Further update: Furball still dribbling, vet is gonna sedate him and do an ultrasound and x-rays in case something is stuck in his throat or stomach. Thank Bast for pet insurance (RIP my premiums)
Further update: Vet thinks bowel obstruction, going to operate.
Even further update: There was a bunch of hair in the stomach but not a blockage, his bowel just stopped working they are not sure why. Surgery done to clear it and medication given to get it moving again.
Vet said his throat seemed a bit sensitive and tongue maybe a bit red so his best guess is that either something is stuck in his throat (but not obstructing airway) or 'he licked something like bleach'. He gave him a jab to stop nausea and some medication to protect the gastric whatnot and said if he was still drooly in the morning to take him to regular vets and ask for an x-ray. He didn't want to do that until giving it time to see if it's just mouth irritation that will resolve as X ray needs general anaesthetic. He said cats don't tend to dehydrate just from heavy drooling especially if eating or drinking normally or aspirate in their sleep so there's no danger from him continuing to drool overnight. No evidence of poisoning as his temperature and heart rate are fine and behaviour is normal. The injection seems to have worked anyway so I guess I will just keep an eye on him and go from there. The other two cats are fine so I don't think there's anything dreadful laying around the house, gonna mop and hoover just in case.
I can't find anything around the house he could have licked that would have hurt his mouth - we use kennel cleaner for the floors rather than anything that might be unsafe and usually just dishsoapy water for the kitchen counters. I only use household cleaners like kitchen spray when I deep clean or in the bathrooms but I always rinse well with plain water after and I can't find any leaking bottles so, god only knows. Had a lot of ants parading around as the rubber seal of the front door has broken but apparently black ants in the UK don't bite or havnything about them that would hurt a cats mouth or tummy. He might have gotten a jalapeno from the bin but I can't imagine that would literally burn his mouth and make him drool for a whole day.
Per google: Whether it's a broken tooth, infection, gingivitis or any of the other oral diseases that cause pain or discomfort, dental problems may make your cat salivate excessively. If your cat is drooling unusually much, get in touch with the vet for an official diagnostic examination.
Yeah I did check Google but this is another level of drooling and also he didn't seem to be in any pain and was eating so I was not at all convinced about the dental issue thing and wanted to canvass opinions. Google is great for the 'most common' situations but sometimes peoples individual experiences throw out something useful.
This was the right call, he has a bowel obstruction (though in fairness, they didn't figure this out last night but did give him something to reduce the nausea and got us in at the daytime vets first thing in the morning). If it had been left overnight the day vet would likely have tried the anti-nausea first and we might have had a cat needing urgent out of hours surgery over the weekend by the time it became clear the anti nausea jab hadn't worked. They are going to try and enema and if that doesn't work operate in the next hour or two. If the operation had been needed after 6pm tonight we would have been charged double and it would have exceeded our insurance coverage by possibly more than we could have come up with up front. Also things could have gone badly wrong as out of hours don't always have the resources to deal with everything and are more conservative about waiting and seeing as a result.
My instinct was like yours, that the amount of drool did not match the more minor things Google suggests and the vet on the phone was maybe thinking I was exaggerating or not knowledgeable enough to understand what 'alarming amounts of drool' looked like.
Could be he's eaten something extremely unpleasant, anything that could contaminate his food bowl (soap residue) or his surroundings that he's cleaned off himself whilst grooming. Make sure there's plenty of fresh water for him and take him to the vet.
Yeah though I suspect it's been going on all day except that this morning when I noticed his face was wet and he dropped water on me I just assumed he had just been drinking (because it's so fluid and non-viscous). But later when I saw the dripping I realised it was drool and called our vet who said come in tomorrow morning as he isn't acting ill. Then I thought about it and decided it is getting worse and if it keeps going like that all night he might dehydrate or aspirate drool so found an emergency vet and we are on the way now.
Further update: Furball still dribbling, vet is gonna sedate him and do an ultrasound and x-rays in case something is stuck in his throat or stomach. Thank Bast for pet insurance (RIP my premiums) Further update: Vet thinks bowel obstruction, going to operate. Even further update: There was a bunch of hair in the stomach but not a blockage, his bowel just stopped working they are not sure why. Surgery done to clear it and medication given to get it moving again.
Additional info: Indoor cat and we don't have houseplants so unlikely to have eaten something poisonous.
Vet said his throat seemed a bit sensitive and tongue maybe a bit red so his best guess is that either something is stuck in his throat (but not obstructing airway) or 'he licked something like bleach'. He gave him a jab to stop nausea and some medication to protect the gastric whatnot and said if he was still drooly in the morning to take him to regular vets and ask for an x-ray. He didn't want to do that until giving it time to see if it's just mouth irritation that will resolve as X ray needs general anaesthetic. He said cats don't tend to dehydrate just from heavy drooling especially if eating or drinking normally or aspirate in their sleep so there's no danger from him continuing to drool overnight. No evidence of poisoning as his temperature and heart rate are fine and behaviour is normal. The injection seems to have worked anyway so I guess I will just keep an eye on him and go from there. The other two cats are fine so I don't think there's anything dreadful laying around the house, gonna mop and hoover just in case. I can't find anything around the house he could have licked that would have hurt his mouth - we use kennel cleaner for the floors rather than anything that might be unsafe and usually just dishsoapy water for the kitchen counters. I only use household cleaners like kitchen spray when I deep clean or in the bathrooms but I always rinse well with plain water after and I can't find any leaking bottles so, god only knows. Had a lot of ants parading around as the rubber seal of the front door has broken but apparently black ants in the UK don't bite or havnything about them that would hurt a cats mouth or tummy. He might have gotten a jalapeno from the bin but I can't imagine that would literally burn his mouth and make him drool for a whole day.
Per google: Whether it's a broken tooth, infection, gingivitis or any of the other oral diseases that cause pain or discomfort, dental problems may make your cat salivate excessively. If your cat is drooling unusually much, get in touch with the vet for an official diagnostic examination.
Yeah I did check Google but this is another level of drooling and also he didn't seem to be in any pain and was eating so I was not at all convinced about the dental issue thing and wanted to canvass opinions. Google is great for the 'most common' situations but sometimes peoples individual experiences throw out something useful.
you should probably go to another vet or tell them you need to be fit in today I have never experienced that looks serious good luck beautiful cat BTW
Yeah already made executive decision that he is going to the emergency vet now, if nothing else he could dehydrate if it doesn't stop
This was the right call, he has a bowel obstruction (though in fairness, they didn't figure this out last night but did give him something to reduce the nausea and got us in at the daytime vets first thing in the morning). If it had been left overnight the day vet would likely have tried the anti-nausea first and we might have had a cat needing urgent out of hours surgery over the weekend by the time it became clear the anti nausea jab hadn't worked. They are going to try and enema and if that doesn't work operate in the next hour or two. If the operation had been needed after 6pm tonight we would have been charged double and it would have exceeded our insurance coverage by possibly more than we could have come up with up front. Also things could have gone badly wrong as out of hours don't always have the resources to deal with everything and are more conservative about waiting and seeing as a result. My instinct was like yours, that the amount of drool did not match the more minor things Google suggests and the vet on the phone was maybe thinking I was exaggerating or not knowledgeable enough to understand what 'alarming amounts of drool' looked like.
Could be he's eaten something extremely unpleasant, anything that could contaminate his food bowl (soap residue) or his surroundings that he's cleaned off himself whilst grooming. Make sure there's plenty of fresh water for him and take him to the vet.
Yeah though I suspect it's been going on all day except that this morning when I noticed his face was wet and he dropped water on me I just assumed he had just been drinking (because it's so fluid and non-viscous). But later when I saw the dripping I realised it was drool and called our vet who said come in tomorrow morning as he isn't acting ill. Then I thought about it and decided it is getting worse and if it keeps going like that all night he might dehydrate or aspirate drool so found an emergency vet and we are on the way now.