Last month I took my cat to the vet for a check-up. The vet said he had a bad tooth that needed extracted. We took him in a couple days later for the surgery. When we went to pick him up the vet told us that she took an x-ray and it turned out his tooth was still in good shape and didn't need extracted. She cleaned his teeth instead and said everything was fine. It's been 3 weeks and it seems like he is drooling more than usual. Is that common after a dental cleaning?
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Cat Drooling After Cleaning
- Thread starter amanda702
- Start Date
Hi. How is he otherwise - drinking/eating/playing/using the litterbox? How old is he? Was he given any antibiotics along with the teeth cleaning?
I have zero experience with this, but I would think 3 weeks later is way too long to consider a simple teeth cleaning would cause long term drooling.
There are many members on this site that have a background with teeth cleaning, not to mention dental issues. @daftcat75 comes to mind, I am sure there many others as well. They will eventually come along soon, see your post, and have some first hand information to share with you. Just be patient and check back often.
I have zero experience with this, but I would think 3 weeks later is way too long to consider a simple teeth cleaning would cause long term drooling.
There are many members on this site that have a background with teeth cleaning, not to mention dental issues. @daftcat75 comes to mind, I am sure there many others as well. They will eventually come along soon, see your post, and have some first hand information to share with you. Just be patient and check back often.
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- #3
He was given antibiotics after his cleaning. I'm not for sure if they were for his teeth or a scrape he had on his chest. I'm not sure of his age. He came with my house when I bought it. The vet estimates he is 7. He seems fine otherwise. I would notice him drooling some before his cleaning - mostly when he was happy and being petted - just not as much as after the cleaning. This is my first experience with a cat and cleanings, and I don't know what to expect.
Three weeks is too long, if this is from the procedure. However, some cats are just droolers, and it is also possible that the cleaning relieved some discomfort, and now he's happier and drooling more. We'll certainly hope that's the case. If everything else is normal, I'd suggest calling the vet and reporting the increased drooling along with an absence of other symptoms, and ask if he should be brought in for a recheck. HOWEVER...if ANYTHING else is off about him, go ahead and make that appointment!
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- #5
Just wanted to post a quick update. I took him back to the vet yesterday for a recheck. She seems a little puzzled by his continued drooling as well. His teeth are fine, he has no fever, he's eating and drinking and playing as usual. She gave him an antibiotic shot and an additive to put in his water, and said to bring him back in a week or two for another recheck.
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Its toxins from some chemical. amonia, tea tree, bleach, my cat just died today from kidney failure, she drooled for one day and then refused to eat but drank water. Take your cat to the vet get the kidney and liver checked out and do blood tests. They thought my cat had a mouth infection or severe teeth problems and gave her Cefovecine antibiotic, 3 days later i took my cat back to the vet and there is no infection and her teeth is 100 percent fine. The issue was kidney failure . Toxins can cause drooling and kidney failure or liver damage. Monday 5 days ago she was bouncing around, eating and drinking for a 19 year old cat there was nothing wrong with her until the drooling started on Tuesday morning she wouldnt eat but drink, meowed like she was in some pain and wouldnt open her mouth. Wednesday she went to vet given cefvocine and meloxicam told it was a mouth infection for rotten teeth. Came home, still didnt eat but drank only thursday, friday same thing, saturday she was put down, vet opened her mouth and found no infection , just that she was dehydrated severely and was in kidney failure.
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- #7
I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty passing away.
Mine has been drooling for over a month now. He would drool before, but not as much as now. I'm gong to ask his vet if his kidneys are ok.
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Do a blood test. Or a Toxicity test. If your cat starts to stop eating but will drink only then there is either a toxin in the body or kidney failure. Your cat is only 7 years old so he shouldn't have kidney disease on his own. Something toxic is causing this.
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- #10
He had x-rays taken on Feb 25th when he was scheduled for a tooth extraction. The vet said the x-rays showed that his tooth wasn't as bad as she originally thought and she cleaned all of his teeth instead. When I took him back to her on Thursday for a recheck, he had gained a pound since last month too. The drooling isn't a constant thing either. Sometimes he doesn't do it for several hours at a time. He also only drools out of the left side of his mouth and that's the side the nasty looking tooth was on.
Keep an eye on that bad tooth. Cats can, and do, drool for LOTS of reasons, some of them quite serious, but many are a bit of nothing...up to and including "he just dools a lot." I mentioned before, I had a cat many years ago who drooled like a Mastiff dog. Not a thing wrong with him, he just drooled. And if you stroked him just right, he'd make you a swimming pool in 10 minutes flat.
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- #12
The drooling has decreased some since his last appointment. He has an appointment for a recheck at the end of the week. I can't help thinking his tooth is the cause of this. When his vet showed me his tooth in February, it was almost black in color and had a lot of redness around it. I was quite surprised when she said the x-ray showed the tooth didn't have to come out. I'm thinking if he is still drooling next week I might take him to another vet for a second opinion. If another vet says the tooth is fine then I'll just accept him as a drooler and keep lots of paper towels around.
I think a second opinion is an excellent idea. And DO mention that the drooling is on the same side as the black tooth! Keep us posted!
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- #14
I wanted to post another update. Over the weekend my cat started drooling blood tinged saliva. He stopped eating and drinking and was not in good shape at all. I took him to see a different vet. It turns out his teeth are not the problem. The vet discovered the front portion of his tongue was dead and brown. She believes he chewed into an electrical wire and was shocked. His tongue had been slowly dying off and we had no idea. We were all under the assumption that the drooling was related to the dental cleaning. The vet called me today and said he has been eating on his own today. He's not out of the woods by any means but he does get to come home tonight.
OMG! Please look into covers for the wires. Just because he got hurt by chewing on them doesn't mean he won't try again.
OH NO! Of all the things it COULD have been, that would never have occured to me! So glad he caught it and that all will be well. There are lots of sources for cord covers, so do look into that, and give him a skritch for me, poor guy!
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wow, i would have never thought of your cat chewing on a wire would cause this. Ouch !! Explains why your cats tooth is black it got burnt from the shock , and your poor cat would have gotten a bad shock through his body as well. What are they going to do with his tongue , amputate it or see if it will heal on its own ? Poor kitty I am glad you finally found out what happened. I hope your cat recovers from this and gets healthy again . And yes check for wires in the house as well as outside the house if he is an outdoor cat. Truly amazing that your cat survived from the shock too.
I am glad you finally found out what happened. I hope your cat recovers from this and gets healthy again . And yes check for wires in the house as well as outside the house if he is an outdoor cat. Truly amazing that your cat survived from the shock too.- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #18
The bad portion of his tongue detached today. Now it's a waiting game to see if the rest of his tongue remains healthy. He was eating on his own today which is a good sign but I have not witnessed him drink water yet. The vet told us she can't say for sure if he will ultimately survive this or not. I'm wondering if maybe someone near us has an electric fence around their garden and he got into it. He is a neighborhood cat that I have been working on taming down for 4 years now so it is hard for me to know what he does. I'm just glad he is tame enough for me to get in a pet taxi and take to a vet. For now I have him confined to our screened in patio area and hopefully I can transition him into a house cat one day.
I'm more happy than you can know to know that he has you. As a neighborhood cat, God KNOWS what happened to him! But now, he's safe, he's loved, and he has the best chance of surviving this that he possibly could have.
What is this little boy's name, please?
He does need to drink, although if he is eating wet, he'll get much of his needs there. You CAN syringe water if necessary.
What is this little boy's name, please?
He does need to drink, although if he is eating wet, he'll get much of his needs there. You CAN syringe water if necessary.
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- #20
His name is Nellie. I thought he was a girl for the first year he was here and the name had already stuck by the time I discovered he's actually a neutered male. I posted his picture on my profile. He's a very sweet guy and I hate that this happened to him. We've heard from other people that he used to live around an abandoned house on the other side of town before coming to our house. I have been syringe feeding him high calorie prescription food this week. Some times he manages to swallow it. Other times he spits it out or digs it out of his mouth with his foot. I keep water, wet food, and dry food moistened with water near him at all times. I can tell he tries to eat the wet and dry foods but I'm unsure if he actually eats it or just spreads it around everywhere attempting to eat. He lost almost half of his entire tongue and my fear is it was just too much. He has moments where he wants to try, and then other times I can tell he has just given up. He has a vet appointment in the morning so hopefully we'll know more then.
