Excessive Drooling - So Far Vet Doesn't Know What's Wrong

Hello there. First off, a little information on my cat. He's a 14 year old neutered male who lives indoors. Ever since he was a kitten he's drooled when he's happy. He starts purring and you can make up your mind the drool will shortly follow. It's always been a thin, watery drool. He has kept eating, drinking, and going to bathroom as normal throughout all of this.

About a month ago he started drooling excessively pretty much all day long. It's a thicker, almost mucus-like drool that sometimes hangs in strings to the floor. We took him to the vet and had him checked out. He had his teeth cleaned and 3 removed. He also had blood work done while he was there and everything was normal, including liver and kidney function. They sent 3 days of oral Metacam and 7 days of antibiotics (can't remember the name) home. 

The first day or two home from the vet I didn't notice a lot of drool, but after that it was back to before. Thinking maybe it would take awhile for the drooling to stop since he just had surgery done in his mouth I waited two weeks. 

Two weeks later, there's still no change in the drooling so I called the vet back. I took him in that day for another appointment. The vet checked his mouth and tested his thyroid, which came back normal. He received a Metacam injection at the office, and they sent him home with Cerenia (to help with an upset stomach, if he had one) and C.E.T AquaDent (kills bacteria in the mouth) to add to the water bowl.

I was supposed to call the vet back today to let her know how my cat is doing. She wasn't in the office today, but the nurse put the information in her follow up folder. Last time we were at the office the vet said she wasn't sure what else could be causing it, and maybe we would just have to leave it at "he's just a drooler".

Does anyone have any experience with anything similar? 

My Boo was drooling excessively one time from an ulcer on his tongue from calicivirus. It was very painful for him and wasn't eating. Is your cat eating and drinking and otherwise behaving normally?

I agree that this does sound a bit excessive. If your vet is stumped, then perhaps you should get a second opinion (from a holistic vet, if possible).

This is unrelated to the drooling, but personally, I would stop the Metacam. Do a little research on that and you'll see why.

@GoHolistic  Yes, he is eating, drinking, and behaving normally. The vet checked his mouth while he was under anesthesia and said she didn't see anything abnormal other than the teeth that needed pulled.

I looked up Metacam after they gave it to him the 2nd time and saw what you're referring to. Since it doesn't seem to be helping anyways, there's no reason to give it to him again.

Other than mouth issues, I did find this, but not sure if any if it fits your case:

Various drugs and toxins can cause hypersalivation in cats.  Unpleasant tasting drugs can cause cats to salivate profusely.  The antiprotozoal drug metronidazole (Flagyl), the antihistamine chlorpheniramne (Chlortrimeton), and the sulfa antibiotics are particularly notorious for causing cats to salivate copiously if the pill inadvertently lands on the tongue during administration.  These drugs require a client that is proficient in pilling.  Overdosing of flea and tick insecticides can lead to ptyalism, as can the secretions of various toads and newts, and the venom of the black widow spider.  Various plants, including philodendron, diffenbachia, poinsettia, and Christmas trees can cause increased salivation. Household cleaning products can irritate the oral mucosa, resulting in hypersalivation. 

@mrsgreenjeens  Thank you very much for all of the info, but I don't think any of it applies in this case. He hadn't been taking any medications prior to the start of the drooling and no one in the house has taken any meds lately so there's very little chance he got a hold of any pills. I don't use flea and tick treatments on any of my animals, as in my opinion they can cause more harm than good. The toads and newts aren't out as it's winter here, and there are no black widows in this region. There are exactly two plants in this house, both of which are locked in a room that none of the animals are allowed in. As for household cleaners, vinegar water is used for most things here and the animals tend to stay away while its being used.

He's an indoor only cat and the whole house has been scoured for anything he could be getting into with no results. I doubt it's their food as they've been eating the same brand for about a year or more now.

My Cocheezie only drooled when being petted. Great gobs hanging down but It never bothered her. She didn't seem to be aware of it, and she was fine otherwise. She became very sick with constipation and a tumour. One of the meds she's taking is pepcid ac. She no longer drools when being petted.I'm been wondering if her stomach was always bothering her a bit. Her previous owner (for her first 12 years) never mentioned anything about drooling, but then again the owner might not have wanted to say anything in case I would refuse to take the cat.

Did they check your cats salivary glands?  That can cause excessive drooling and often times they are mistaken for enlarged lymph nodes.

@cocheezie  The vet gave him Cerenia, which is supposed to help with an upset stomach, but it didn't seem to have any affect.

@cprcheetah  She checked his mouth when he had his teeth pulled and again when we took him back. She said everything looked and felt normal.

I was supposed to call the vet on Friday to let them know how Dallas was doing, but since its a shared practice the vet he saw wasn't in that day. She called me back today to see if everything was still the same as on Friday and had me come pick up some new meds. He'll be taking 1ml Metronidazole and 0.50mL Metoclopramide in Pet-Tinic twice a day each.

The Metoclopramide is supposed to help decrease the drooling, and the Metronidazole is an antibiotic/antiprotazoal. I guess we'll see how this works out.

Does anyone know of any tricks I can try when giving him his meds? He's fine with pills, but liquids are apparently the end of the world.

I try to get it in the back of his mouth, but with the drooling and the struggling I feel like not all of it actually stays in his mouth. 

How's it going?  I didn't realize either of these meds were liquid, and we actually have much better luck giving liquid meds than pills, but I see what you mean when he's drooling, that it's tough to know if he's actually swallowing the liquid or not.  My only suggestion would be to ask to have them in pill form.

@mrsgreenjeens  So far everything is pretty much the same. The new meds don't seem to be helping at all. See my cats are just the opposite, I don't have problems giving them pills but liquid is another story. 

I'm taking him to the vet's again tomorrow. Same practice, but we'll be seeing a different veterinarian. I asked if they could check his throat and mouth again while we're there. I guess we'll see what this vet has to say.

Hi Mmai !

I don't know if you're aware or not, but, if a cat breathes in ("aspirates") anything liquidy, there is a read danger that they can develop a usually-fatal type of pneumonia....Aspiration Pneumonia: http://www.petplace.com/cats/aspiration-pneumonia-in-cats/page1.aspx

So, the rule of thumb says to put only small drops of whatever he must get into the side pocket of the mouth, close the mouth so he can't expel it, allow him to swallow,  then repeat if necessary. That, of course, sounds easy - we know it isn't and that most often it's a real physical struggle/wrestling match that happens......remember, in a struggle, the cat is breathing strongly and heavily....even more of a risk for choking on liquid in the mouth. Again, a few drops at a time will minimize that risk.  You might consider having a tiny syringe of tuna water standing by for a treat/reward afterwards - I use this with my cats.....then it becomes a different story: they SUCK that syringe empty !

But, never, ever squirt anything straight down a cat's throat !

One of the problems, of course, is that sometimes the very drugs needed will themselves cause drooling - that's when tablet form drugs are better or when some people are able to have the original drug compounded by a pharmacy into a mixture that's more acceptable to a cat.

@White Shadow  Hello there. Yes, I'm aware that they can develop pneumonia if the liquid is inhaled. That's why I squirt a little bit at a time in the back of his mouth, aimed towards the side. Not really sure how to explain it, but I make sure it doesn't go directly down his throat. Done with all the meds so I don't have to worry about it now.

We took him to see the vet this morning. He examined his neck and mouth and found he has either an abscess or a tumor under his tongue.

He was injected with 2 different steroids and was given some fluids while at the vet's. If it's an abscess, the steroids should help shrink it. If it's a tumor... it's in a place where they wouldn't be able to remove it so euthanasia would be the only option.

I'm really hoping it's just an abscess and that the steroids help.

We went to the vet yesterday morning. The vet examined him and said the abscess/tumor had shrunk by 50%. He gave him another shot and we take him back next Tuesday to see how everything's going.

The drooling had pretty much stopped the day after he got the first round of steroids and his tongue doesn't seem to be hanging out of his mouth at all anymore. He started drooling yesterday again (not nearly as bad), but the vet had been poking around in his mouth and said the shot was probably worn off by then. We won't know if its a tumor or an abscess unless a biopsy is done, but I don't really want to put him through that. He would have to be put under anesthesia again, plus the vet said it would be difficult as where its located is very vascular.

So now we're just waiting to see if the meds clear it up or not, and trying to get him to gain some weight back.

Oddly enough, thiamine deficiency can cause excessive drooling.  Probably not the case here, but if you are feeding only one kind of food, you might try adding some brewers yeast to wet food to up the thiamine content, plus they like the taste of it.  You can get it at health food stores.  As for the meds, have you tasted them yourself?  ALWAYS know what you are expecting your cat to swallow!  Metroniazole is terribly bitter and makes most cats drool whether you re trying the liquid form or the tablets.  When using metronidazole, I always crush the tablets and put the powder into a gelatin capsule, make sure to wipe any powder off the outside, then dip it in butter and send it down the throat with a cream chaser from a syringe.  I'm not sure why they would be using metronidazole in this case anyhow.  If cortisone injections help, go with the long acting kind that lasts a month -- cats tolerate this very well, unlike dogs and people.

Gosh, I don't know how I missed the fact that they found something under his tongue.  How on earth did they miss that during his dental .  That's a big thing to miss .  Well, anyway, if they suspect it might be an abscess, why aren't they now treating it with an antibiotic?  It's good that the steroid is shrinking it (to give him some relief), but honestly still, for an abscess, don't you need antibiotics to clear it up?  What did they say about that?  Are they leaning more towards tumor?    If so, and the steroid help, that's great! 

Keep us posted.

@Red Top Rescue  The first vet we took him to prescribed the Metronidazole. This was when we didn't know what was wrong and before the second vet found the mass under his tongue.

@mrsgreenjeens  I was wondering how they missed it during his dental, too. He had been on two rounds of two different antibiotics before they found the mass. After they found it they gave him a shot of Baytril and a shot of Dexamethasone, which made it shrink by about 50% and the drooling pretty much stopped. We took him back a week later and they gave him another shot of Baytril. Yes, the vet is leaning towards tumor.

He was supposed to go back on Tuesday, but Thursday night he started having trouble eating and drinking. His tongue was getting in the way and every time he got some food in his mouth, it would just fall back out. Friday he couldn't eat or drink much of anything, so I called the vet's office and rescheduled to today.

We took him up and the vet examined him. It had shrunk a little more, but it was still fairly large. He also found their was necrotic tissue along the back of his mouth leading to his throat. He said he could hospitalize him, and insert a feeding tube, but otherwise didn't think there was much more he could do for him.

We made the hard choice to euthanize him so he didn't have to suffer anymore. We spent some time saying our goodbyes and telling him what a great boy he's been. I held and petted him as he passed, then we brought his body home to bury with our other departed furbabies.

My heart goes out to you.Sometimes family and friends don't understand just how devastating the death of one of our fur babies mean to us.14 years ago I lost quite a few of my fur babies in a house fire.I STILL mourn and sometimes still weep when I have to ride pass the exit of my old house that caught fire.One of the cats that survived the fire was a cat named Domimo that was like my child almost.Always drooled and when he was about 11 years old he started to develop a face /mouth tumor.I had to put him down?Unlike you ,I feel I let him down because I was so distraught My daughter stayed with him when he was put to sleep when I could not bear it.Hang in there and be proud you were strong enuff.God bless you and dem fur babiesaw:

I'm so sorry for your loss, and I  agree that you did the right thing for him so he wouldn't suffer any more.  I applaud your courage and letting him go with love and in comfort.

On behalf of the entire Cat Site Team, we would like you to know that we are so very sorry for your loss. Threads are locked after someone has suffered such a loss, as a sign of respect. We invite you to place a tribute at http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge as an enduring testimony to your friend.

I hope your memories will be sweet and bring you much comfort.