Anyone have any input in to drooling in a cat?

Let me start off by saying I HAVE BEEN TO THE VET. She is at a loss to explain it and I'm just wondering out of curiosity if anyone on here has ever experienced a cat who is drooling excessively, out of the blue.

Last night Smitty (the cat in my avatar picture) was really listless. I picked him up and could tell something was wrong right away. He then started to pant...tongue out and all. Immediately I called the vet and they referred me to the University Vet Hospital here in Saskatoon as apparently they take all after-hours emergencies. I didn't mind hearing this. People come from all over to the University with their pets to have operations or deal with difficult cases.

In the end, they believe Smitty may have contracted a viral infection from the 2 new kittens I adopted about 10 days ago. After I'd had them for 2 days they developed the inevitable SPCA Upper Respiratory Illness (URI). The vet put them on Lysine as it deals directly with the herpes virus that causes the URI. I was happy about this given I work in the natural health industry and try to avoid at all times giving my pets prescribed meds.

He stayed overnight at the hospital and they told me he had a fever, was a bit dehydrated, had diarrehea with mucus and his white blood cell count was elevated AND that he started drooling. Today they said I could take him home as I could do for him what they were. (They'd put him on an antibiotic because of his white blood cell count.) I have to give him the Lysine as well.

I went to pick him up and I COULD NOT BELIEVE how much he was drooling. You know when a dog is watching you eat and they are waiting for a piece and they've got the drooling hanging down. Yeah, like that. The vet said she had no idea why. Said it is possible he's suffered some mini strokes but doubted it as she said there would be indications of a seizure and he probably would have had one while there. Great...way to make me confident in their abilities. Gotta love it when they "guess." I wish she'd have acted more certain (even if it was a bit fake). I've been told I have to keep him in a quite place (he found one himself) and watch him. Someone is at the University Vet Hospital 24/7 so I feel pretty good knowing I can go there immediately if something seems wrong. I've been told if he doesn't stop drooling by the end of tomorrow I'm to call her and they'll look in to it further.

So, has anyone else ever had a cat that drooled or heard of it? I haven't. Just looking for some ideas since my vet literally said she had no idea. As a matter of fact, THREE vets who worked on him on different shifts said the same thing. :sad:

Just also wanted to mention that I am currently giving all the cats the following to deal with the viral infection. My 2 oldest have shown no symptoms but the vet said to put them all on it.

In a syringe mixed with a small amount of water, twice a day:

Sodium Ascorbate (form of Vitamin C)
Rescue Remedy
L-Lysine 250mg
Pulsatilla 30c
Probiotic

If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know.

Sorry , I have no advice for you , maybe the meds are not helping with the drooling ? How is he feeling since he's been home ?

My cat Missy used to drool when I petted her but this is a different story.

He was drooling before they started him on the meds so we know it's not that. Although she did tell me he might start foaming at the mouth when I give him his pill :eek: Thank god she told me that!!!

I hope someone can help you with this ... besides the drooling , is he ok now ?

I suppose I could say "okay." But he is not himself for sure. Even the vet said he is "stable" but they can't guarantee anything. He's curled up in a cat bed in the spare bedroom where it's quite. He had diarrehea and I had to bath his back end and cut some of the fur off. He groomed himself after, which is a good sign. Yesterday he never moved at all when I first discovered something was wrong. Thank god I am always aware when one of my cats is not where they should be, etc. I hadn't been home long before realizing I hadn't seen him and went looking.

Good luck with him :fingerscr :goodvibes:

I'd also like to add that the vet wrote the following on the discharge instructions:

" Thank you for bringing Smitty in to WCVM. He is a beautiful cat and a wonderful patient. Everyone thought he was such a sweety and a joy to have around."

:lovestruck: That's my boy. When I went in to say goodbye to him last night he was on the table sitting there not even trying to jump off. They'd already taken blood from his neck :eek: , yet he wasn't scared. Now, if it was one of my other 2 older ones...it would have taken 2 people to keep them on the table.

P.S. Just went and checked on him. I petted him and he started to gently purr. Didn't lift up his head like he usually would but the purring is a good sign. Poor guy is so scruffy looking and has fur shaved in places.

Oh, here's a picture of him I've posted before. http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/9805/dsc00563uh3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

He's a beauty ! :lovestruck:

I don't mean to rain on your parade :sad: but a cat will purr no matter what , even when very sick or injured or dying. Not that your cat is dying !!!

Dracko,I was going to mention that too,a cats purr can also indicate pain:sorry:
Could he possibly have gotten in to something toxic??But i guess they checked his blood for that..
What about his teeth?? My Sammy(:rip: )had an infected tooth,way in the back of his mouth,which we did not notice and he was drooling a lot.
Good luck with beautiful Smitty:pray:

Hi Dracko, did they test for toxins in his bloodwork? I had the exact symptoms with my Puddles and they found she may have injested paint thinner. It was Easter weekend and ended up taking her to emergency clinic, but they did nothing exept put some subcutanious (sp?) fluids into her and called us to tell us she was fine and sent her home. Next day, she was back to drooling, lethargic, not eating so we took her to our normal vet who diagnosed the problem.

She was immediately put on IV and pumped a liter of fluids into her to help save her liver and kidneys. That was when she was 1 year, today she is 11 years old.

Her throat was raw from the toxins so she wouldn't swallow and that is why she would drool excessively. She would also purr, but like your guy, wouldn't lift her head. I would take her to another vet ASAP.

He is a beauty.

My male cat Solomon once pulled a listless/sick/won't eat/drooling on me. I took him for an exam, with no results...took him back the next day and we sedated him...it turned out that he had nasty ulcers on the back of his throat and tongue which were hard to see while he was awake. Pain killers, antibiotics and some other stuff I don't remember for a few weeks, and he was fine. Never figured out the cause, though.

The only time that I have had a problem with a cat drooling is when he got into one of my houseplants...It doesn't sound like the case with this kitty tho. He is very beautiful...good luck

What a handsome kitty!:lovestruck:

My Buddy had a terrible URI a few years ago, it was just after I took him in and I rushed him to the emerg. vet because he was open mouth breathing and drooling, the vet said it was a bad URI and that his throat was red and raw.(infected? can't remember exactly what she said about his throat) He got an antibiotic shot and one for pain and was sent home with some liquid meds (cause pills would be rough on a sore throat). I assumed that the drooling was from the sore throat and not wanting to swallow. We had no way of telling how long he had had the URI, and it did cause some damage.

Even now he almost always has his mouth slightly open to breathe and when he is excited he pants a little more quickly than the other cats. He also still drools but that is mostly when I am petting him and he gets real comfy.:sleepy:

I guess if it were me, if it continued another day or so, I'd take him back and have them look at his throat. Other than that I hope he makes a speedy recovery!:pray:

Ooh, thanks for the input krdahmer. That's exactly what I was looking for. If the vet had even said "it's possible for a cat to drool when they have a URI" I'd have been less worried.

Smitty seems to have stopped the drooling for the most part. He is mouth breathing as his sinuses are so congested. I gave him his homeopathics (added some that help clear the sinuses) and each time I gave him a dose he got up to eat or go to the bathroom. It seems, just like when I take homeopathics, you get a relief of the symptoms for a short bit.

It is obvious he is really ill still but I'm glad I am able to be home with him today to watch him. I've got my fingers crossed there is no long term problems connected with this. My oldest cat had an URI from the SPCA when I got her. She was treated with natural therapies and in over 10 years has never had the slightest relapse.

On a different note, I am :sick: today. I read cats can't transfer the URI to humans so it isn't that. Probably from the bit of an initial allergic reaction I had to the kittens and the stress of everything with Smitty. My glands are swollen, etc., so I can really sympatize with Smitty. I'm taking all my supplements and homeopathics tend to work extremely well for me if I can get on the as soon as the symptoms first appear.

I'll let you guys know how Smitty is doing later today.

As well, the kittens are still sneezing but they have ZERO other symptoms. Running, playing, eating, drinking. They were hardly affected by the URI.

Ya kittens bounce back pretty quick when they are treated right away...Buddy was over a year old when I took him in, and he had had the URI for prob. about 2 weeks, I had noticed symptoms cause he came to my house every day, but he belonged to another tenant and I couldn't just whisk him off to the vets, the minute she told me I could have him though, he was at the vets. The pills he had first weren't enough to combat the URI, and it was either the next day or the day after that I had to rush him to the emerg. I'm sure that by catching it right away Smitty will bounce back no problem.... and lets hope you do too! Lots of :sleepy: s !! :grouphug:

Oh and the problems Buddy has from the URI, certainly don't slow him down any... he still tears through the house like a rocket! ;) I actually have to stop playing with him sometimes to let him catch his breath... or he'd keep going!

Smitty is sleeping beside me right now. Came crawling up to cuddle a while ago. You can hear the congestion but he is looking much better.

way to go Smitty :highfive: get well soon


Smitty's so purty :lovestruck:

It amazes me how gentle and kind he is. Being born on a farm and living there for 4 months I would have thought he have a tuff streak to him. Nope. I have never seen him show aggression.

he's just a big fluffy softy heehee pun intended :D