Things cats eat that make them foam at the mouth? (kitten, vomiting)

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Twice our kitten has had moments where she foamed at the mouth. Then she would be fine after that. She had her first round of shots as a kitten. I'm not sure if that covers rabies or not.

What kind of animals do cats eat that make them foam at the mouth? We have slugs in the house, so we thought that might have done it. But we're not sure what she ate.

The foaming is over now. It didn't last very long. Overall she seems pretty healthy.

Any ideas? Thanks.

[c21boquetebocasgold]

Hey STL, found this on-line at vetinfo.com and thought I'd share:

Choking and foaming in cat
Q: Hi...im so glad i was able to find this on the internet!! i have a tabby..he is just over a year old..today he was foaming at the mouth..we were out in the yard..and i looked over at him and he seemed to raise his head up and then bubbles came from his mouth..it did not last long at all and he went right back to being his normal self! this is the first time i've seen him do this..he does do a dry heaving type of thing from time to time..i've been told by friends with cats that he is just trying to cough up a hair ball..when i see him doing this i usually will give him the over the counter hair ball remedy...so my question is twofold..1) what do you make of the foaming episode? should i take him to the vet... and 2) could it be related to his choking (hair ball) episodes? pls advise..thanks so much!!!!

A: I think that if you are worried over a problem it is always worth discussing it with your vet, but then I'm biased!

Foaming at the mouth or excessive salivation is common when cats have ingested something more noxious than they expected it to be, when they are nervous, when they have been sprayed with a spray containing alcohol (many flea sprays are alcohol based), when they are nauseous and with a few diseases such as dental disease and calicivirus. There are probably other causes. A brief episode like you saw is probably related to ingesting that was upsetting. I have seen this after one of my cats ate a spider. Licking toads will do this, too. If the problem isn't continuing it is likely your vet won't be able to tell you why it occurred but it may be worth checking for problems.
Hair balls are obviously one cause of feeling nauseous. If you live in an area with heartworms it is another cause of the hacking and vomiting problem some cats have. Inflammatory bowel disease is another. Your vet can help sort through these, too. In general it is a good idea to consider pursuing a diagnosis of vomiting if it is occurring frequently and coughing is almost always abnormal.

Mike Richards, DVM

[ShelbyGirl1]

There are a # of frogs and toads that secrete a toxin when they are biten or grabbed. We lived in Louisiana once and our goldens would get a hold of them and they'd foam....drink lots of water and then be fine. First time it happened it freaked me out and I was on my way to the vet.
Just over the weekend, one of my indoor Ragdoll cats, lost her voice. She was fine in every other aspect...but no "meow"....and it didn't appear she was aware of it. This happens to be one vocal cat and talks to me all the time. She'd open her mouth and nothing would come out. (DH said " and this is a bad thing????)....Within a day, it started to come back...and today is is almost normal, but not quite. I have no plants in the house, so we are thinking she may have gotten a hold of a bug/spider, maybe even somekind of a lizard that had gotten into the house and had some toxins to it and she ate it. I have found no "parts" but she is the ultimate hunter and knows if there is a gnat in the house.

[chaseystarz]

My friend lives on a farm out west of here. His cats always seem to get into the milk weed and then foam at the mouth.

[Hanna B.]

Could be anything bitter. My lat cat would foam whenever I pilled her or gave her liquid medicines; my vet said it was the reaction to bitter substances. It was really difficult to give her any sort of medicine, unfortunately. She'd foam them right back out of her mouth.