17-year old cat-tongue hanging out and drooling?

My seventeen year old cat just started acting this way. Her tongue is hanging out all the time, and she is drooling? She came out with the other two cats to eat this morning when I put out their food, but she just looked at the food and then ran under the bed. I looked at her mouth, and can't really see anything wrong. Right now she is looking out the window, but she is still drooling, and she isn't very active.

My little Indy is going in on Monday to get his teeth cleaned because of periodontal disease, so maybe I should see if the vet can look at her also.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening? Any thoughts on what could be wrong?

She could have something stuck in her mouth, or a bad tooth or even a severe sore throat or sting in her mouth. With her being elderly, I'd have her seen right away as it doesn't take much to take down an old cat.

Please keep us posted.

Cally

I know, but my vet isn't open until Monday.

It could be kidney failure also.
I had a cat do that and she could not be saved because it was Arf and her kidneys were gone.to
You need to try find a ER vet.

Originally Posted by Gailmarie

I know, but my vet isn't open until Monday.

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If your cat's tongue continues to hang out of her mouth and she is unable to eat, please find another vet who can see her ASAP.

CatMom2Wires gave you some potential causes for the problem with the tongue. All of them would require a vet's care.

You don't want your cat going without food and water until Monday. Usually, I would advise syringe feeding for a cat who won't eat on her own. In this case, though, I would not try this because she probably can not swallow normally (which might account for the drooling) and could choke.

Please do everything you can to find a vet to help her today.

I would NOT wait until Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This vet appears to have emergency service in Bowling Green - they're definitely open Saturday until 11:00pm. It's Dr. Jones Vet -

http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3719664892

That is my vet, and the 11:00 is am. I just called him. She has now eaten some cat treats and a small plate full of tuna. Her mouth seems sore and smells bad, I think she may have an abscessed tooth or something. I called, left a message and asked if I could give her some of Indy's antibiotic.

At lease she has eaten something.

she'll be OK.

she'll be ok

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I hope so, I've had her so long! I called the vet's cell, he'll probably call me back, and then I can ask his opinion.

Thanks all of you, still waiting for Dr. Jones to call back.

Here is my poor, old girl, China:

Dr. Jones told me to go ahead and give her some of Indy's antibiotics, and he'll see her on Monday when I bring him in for his teeth cleaning.

I spent over $350 last month on another cat, who has a constant nasal discharge on one side. Dr. Jones thought he may have a polyp or tumor, so I took him to a vet in Findlay that could scope him, they found no tumor.

I am layed off, and boy are the vet bills killing me. I love them to much to not take them in, though. I know we'll get by some way.

I'll let you guys all know what the vet says on Mon.

to you and your kitty, this happened to one of my mums cats, she was 18 and she had had a mini stroke, she is now 21 and it didn't affect her hardly at all, not saying it is this but older cats are more prone to this anyway, please keep us updated. xx

Yes, the first thing I thought of is a stroke. I'm hoping it isn't. Just last week she was running and playing like a kitten. She is really small, about 7 lbs, so she has always seemed like a kitten.

My husband found her dumped along the road, she was a few months old. We have had her all this time, kids left, still had China.

She ate a little bit more tuna tonight, and I'm giving her antibiotics, so maybe she will be allright. She's a survivor, that's for sure. She has never been sick before, except a virus she caught when I broght one of my kittens, Cody home.

She came out to eat a few minutes ago, and then she went back into hiding to be by herself. I picked her some catnip, earlier, because she loves it so.

China is a beauty! I have a thing for black kitties...

My girl is 20, so to me, 17 is just a teenager

It's great that she's able to eat on her own - try to get high calorie food into her since she's only eating small amounts. Feed her those little meals frequently, so that over the course of the day it will add up to her normal amount of food. Add water to her meals, especially if she isn't drinking much on her own - hydration is so important for all bodily functions.

Is her tongue still protruding from her mouth? Is she still drooling? You may be right about a tooth lesion.

I'm glad China's improving, and that she'll be seen by your vet on Monday. Thanks for giving us the update. Hugs to your beautiful girl.

Her teeth don't look good, really. I fed her dry food, most of her life. Just a year ago, I got two kittens from two different people. Trying to do the best for them, I read that wet food is the way to go, and that dry food does not help their teeth. Well, I fed them three meals a day wet, until the kittens were a year old...then I started giving them two, in the morning and a night. In addition, they have all the dry cat food that they want to eat out all the time.

Does anyone know for sure if wet cat food is best? My old cat had good teeth, until I started feeding them wet most of the time. Now, I know, she is old. But my 15 month old, Indy has periodontal disease! That is like a 20 year old kid getting periodontal disease. He has eaten canned food all his life, I got him at about 7 weeks old.

What do you think? I'll continue to feed them canned, especially since they have bad teeth, but could dry be better for them?

Wet or dry, a high quality food - the ingredients - is what is most important. Dry food can help with the plaque issue, but my understanding is that for males, wet food is actually better for their urinary health long term because of the moisture content.

We let our cats free feed on dry and we feed them one meal of wet food each day.

Some cats are predisposed to dental problems. Our Spooky has already lost 4 or 5 teeth and she's only 7. We've been taking her for dental cleaning every 6 months for 2 years now, and all of our cats get their teeth cleaned every year (since they were 2 years old). We figured out part of her problem is she doesn't chew ANY food - even the large dental treats, she just swallows!

my Nightshade who lives with my parents lost most of her teeth as a kitten due to infection that went untreated before I found her. She lives on wet food because she can't chew dry.

I hope your kitty is OK.  I am replying to your question about wet or dry food.

#1 Grain free is the most important  Feed the best you can afford.

#2 Wet or raw is ideal - a cat should have at least 75% wet in their diet as they do not drink enough water.   A dry diet can lead to early renal failure.   You can add some water to canned food and warm in the microwave making soup ..this will add even more water to their diet.  The more the better.

Dry food does nothing for their teeth any more that eating something crunchy allows you to skip brushing your teeth. Treats do not really help either, even tartar control as they are also filled with other junk.  In nature, their teeth are cleaned by the activity of eating their prey.  Thus far we have found nothing that a cat will do that imitates that (unlike dogs).  

If it was a stroke the major danger is over as the initial trauma has been done and whatever is damaged will have been damaged with the stroke .

At that point you are keeping them calm, clean and fed and allowing their bodies to heal what they can .

Best of luck .