It doesn’t take much for dogs to start drooling – a scent of delicious food and begging for a taste will do the trick. While this is normal for dogs, we don’t normally think of a cat drooling, so when they do what causes it?
Excited or nervous
Some cats just can’t contain their excitement and they will start drooling. If they are super nervous, they may also drool. In this case, it’s normal and this is usually a behavior that the cat has had since being a kitten and it is something they will always do.
Medications
It’s not uncommon for medications to make cats drool. When your cat has a wellness exam at the veterinarian’s office, your veterinarian may want to deworm your cat with an oral medication (especially if they hunt). It is not uncommon for this to make your cat drool, but to decrease the chance of drooling, always give 1 mL to 2 mL of water after giving your cat medication.
Foul Taste
If something doesn’t taste good to your cat, drooling is not uncommon. It the same sense if giving a flavored medication, but your cat isn’t a fan. To avoid this, take not of tastes your cat does enjoy, like Tuna.
Toxins
Drooling can be a symptom of ingesting a toxic substance. If your kitty leads a full or partial outdoor lifestyle, they are more inclined in eating something toxic. This can include eating a mouse that has ingested poison. If you observe drooling in your cat and they do tend to roam outdoors, you should call your veterinarian. Lilies are extremely poisonous to cats and ingestion can be deadly if not treated right away. If you know what your cat ate, call your veterinarian right away and a call to poison control as well.
Oral Pain
Dental health is just as important in our cat’s lives as it is in our own. Drooling can be a symptom of oral pain and could even be directly related to an abscessed or infected tooth. If your cat is suffering from oral pain and is drooling, a poor appetite, rubbing at their mouth and not wanting chin scratches could also be signs of oral pain. If you believe your cat is drooling due to a bad tooth, contact your veterinarian. To try and help prevent oral pain or dental disease, keep up with yearly preventative care, oral screenings and dental cleanings. Proper dental health can add years onto your cat’s life as well as be a fix to drooling because of bad teeth.
Drooling in cats is not normal behavior for all our feline friends. As a rule of thumb, if your cat has drooled from the time they were just a kitten until now, it’s probably normal. If your cat just started drooling and has never done it before, they may be telling you something is wrong, contact your veterinarian and schedule an exam right away for a diagnosis and treatment.