I have just had a phone call from my sister, apparently her cat is ill. It backs into a corner, dribbles all the time and generally is not acting itself. Does anyone know what can cause it? It is quite young and I was thinking Rabies which I hope it isn't. Anyone got an idea.

I have sent a text to my daughter to see if she is still awake (she is a vet nurse), but no reply yet.

Two thoughts ran through my mind when I read your post. One was that the cat may have eaten something like a plant. I had a Persian that ate a house plant and alas my vet couldn't save him. I am not trying to alarm you, but if the cat has eaten something, the earlier the treatment, the better the outcome.

The other is if there is something wrong with his mouth. A year ago one of my cats was dribbling/drooling and acting quite strange. Then his tongue started to get locked and he couldn't eat. It would correct itself and by the time vets looked, there was nothing to see. Then one afternoon it did it again and I took pictures to take with me to the vet. Luckily the tongue was still locked in place and it was discovered his tongue was caught on his back tooth like a hook. He took the tooth out and touch wood, not a problem since.

It is probably neither of these things, but worth looking at the inside of his mouth and checking any plants for signs of chewing.

If my daughter comes back to me, I will let you know what she says - though I can guess she will tell you to see a vet a.s.a.p.

Just had a quick google search and found this site. It says there are vets live online that you can ask questions to. Might be worth a try.

http://cat.justanswer.com

I very much doubt rabies. Our border controls haven't broken down to that extent yet.

Even young kitties can have dental issues. Abscesses, gum disease, broken teeth, ulcers etc.

Or Kittie may have eaten something it shouldn't have.

Your sister needs to take kittie to a vet ASAP

Any news?

My daughter has just rung and says far more information is needed, like is the kitten sneezing, runny eyes, diarrhoea or constipation, is it eating, does it flinch when touched, can it be calmed by touch etc.

As I suspected, she says the kitten needs to be seen by a vet a.s.a.p.

Thanks for all the help, just told my sister what you guys have said and told her to see the vets in the morning. Hopefully she will.

Did she take the kitten?

I keep checking this thread and hoping for an update. How is the kitten doing?

I've just tried this myself as I have a cat with a problem at the moment, but it asks you to pay between £8 - £25 for your answer!!

I hate when people do this? Come on OP let us know kitty is OK

Me too. I am worried it may have drank anti freeze. I had a cat do that, and he had to be PTS. Not nice at all.

Good lord, I didn't look at it very closely.

What is the problem with your cat? Is it something we could help you with?

Probably a bit late to add this but I had a similar thing with one of my cats and it turned out that he had licked bleach (that the next door neighbour had sprayed around the garden...dont ask)....the vet gave him oral anti-biotics because his tongue has swollen and that was making him dribble badly and it cleared up in three or four days.

Sorry for the delay, not been online for a while. Odd thing was the cat woke up the next morning, shot out of my sisters bed straight to the food bowl and has been fine ever since. Bit odd I can only presume it ate something odd. Thanks for all the advice.