A Kitty's point of view: Why does my cat drool?

Meow, Slurp, Meow!  Did you know it can be cool to drool? While we may not do it often, us cats do drool for a number of reasons - let me explain!

Positive reasons why cats drool  

I'm loving life!

Sometimes, when my human is paying me lots of attention and petting me, I really love it and I find myself drooling from the side of my mouth! It usually happens at the same time I'm purring, or rolling onto my back - it just seems the natural thing to do and reminds me of when I was a kitten.  

When my feline mummy was nursing me, I used to knead around my mummy's teats to get milk and that used to make me salivate, so I would drool while I was suckling. It was very comforting, so now when I get a lot of attention from my human, it makes me feel the same - purr, purr, purr!

But don't be worried if your feline friend doesn't drool - it doesn't mean they don't love you and they will have other ways of showing you that they are a very happy cat! For example, just take a look at their ears, eyes and whiskers and you'll soon be able to tell. Their eyes will be almond shaped, their ears will be facing forward and their whiskers will be fanned out at the side of their face.

I'm excited!

The dog I live with loves food and he gets so excited sometimes when it's meal time that he drools!

I have to admit that I occasionally do this too - when I hear my human in the kitchen and I catch the delicious smell of my favourite food, sometimes I can\t help it!

Things to watch out for if cats drool unexpectedly

However, my cat cousin who lives two doors down from my house drools for other reasons, and it's important that humans watch out for these symptoms - especially if your cat has started drooling unexpectedly.

Anxiety

My cousin's human was taking her to the vet for her regular check up, and she started drooling when she went into the cat carrier. Her human had forgotten she didn't like being in the car and poor Misty (that's my kitty cousin!) started to meow and drool, even before she got to the car!

Fortunately, her human has now tried spraying FELIWAY Classic Spray into the cat carrier ahead of any journeys (and well before my kitty cousin gets into the carrier). And - it has helped her feel much more relaxed ahead of travel! I'm glad to say that she got a clean bill of health from the vet too!

Stress

Even though you may think all cats are laid back - some things do make us feel stressed - and that can make us drool too.  

It's very important that humans understand signs of cat stress and what can trigger it! As you probably already know, we don't like change! Events such as visitors, new people in the house, new furniture, or loud noises like household appliances or fireworks - and we may drool, simply because we are scared!

It's important that our humans remember that we might not like change. And - keep an eye on the diary to know when loud events such as firework displays are going to happen - there are National Firework Celebrations all round the world at different times.  

Luckily, there are lots of things you can do to help us feel better - like plugging in that new Pheromone complex called FELIWAY Optimum. My human has bought one for my favourite room in the house and it really makes me feel calm and sooooo... serene!

Illness

We are not very good at telling humans how we feel, so it's important that you learn to read our body language.

Drooling excessively could mean that we are not feeling in tip top condition and we may have a medical problem. We need to visit the vet, so if we are drooling a lot, consider:

• Could we have ingested something, like a poisonous plant? As an example; although lilies smell lovely to humans, they can mean trouble for cats. Watch out for signs such as vomiting, lack of appetite, or a change in drinking or peeing habits (more or less than normal) and always take us to a vet if there is a sudden change, to make sure we are ok!
• We may be in pain or have a problem that is making us feel nauseous, such as kidney disease.
• If we're drooling and you spot something hanging out of our mouth, it's important you DO NOT pull it out as it may be caught in our digestive system somewhere - but take us to the vet, straightaway!
• Or we may have trouble swallowing, which can also make us drool.
• A sore mouth, caused by dental disease could also be the cause of drooling, so be sure to check with the vet!
• Finally, sometimes we need to have regular medication for other issues - and perhaps this could make us drool too so you can check with the vet if this is to be expected.

If you spot your kitty doing any of the above, we'll need a visit to the vet so that we can get checked out.

I'm a very lucky cat, because my human knows me very well. They know how to make sure I'm cool and calm all of the time - and with a little help from FELIWAY Optimum, I'm serene and calm in the face of most of modern life's challenges!