My civvie just started excessively drooling

Has anyone had a cat start drooling all of a sudden (he is 9)? It's only when we're petting him but it's a lot of drool in the past couple weeks. When we took him to the vet 3 months ago, they noticed one of his fangs was chipped, but it's just the tip and he didn't think it needed to be dealt with. He seems fine, eating well, playing, being his usual self.

I'm going to make a vet dental appointment regardless, but prefer to arm myself with information before showing up.

 

When Dusty started excessive drooling it was due to a tooth infection. He was having a little trouble eating too. I could tell he wanted to eat but was hesitant. Does he let you touch his mouth? Dusty wouldn't let me rub his chin either. They ended up removing 6 teeth and all is well now.

 

Yeah, that sounds like dental issues, or at least that's a likely culprit. If it were a one-time thing I'd think he was maybe eating something he shouldn't, but if it's been weeks I really doubt that's it.

 

I have 3 cats that will literally drown us when we pet them from drooling so much. None of them have problems, it's just part of their 'happy purr'.

I'd still have the dental issues checked...

 

Our Callie is a drooler. She will sit behind me on the back of the chair, purr and drool. The next thing I know, I have a soaked shirt.

 

Thanks everyone. Hopefully it's nothing but I'll take him in for a looksee anyway.

 

It's always best to have the vet check out something new and different. Let's hope it's nothing to worry about.

 

Last year, Doody began to drool alot and when I finally checked his teeth, his gums were swollen and red! I felt like the total loser pet Momma! He ended up getting several teeth removed and that solved things. Check your kitty's gums. Also see if his/her breath has a bad smell. If so, it's the teeth.

 

Since they switched to wet food, their breath stinks. We're going to brush his teeth again tonight so I'll take a closer look at the gums. They seemed OK last time we brushed. I felt like a real crap cat mom when the vet pointed out the broken tooth and that some of his front teeth and reabsorbed. I hadn't even noticed :-(

 

You are not a crap cat momma and neither am I. The drooling was the only thing that tipped me off. And then, when I pulled back his little kitty lips (um, do they really even have those?), his breath was awful, and the gums looked really painful. No matter what, these furry critters love us and forgive us for being humans who can't translate meows. We are good mommas.

 

If he has resorptive lesions (FORLS) it will not go away. The only answer is to pull the teeth with lesions. I know this because this is where I am with my cat; at 19 1/2 he needs dental surgery that's costing me almost $4,000.00. If you can take care of it now before it gets too bad, I would highly advise it! Good luck!

 

Yikes! I hope not. I have emails out to 2 local vet dentists, hopefully I can get in sooner than later. Poor guy has a lot more plaque on the back teeth than I though.

 

Thanks everyone. Buster is getting a root canal, an extraction, cleaning and full x-rays on Tuesday. Apparently they give him enough pain medicine to last 3 days. Poor guy is going to have a rough couple days :-(