Answer: Cats with a severe dental problem or with a foreign body stuck in their mouths usually salivate profusely, as do cats poisoned with organ phosphorus compounds (e.g. certain weed killers or an overdose of same preparation to kill fleas). However, in all these instances the animals will show other abnormal signs; pawing it the mouth and loss of appetite with oral disorders; vomiting and trembling with organ phosphorus poisoning .
Perfectly healthy cats will produce large amounts of saliva, which drips from their mouths, if they are frightened or excited. Te panic that seizes some cats when they are handled, for example to give a pill, causes stimulation of that part of the nervous system called the parasympathetic nervous system and the cat proceeds to drool.(The problem can also occur with tablets which contain bitter ingredients protected by an outer coating. If such tablets are broken or crushed before being given to the cat, they will produce spectacular frothing at the mouth which is very distressing to the cat.)
A cat will also salivate profusely in a hot environment and spread saliva over the coat with the tongue. The resultant evaporation of the saliva from the coat removes heat from the body (latent heat of vaporization) which serves to cool the body and thereby helps maintain a content body temperature. This process achieves the same effect as sweating I humans; sweating is not important in regulating the body temperature of the cat.
In some cats, salivation on being stroked can often occur in conjunction with purring, head-rubbing and treading (kneading) movement of the feet. This is an indication of the cat’s delight at seeing you. Excessive salivation is also feature of a display of aggression, most commonly preceding a cat fight.
