Sudden excessive drool

[NewKitty18]

I'm currently waiting on a call back from my vet to see if we need to go to the emergency vet, but was wondering if any of you have advice.

I noticed this morning that one of my cats is drooling excessively. Like he keeps having these strings of drool hanging from his mouth.

He's eating and using the litter. The only other issue is he seems less perky than usual, though. I can't think of anything he might've eaten that would be causing issues. My only thought is we have a stray cat we rescued a month or two ago and the two of them have been tussling a bit. No noticeable spats, but I guess it's possible he hurt his mouth. The new cat is fully vaccinated and seems healthy, so I don't think it would be anything contagious, but who knows.

Any ideas? And do you think the emergency vet is a good idea?

 

[Caspers Human]

Some cats drool when they are happy. Our cat, Casper, does.

When I'm sitting at my computer working or goofing off on the internet, he'll jump up on my desk for attention and, when I pet him, he'll start leaving puddles of drool on the desk.

How long has your cat been drooling? When Casper does drools, it only lasts for a few minutes. If your cat drools for more than a short time, that's something to be concerned about.

Does your cat drool when you pet him, play with him or snuggle? If so, it's probably because he's happy. If he just drools and drools for no reason, that's a concern.

You mention a new cat. If the new cat transmitted something to the old cat, both would likely be showing symptoms. Like you say, they are fully vaccinated. Both cats? Yes?

Since you've also eliminated the possibility of the cat getting into any poisons, it's likely not that. You still might want to make a check around the house, just to be sure. Look for signs that the cat has been getting into places.

After that, the only other thing I can think of is an injury. I think you've covered that angle, too.

If your cat drools once in a while, especially when he's happy, playing or getting attention, there's nothing to worry about.

If it happens a lot, for no apparent reason, maybe you should at least give the vet a ring on the phone.

 

[NewKitty18]

We've got a happy drooler too, but it's not this guy. Our vet called back and said that as long as it's his only symptom it's non-urgent, so I'll just keep an eye on him for now. One possibility I thought of is that my husband has been treating some of our house plants with a non-toxic spray that probably tastes awful. So maybe he got a mouthful of that and just hasn't been able to clear the taste. I gave him a treat to see if that helps.

 

[Caspers Human]

Yeah, if there's something on the houseplants and the cat chews on them it's quite possible that it could make the cat drool.

What are you spraying on the plants? Is it a deterrent of some kind? If it is, then, that's probably a good thing. It teaches the cat to avoid the plants. If it's some kind of insecticide or fertilizer then you might want to think about eliminating that spray.

In our house, cats are allowed to chew on plants. We have chosen all cat-safe plants that can stand up to the abuse. We have two small ponytail palms that the cats like to "floss their teeth" with and the plants aren't hurt one bit. Maybe you could get some plants that your cats can play with and not hurt anything.

BTW: When it comes to using a deterrent to keep pets from chewing on things they aren't supposed to, we have always used Tabasco Sauce. When a cat gets a "hot mouth" from chewing on something that has Tabasco Sauce on it, they quickly learn to stay away. Ever since I was a kid, it has always worked well and it won't hurt a cat any more than it would hurt a human who ate some.

 

[NewKitty18]

I love that we cat-owners need to choose our plants based on the fact that our cats will eat them. Yes, our plants are cat-safe. We generally do not bother with deterrents. In this case we have a diluted neem oil-based spray that we're using to treat scale on some of the plants. It is non-toxic for cats but I wouldn't be surprised if it tastes awful.

It seems like he's drooling less now, which is a relief. The last time one of our cats was drooling excessively it ended up being a large squamous cell carcinoma in her mouth and we had to euthanize her with no warning. She was put under for an oral exam because of the drooling, the vet found the tumor, and it was suggested that we not wake her up. It was awful and I think I'm probably overreacting because of that experience.

 

[jaws239]

He wouldn't have possibly gotten hold of a frog, would he? A previous cat we had LOVED to try to eat frogs, especially green ones. Made her drool like crazy every time. -- you'd think it would've deterred her....NOT!

 

[Caspers Human]

One of the side effects of Neem Oil is excessive salivation. That's probably what's causing the cat to drool.

It shouldn't hurt him unless he ingests a lot of it, though.

 

[NewKitty18]

He wouldn't have possibly gotten hold of a frog, would he? A previous cat we had LOVED to try to eat frogs, especially green ones. Made her drool like crazy every time. -- you'd think it would've deterred her....NOT!

No frogs, but this is a great thought! We do have LOADS of spiders in our house. No dangerous ones, but I wouldn't be surprised if they could cause a bit of irritation. So that's a good possibility to keep in mind.

Also, this reminds me of Miette, internet-famous cat (you kick her body like football???). Her owner posted to social media a while back absolutely devastated because she was worried Miette was dying. Turns out Miette ate a lizard, tripped the light fantastic, and then recovered with no ill-effects.

 

[NewKitty18]

One of the side effects of Neem Oil is excessive salivation. That's probably what's causing the cat to drool.

It shouldn't hurt him unless he ingests a lot of it, though.

AMAZING. Thank you so much!

 

[jaws239]

No frogs, but this is a great thought! We do have LOADS of spiders in our house. No dangerous ones, but I wouldn't be surprised if they could cause a bit of irritation. So that's a good possibility to keep in mind.

Also, this reminds me of Miette, internet-famous cat (you kick her body like football???). Her owner posted to social media a while back absolutely devastated because she was worried Miette was dying. Turns out Miette ate a lizard, tripped the light fantastic, and then recovered with no ill-effects.

I don't know much about the spiders, but is likely, since I think all of them do some type of poison. ...maybe not.

Yeah lizards, June bugs, crickets, etc...anything that can be their temporary toy!! Had one girl that loved to craw-dadding after rains, especially if i got the leaf rake & helped her! She learned they'd pinch her mouth, so to be careful!

 

[NewKitty18]

Hi again. He is still drooling, unfortunately. I had hoped it would resolve after the first day, but we're not on day three and it's still going on. He still seems okay otherwise, but the drooling is a bit concerning to me. We have a vet appointment scheduled but it's not until next week. Think this can wait until then or should we bring him to an urgent care before then? I know my level of concern is skewed because of past experiences.

 

[Caspers Human]

I don't know much about the spiders, but is likely, since I think all of them do some type of poison

Yes, of course, virtually all spiders have some kind of venom. That's how they eat. They inject their prey with venom before they eat. It's Mother Nature's way.

However, 95% of all spiders are harmless to humans. Only a very few of them are harmful, even the big ones like tarantulas. Yes, if a tarantula bites you it will hurt and you'd likely need to see a doctor but, unless you have another health problem, most people will recover. Generally speaking, tarantula bites are about like a really, really bad bee sting.

As for your average, ordinary house spider, they are absolutely harmless to humans. You shouldn't worry about them. Spiders are part of nature. They kill bugs so that means that they are quite beneficial to humans in the long run.

There's one corner of our living room, right near the patio door, where spiders often build their webs. We like to leave them there because it's a place where there are a lot of bugs. We let the spiders hang out there to act as a natural bug catcher.

Besides, it's fun to watch the spiders eat bugs!

 

[Margot Lane]

My cat drooled when I used a cleaning agent that had lavender oil. It stopped as soon as I stopped using the product.