My cat is smacking jaws, won't eat, drooling, and has bad breath. Why?

Question

My cat is about 6 years old. She's never had any health problems. She's had her shots from the vet and been seen by a vet periodically throughout her life. All of a sudden she is smacking her jaws together over and over again. And she will not eat anything. Even her treats, she won't eat. Which is very unlike my cat. She loves her food. She has excessive drool around her mouth. And her breath STINKS pretty bad. Im terrified something bad is happening to her. Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 10 lbs

Linda G, MS, DVM · Accepted Answer

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.

My cat is smacking jaws, won't eat, drooling, and has bad breath. Why?

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