Why is my 4-year-old cat drooling, has bad breath, and coarse hair?

Oh my. Chewy sounds like she has a skin infection and advanced dental disease. These conditions unfortuantely require a vet visit to get a handle of with prescription medication and then you should schedule a dental cleaning with your vet. Bad breathe is also often a sign of infected teeth, so teeth extractions may be needed as well. I do hope that you can get Chewy in to your vet soon for a much needed exam and treatment plan. Best of luck moving forward. Take care.

Hi. It sounds like Oliver has some severe dental disease. He most likely has gingivitis and possibly a painful, loose, or resorptive lesions on some teeth. Dental disease in cats can cause pain and discomfort.  This could impact quality of life. In some cases, the dental disease can cause a cat to stop eating. For dental disease, besides brushing teeth with pet toothpaste daily,  your veterinarian will recommend removing plaque and mineral buildup by scaling and polishing the teeth. Teeth will try to be saved wherever possible. In extreme cases, extraction of teeth might be needed.  Unfortunately a veterinarian will need to be involved. Look in to carecredit.com credit at carecredit.com as a possibility for a payment plan.

Hello. Roxie probably has some significant dental disease, & this is often accompanied by a condition called stomatitis, which is a chronic irritation of the tissues within the mouth. The exact cause is unknown, but it is often multifactorial involving bacterial infections & an abnormal immune system. Your history definitely points to this, but your veterinarian needs to confirm things. Treatment can be relatively simple with antibiotics & periodic use of steroids. Most important will be an initial examination & cleaning of the teeth under general anesthesia. In the worse case, all the teeth may need to be removed because they present an ever presence of antigens in the mouth that promote the painful lesions. The next step is to make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible to start to address Roxie's problems. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Typically excess salivation is either caused by nausea or pain (oral or abdominal), although this is not an all inclusive list. There can still be oral disease present, especially if these missing teeth were not removed but fell out. Cats can get resorptive lesions of their teeth which can be really painful and the changes can be hard for owners to detect. They can also get lesions in their mouth (stomatitis, a mass, ulcers, etc.) that an owner may not see. Additionally diseases of other body systems may cause drooling (kidneys, gi, etc ). I would recommend your kitty seeing a vet for a thourough oral exam and blood work to start. A good oral exam will likely require sedation and perhaps dental xrays. Additional testing may be recommended based on the case. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Bella needs to be examined by the veterinarian today. A bad odor often indicates some sort of infection. This can not only get worse quickly but it can also be painful. The drooling supports and infection. Only a physical exam can determine what is wrong. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I can see that Rissoto has reddened areas above her lips, which appear to be ulcers. This can be caused by an infection or certain autoimmune disorders such as lupus. Similar lesions can be found inside the mouth, and may be causing Rissoto's breath to smell bad. I recommend having this looked at by Rissoto's vet to rule out autoimmune disease. In the meantime, I recommend trying to keep the area as clean as possible, and making sure that Rissoto's bowls are clean as small scratches in the bowls can harbor bacteria. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

Poor Sassy! It sounds like she has a few things going on at the moment. The odd odor from her ear is likely due to an ear infection, which the odor, yellow discharge, and drool from her mouth is likely to a dental issue. Dental issues include severe gingivitis, tooth root abscess, rotten tooth, or a broken tooth. I can certainly understand how money is tight this time of year, but unfortunately there is nothing you can do for her at home for this. The medications needed to treat an infection can only be prescribed by a vet, and her probably dental issues can only be treated by a vet. She should see a vet as soon as possible. If paying for a vet is an issue, you can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com