarian by ordering a laboratory test of swabs from the throat, nose, eyes and ears.

Dental diseases

If a cat is drooling and has bad breath, chews slowly and carefully, and does not allow himself to be stroked on the head, this may be a consequence of dental and/or gum disease.

You should contact your veterinarian to examine your pet's mouth for tooth decay, plaque or tartar, gingivitis, and other dental problems.

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

Gastritis, exacerbation of ulcers, colitis, dysfunction of the gallbladder or spleen in a cat - all this can be accompanied by excessive salivation.

Worms or helminthiasis

Diabetes

This disease provokes thirst. The animal begins to drink a lot, excess fluid is eliminated through increased salivation and urination.

Tumors

The development of cancer in the gastrointestinal tract, oral cavity, excretory system, blood or brain of a cat can also be accompanied by excessive salivation.

In addition to the diseases listed above, excessive salivation is possible if your pet has developed:

• heart attack,
• botulism,
• tetanus,
• chronic renal failure.

What to do if your cat is drooling?

If you find that your pet is drooling heavily and the drooling does not stop for a long time, please do not put off visiting your veterinarian!

It is very good if the cause turns out to be insignificant and easily removable, but even this needs to be established accurately. This can only be done by a specialist, a veterinarian. He will order the necessary tests and then explain in detail how to treat your pet!