Why is my senior cat drooling thick, sticky, foul-smelling saliva?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 6 lbs
Peanut has viscous foul saliva. No apparent oral issues other than missing teeth. She is approx 14. For past 3 months eats wet, grain free food and eats well. Is alert and active. Prior to this was eating dry food, losing weight and hair was dull with many Matt's. She has medium to long hair. On wet food weight has stabilized and hair is much improved. Still drooling the nasty saliva. Her extremities have sticky hard clumps and her face around her mouth is syrupy and brown. I add probiotics.
3 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on October 19th, 2018
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!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on April 14th, 2017
There can be several causes of excessive salivation in cats. Certainly, liver problems can cause this, however blood work would easily confirm whether there is definitively a liver problem or not. If liver values are elevated, then further testing would need to be done to determine exactly what is causing the problem in the liver - infection, inflammation, cancer, etc. If the liver is OK, then other possibilities include severe nausea (caused by a number of GI and non-GI problems), ingestion of a toxin, or dental disease. If the medication the vet you saw is not helping your cat, I would urge you to seek a second opinion.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on July 21st, 2019
No, it is more likely that he has a dental issue or some kind of problem inside his mouth. I suggest you get him to the vet for an exam. Cats cannot go too long without eating or drinking or their liver starts to get damaged.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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