There are plenty of reasons for your cat foaming at the mouth. It might be scary at first, but it would put you at ease to know that sometimes, drooling or foaming is a normal body function. However, in some cases, drooling and foaming is a sign of severe health conditions. What concerns you is the effects of foam at the mouth, especially if you are diligent in caring for your cat’s dental health, just like how you care for your teeth.
Let us discuss the common reasons why foaming at the mouth in cats and dogs occurs.
Reasons Why Your Cat is Foaming at the Mouth
In most cases, the foam at the mouth of cats is due to harmless causes like excitement or growing appetite. Sometimes, cat foaming happens when they are given bitter taste medicines and catnip. Yet, foaming at the mouth of cats should not frequently occur. If so, it could indicate an underlying disease. Bring your cat to the veterinarian immediately if they are drooling, foaming, and vomiting all together.
Some of the reasons why your cats’ mouth is foaming are:
- allergic reaction
- liver disease
- kidney disease
- anxiety
- food poisoning
- bitter-tasting medications and food
- viral infection
Excessive drooling is also a common reaction mong cats who feel frightened. Your cat may vomit and feel sick when it comes in contact with something that scares it.
Fear and Anxiety
Foaming at the mouth occurs when the cat is scared. Apart from saliva drooling, the symptoms may include changes in behavior, excessive grooming, trembling, and many more. Foam at the mouth and drooling happens when the animal is in an unfamiliar place. This is also a side effect of recent injuries and illness. The vet can provide a calming medication that would be helpful to keep your pet relaxed.
Dental Issues
A lot of dental issues could cause discomfort to dogs and cats. Pets may drool due to gingivitis, a periodontal disease that leads to other medical conditions as well. Plaque buildup is very common among cats, especially in older ones. Symptoms of gingivitis include losing appetite, drooling, and sudden weight loss. If left neglected, it could lead to tooth loss. You should seek immediate treatments to ensure that the infection won’t reach other body organs.
Viral Infection
Rarely, vaccinated dogs and cats can still develop rabies. Due to this, their mouth may drool, and consulting a veterinarian would be your best option. Rabies can be fatal without proper treatment and medication. It would be helpful to know the warning signs like aggression, behavioral changes, and foaming.
Food poisoning or toxic ingestion
Apart from drooling and foaming, your cat may also experience other signs such as vomiting and nausea. They might lose control over saliva drooling due to toxic ingestion. Many household cleaning materials like soap, detergents, and shampoos are not safe for cats to lick.
Sadly, they could also show reactions to pet products. If your pet is foaming severely, you might want to treat this as an emergency and seek veterinary treatment right away.
Upset stomach
Sometimes, your pet will drool because of an upset stomach. This typically happens when they do not like the taste of their foods or medications. You will notice that your cat will try its best to regurgitate the meal out of its mouth. Giving them spoiled foods may also cause nausea, mouth foaming, and excess salivation.
What You Should Do
Foaming at the cat’s mouth is usually accompanied by other symptoms. Often, a minimal drool is not something for you to worry about. But if you notice sudden behavioral changes with aggressiveness, no interest in foods, tremors, and vomiting (with or without blood), your cat may require a medication from their vet.
Since there are many reasons why your pet is drooling, asking your veterinarian for the best possible solutions would be the wiser thing to do. They can determine if their drooling is related to rabies, animal infection, or something else. From there, the vet will create a treatment plan that would include medicine use.
However, if the dog or cat is diagnosed with oral issues, professional dental cleaning might be recommended. Just like humans, it’s essential to take care of your cats’ oral health too. Severe cases could also lead to removing the decayed tooth.
Toxic ingestion is an emergency, and you should bring your cat to the vet right away. If possible, get the substance that you think has poisoned your pet. If this is the case, your cat will be forced to vomit the liquid or the substance that caused poisoning.
Furthermore, if the symptoms are due to an infection, the veterinarian will require blood work to see the extent of the viral infection. Depending on the results, the doctor will provide antibiotics, proper nutrition, enough rest, and oxygen therapy. If you have other cats, you will be most likely asked to separate them in the meantime to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
Prevention
You can save your cats from mouth-foaming by practicing responsible cat ownership and by providing a pet-safe environment for them. Make sure that they get proper nutrition and that they do not have access to poisonous products.
It would also help ensure that their home offers comfort and safety to reduce their fear and anxiety. Also, bring them to the vet once in a while for general checkups.
References:
Foaming at the Mouth in Cats (https://wagwalking.com/cat/symptom/why-is-my-cat-foaming-at-the-mouth)
Foaming From the Mouth (https://braseltonervet.com/foaming-from-the-mouth/)
