Case summary A 16-year-old neutered female British Shorthair cat presented with a 5-year history of swelling lateral to the left mandible that intermittently discharged viscous, clear fluid from a small defect in the skin. CT, ultrasonography, physical characteristics and cytology of the fluid were suggestive of sialocoele. CT showed a large, cavitary, fluid-filled mass lateral to the left mandible. A ventral approach was used to resect the left mandibular, sublingual and molar salivary glands and sialocoele. Histopathology of the molar and mandibular and sublingual glands showed chronic active sialoadenitis with more severe changes in the molar gland. There were no signs of recurrence of the sialocoele 12 months after surgery.

Relevance and novel information This is the first report of a cranial cervical sialocoele potentially involving the molar salivary gland in a cat. Resection of the mandibular, sublingual and molar salivary glands should be considered in cats that present with a cranial cervical sialocoele.