People who own dogs are quite familiar with their drooling. However, drooling is not only limited to dogs. Cats too may drool a lot in certain circumstances.
For instance, a cat that is scared may drool incessantly. Cats who feel motion sickness may also end up drooling profusely.
A cat may salivate, foam at the mouth, or appear nauseous when it is about to throw a fur ball.
The cat may seem visibly uncomfortable, smacking its lips and drooling. If your cat is drooling because of any of these causes, the drooling problem is short lived and will disappear as swiftly as it appeared. However, if there is no apparent reason that you can think of and your cat continues to drool, it may be a sign of a deeper underlying problem.
Drooling in older cats may occur due to a variety of reasons. However, the two major reasons that can be attributed to such drooling are dental or oral problems or problems in any of the vital organs in the body. Pain and nausea are precursors to drooling and if the oral problems of the cat are of a neurologic nature, they may interfere with swallowing. This usually causes an overflow of saliva.
As the cats grow older, they may begin to experience problems in their dental structure. In a lot of cases, cats also experience broken and decayed teeth. Gum diseases or the formation of oral ulcers and tumors are also often associated with problems in the mouth. If a cat has some kind of foreign matter stuck in the mouth, it can cause decay and therefore, excessive salivation. A cyst in the salivary gland may impair the cat’s control on the salivary glands, causing the organs to produce excessive saliva. To detect oral problems, you should look for accompanying signs like foul breath, refusal to eat food or difficulty in eating, appearance of blood in the saliva, or pawing the mouth. Sometimes, drooling may be the only sign of the problem.
The cat may also drool profusely if it suffers from a disorder of the esophagus, intestines or stomach. In some cases, if there is a blockage in the alimentary canal, the cat may salivate a lot. A rare liver disorder, known as the portosystemic shunt may also cause salivation. A cat, who has experienced renal failure or has had excessive exposure to toxic chemicals, may also exhibit drooling as a symptom. Foaming at the mouth and excessive drooling along with display of aggression could be a sign of rabies.
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