My senior cat is drooling, listless, with black teeth. Is it dental?

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 there and thanks for posting! Sounds like Tammy may have a dental or oral infection. Treatment will be oral exam, dental cleaning or surgery (if teeth need to be removed), and antibiotics. A dental infection is not contagious, however it is very painful. I would recommend she see a veterinarian soon for this. Thanks 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!

One of the major causes of drooling is dental disease, and if teeth are falling out then I imagine there is a fair bit of tartar and redness. We do have to consider Elvis's age though, and I wouldn't be rushing to anaesthetise a 16 year old to clean his teeth unless he was really suffering. If he is still managing to eat I would let him be, if you think he is in pain you can take him to the vet and try pain relief and antibiotic shots. You could try brushing his teeth if you want to. Finally kidney issues are common in older cats and can cause drooling so you could have his bloods checked, however I suspect it is the teeth.

Even with no teeth the drooling is abnormal. I would be concerned that he has an infection or stomatitis of the mouth or possibly kidney disease causing him to be uremic- a build up of toxins in the blood that can cause ulcers and other problems. I would recommend getting him to a vet for evaluation and possible medications to help keep his twilight years comfortable.

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.

I would be concerned she may have kidney disease - reduced appetite, tooth loosening and vision loss due to high blood pressure and retinal detachment are common side effects. I recommend a vet check as soon as possible, taking a urine sample using special collection litter would be helpful for full assessment