A small amount of drooling in a deeply relaxed, kneading, purring cat is normal behaviour, a leftover from kittenhood. Drooling that starts suddenly, smells bad, or comes with any other sign is a different matter.

The most common cause is the mouth

Dental disease is the leading cause of drooling in cats and it is very frequently missed, because cats keep eating through a surprising amount of mouth pain.

What to look for: bad breath, red gums along the tooth line, a broken or discoloured tooth, chewing on one side, dropping food, pawing at the face, or a cat that approaches the bowl and then walks away.

Cats also get painful ulcers on the tongue and gums with calicivirus, and a condition called stomatitis in which the whole mouth becomes severely inflamed.

Something stuck

A cat that starts drooling suddenly, paws at its mouth and gags may have something lodged. Thread and fishbones are the usual culprits, and thread can wrap around the base of the tongue where you cannot see it.

Do not put your fingers in to explore. If you can see thread, do not pull it; it may be anchored further down and pulling can damage the intestine.

Nausea

Cats drool when they feel sick, often just before vomiting. Drooling with loss of appetite and lethargy points here, and the causes are the same as for vomiting.

Something bitter or toxic

Cats drool heavily after tasting something unpleasant. Common triggers are bitter medication, some plants, cleaning products, and permethrin flea treatments made for dogs.

Drooling with tremors, unsteadiness or twitching after a spot on treatment is an emergency. Do not wait.

Less common causes

Foreign body in the throat, a mouth tumour, nerve damage affecting the jaw, heatstroke, and rarely rabies, which in Türkiye is a reportable disease and one of the reasons rabies vaccination is a legal requirement.

When to come in

Drooling that starts suddenly. Drooling with a foul smell. Blood in the saliva. Difficulty eating or dropping food. Pawing at the mouth. Drooling with vomiting, tremors or lethargy. Or any drooling in a cat that has been near a dog flea treatment.

We examine the mouth, which often needs sedation to do properly, and X-ray the teeth where the crowns look normal but the roots may not be.