Page 586 - Problem-Based Feline Medicine

PART 9

Cat with signs of gastrointestinal

tract disease

27. The cat with salivation

Victor Hans Menrath

KEY SIGNS
● Drooling.
● Excessive salivation.

MECHANISM?
● Ptyalism (drooling) occurs as a result of either: excessive saliva production or normal
production of saliva but inability to swallow or retain saliva in the mouth.

WHERE?
● Oral causes – mouth (including pharynx) and tongue.
● Extra-oral causes – includes central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract causes.

WHAT?
● Fear or stress is the most common cause of non-pathological ptyalism in the clinic situation.
Careful examination of the oral cavity is essential to distinguish oral from extra-oral
causes.
● Recurrent, intermittent, non-stress-induced ptyalism in young cats (usually less than 1 year) is
likely to be caused by portosystemic shunt.
● Other causes of recurrent, intermittent ptyalism (usually in cats more than 1 year old) include
hiatal hernia, gastroesophageal intussusception and diaphragmatic hernia.
● Most other causes of ptyalism are likely to be acute in onset and produce continuous drooling.
Pain is a major cause of ptyalism in cats.

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