My cat is drooling, chewing, and has bad breath. What's wrong?

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!

Hi and thanks for your request. These signs could be due to severe gum inflammation and even infections, with abscesses building up on the dental roots (so sometimes not completely visible. These signs are quite concerning and another check up would be needed as antibiotics may be best given. Multiple dental extractions and cleaning are recommended in these cases. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I would be concerened about oral disease if Cuddle's saliva smells gross. It can be caused by a diseased tooth, gum disease, cancer, oral infection, etc. You can try offering a variety of cat foods to entice him to eat, and you can also try to put wet food in a blender and make liquid that can be lapped up.

A number of essential oils are toxic to cats, so that could be the cause of Oli's drooling. It could also be he has a dental problem. Should this drooling start up again, have him seen by a vet. Best of luck.

It sounds like Sissy may have two issues going on. It's likely she is drooling and has bad breath related to dental infection and dental disease. She will need to see a veterinarian for a dental cleaning and to have infected teeth removed if dental disease is indeed causing the problem. Her skin issues could be related to flea issues so it's best to be sure she is on a quality flea preventative like Revolution or Advantage. If a flea Issue is not present Sissy will need to see a veterinarian to rule out issues like allergies or mites causing hair loss. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

The area that I think you are concerned about is the lighter colored and thicker area on the bottom lip. That is a normal part of the bottom lip that is thicker than the surrounding area because it is where the upper canine tooth hits the lip. He should have a similar thickened area on the other side, but the coloration may be different. Cats with Orion's coloration can be varying pigment along their lips and gums, so some areas will be pink while others will be dark. That is not a reason for concern. At 7 months of age, Orion should have all his adult teeth. If you are noticing bad breath, it would be worth having your veterinarian examine his mouth to make sure he doesn't have any retained baby teeth that are causing a problem. Finally, it is very common that cats will drool when they purr, but most cats do it from kittens. If Orion has just started drooling when he purrs and has a change to his purr, it would be worth having your vet palpate his throat, lymph nodes and larynx to make sure everything feels normal. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.