One of our cats has recently started drooling. A LOT. At odd times, not when there is food around her necessarily. Seems to be when she is relaxed (like on my lap purring and sleeping). She is about 14 months old and healthy, a russian blue. I mean drops of drool falling down her face and wetting my clothes, her fur, etc. Started just the past few days. We haven't changed her food, water, schedule, litter or anything else.
Is this anything to be concerned about? Does she need to go to the vet if this doesn't go away?
Drooling dogs I've seen. Cats that drool this much is new to me. Not sure if there is any cause for concern. Opinions of cat-owners please??!?
Might want to call a vet and ask what they think.. maybe they can tell you if it's serious enough w/o you having to spend money.
HA! The drooling cat is here to answer your question:
I have a cat that drools. Sometimes A LOT. From what I've read, this is especially common in kittens that were taken away from their mother's before they were weaned. So when they are relaxed, being petted, doing their happy toes thing, they salivate because of a reflex they had when nursing.
My cat sticks his tongue out when I'm petting him too.
No idea! but this says call the vet and get it checked.
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My cat also drools when he is relaxed. He has done it for about 2 years now. The vet said it was age related (he's 12 now) and nothing to worry about.
As your cat is still quite young it might be an idea to to get it checked out. Sorry I can't be more help.
Thanks everyone. Yes, the two things that concern me are 1, she is only 14 months and 2, this just started. If she'd been doing it all along I wouldn't worry.
We have another cat that does that other kind of drooling that you mentioned, Pavlov (he was the runt and weaned too early and he still sort of attempts to nurse on me, and he's over 2 years old, drools when he does his "nursing" but has always done that).
This other one is worrying me though. I think we'll probably shell out the vet bucks to get her checked out. Thanks for the replies, keep them coming :) .
Original Post by pavlovcat:
HA! The drooling cat is here to answer your question:
I have a cat that drools. Sometimes A LOT. From what I've read, this is especially common in kittens that were taken away from their mother's before they were weaned. So when they are relaxed, being petted, doing their happy toes thing, they salivate because of a reflex they had when nursing.
My cat sticks his tongue out when I'm petting him too.
Hi - thank you! Do you think it would be normal for a 14 month old cat to start doing this? Vs. having done it all along.... she just started a few days ago.
I don't see any other symptoms indicating a problem. She is eating normally and so on. I will watch for hairballs, maybe she is getting ready to hack one up and that's why she is drooling too! Based on the article from andi.
Thanks again!
I know this doesn't help at all but after what pav said about "their happy toes thing" I think it's cute. We should all drool when we're happy like this
btw, I hope it's nothing serious
Too cute! Thanks for the smile, runyourlife :)
My cat Butter drools from time to time. He used to drool more when he was younger. I hate it when he drips drool on me. Gross! He was also weened way too early in that the mother cat died when he was 3 weeks old and was bottle fed after that until I adopted him at 8 weeks. He has lots of weird issues from not having a mother cat raise him.
My cat drools when she's really happy. Like if she's really enjoying being pet, you get slobber all over your hand. It's cute!
They drool when they're pleased or happy because they've lost the ability to suck the salive back into their throats once they're weaned. Sucking spit is a different muscle set than drinking water, so you end up with dribbles.
Cats also sometimes drool if they're nauseous, like when I unwittingly share my ice cream.
Could be dental problems. Have her teeth checked.
Original Post by april_bride:
Original Post by pavlovcat:
HA! The drooling cat is here to answer your question:
I have a cat that drools. Sometimes A LOT. From what I've read, this is especially common in kittens that were taken away from their mother's before they were weaned. So when they are relaxed, being petted, doing their happy toes thing, they salivate because of a reflex they had when nursing.
My cat sticks his tongue out when I'm petting him too.
Hi - thank you! Do you think it would be normal for a 14 month old cat to start doing this? Vs. having done it all along.... she just started a few days ago.
I don't see any other symptoms indicating a problem. She is eating normally and so on. I will watch for hairballs, maybe she is getting ready to hack one up and that's why she is drooling too! Based on the article from andi.
Thanks again!
My cat didn't start doing it until he was about a year. I'm Mama to him. I bottle fed him after his mother died. But I definitely didn't notice it until he was older and the first couple times it freaked me out until I read more about it on the internet.
The face that she's doing it when relaxed and happy makes me think it's nothing to worry about. If she was doing it all the time I would tend to think it was more of a dental problem or something.
I'm no expert but I don't have the money to bring my cats to the vet unless it's something serious and if this were my cat I wouldn't worry.
Our cat drooled because he had a bad tooth. He ate just fine. He looked just fine - but he had a bad molar.
And mine because he had a tumor.
So an update: the drooling cat I first posted about has stopped drooling. She did it for about 3-4 days then it stopped. Now another of our cats has started drooling, and way worse than the first cat. It's the cat that drooled normally, but now he is literally drooling puddles around himself. It's very disturbing. This is about the 2nd day of his new drooling affliction.
I'm wondering if the cats are passing around a cold or sickness of some kind? They have done that before with colds. One of them will sneeze for a couple days, then stop, then another will start then stop, then the third will start and stop.
My fiance took a flashlight and checked inside the three cats' mouths. We couldn't see anything amiss. But that doesn't mean there's not something wrong. However the fact that 2 cats within a week have started this crazy drooling thing, that makes me think it's a germ they are passing around and not a bad tooth or a tumor.
I still can't decide whether a vet check is needed. I think if the 2nd drooler (the one making puddles) is still doing it tonight when I get home, I may need to make an appt. to get him checked out tomorrow. I will be heartbroken if something serious is wrong -- with any of them.
