Can Lip Licking Be Normal?

[solowars]

Basically, my cat Hammy will sometimes lick her lips even when it’s not mealtime. It’s more of a little flick of her tongue out, once, sort of like how a human licks their lips when it’s dry. It’s not super frequent, but enough for me to notice that she does it. She’s been doing this for a couple of months now, maybe longer, but I can’t be sure if she’s always done this because I’ve only been especially attentive to her every move since she was briefly ill over a bad flea bite reaction in Dec. I’ve only had her 4 months, and her previous owner is a foster with over 30 rescues so she can’t remember if she did or didn’t do this in the past.

She has seen the vet quite a few times over the past months, x rays and blood work is all fine. She also recently had a dental, vet said her teeth and gums are fine too. There are 2 vets I’ve spoken to at my usual clinic - one seems to think that some cats are just “lickers” and another that seems that there might be an underlying reason for the licking. I’m aware that lip licking is usually a sign of nausea, but my cat has almost never gagged/thrown up/shown loss of appetites (outside her brief sick time). In the 4 months I’ve had her she’s thrown up once, after eating her kibble too fast. The second vet gave her a full checkup recently during her dental and basically said something like ‘well, lip licking tells me something is wrong, but your cat is totally fine in all physical aspects (including blood and x ray)’.

I’ve read that lip licking can sometimes be stress, but my cat lives in an extremely quiet home environment with just me. She doesn’t demonstrate any other symptoms of stress, and acts like she owns the house.

I usually wouldn’t worry given she’s acting completely normal otherwise, but the vet seems convinced a cat wouldn’t lick her lips unless something is wrong? Has anyone had a ‘lip licker’ like this without any underlying health conditions? I could get a third vet opinion, but I wouldn’t be able to tell them anything other than there’s nothing wrong with her, but she likes licking her lips.

 

[solowars]

Also, this probably sounds crazy, but could she be doing it because I myself am a chronic lip licker?

Reason why I even think of this as a possibility is because if I deliberately lick my lips when looking at her, she will SOMETIMES do it back immediately.

My cat has picked up odd habits from other cats before. She had a brief stay with a fosterer when I was overseas and came back with a bark-meow that sounds exactly like one of the cats at the fosterers.

 

[solowars]

Just to add, she’s 3 years old, spayed. I feed her wet canned at night mixed with water for more hydration, and kibble during the day while I’m at work. She has a water bowl and a water fountain and she drinks from both.

 

[daftcat75]

Lip licking can be any number of things. Nausea, of course, but also hunger, thirst, satisfaction/tooth cleaning (cats will lick their lips after eating because they are really cleaning their mouth with the toothpick/toothbrush nature gave them), stress, dental pain or even something abnormal like how you might tongue that space where a tooth used to because it feels weird, it could be something neurological like a tic. Lip licking, like so many other symptoms, can be non-specific. It may be one of those "just a keep an eye open for any changes" kind of things if the vet can't find anything wrong right now, and the cat doesn't seem "off" in any other ways (eats well, pees and poops well, good hydration, not lethargic or overly reclusive, etc.)

 

[Jem]

We had a "lip licker". And he would, as you describe, flick his tongue once or twice then swallow. He would do it when he woke from a nap, after having a "conversation" with us, after playing, after and during a petting session, after and during chattering at the birds outside, after eating, after drinking, after grooming, if he had been hyper focused on something for a while and was "suddenly distracted" and sometimes when he would change positions while he was "half sleeping"/relaxing. Granted, he did have anxiety among other things, but in our case it was not due to your typical nausea or tooth/gum problems. I was under the impression (as he did see a vet regularly and they did not seem concerned about it) that it was just his thing. Non of his treatments for any of his conditions ever curbed the licking, and he did it even before he ever had any medical issues. I figured that he just made a bit more saliva, or did not "automatically swallow" as much as he should. And the reason for my suspicion, is that it seemed to always follow anything where he "used his mouth" (meow, chatter, groom...) or if he was hyper focused, zoned out or sleeping ("forget" to swallow, so an accumulation of saliva).
This may not be the case for yours, and I would still keep on eye on her for any other signs of illness, but as I said, mine was a lip licker too.

 

[She's a witch]

I’ve read that lip licking can sometimes be stress, but my cat lives in an extremely quiet home environment with just me. She doesn’t demonstrate any other symptoms of stress, and acts like she owns the house.

I have no experience in lip licking, but the part about stress caught my attention so I'll chip in: if she comes from the foster home of 30 cats, the extremely quiet home environment can create some stress. I'd say it depends on how she managed in the previous home, if she was happy around other cats or not. I adopted a cat that used to have 10+ cats around and it was difficult for him to adjust with only one companion. And my other cat would probably go crazy in "extremely quiet home" as she hates boredom - she is very intense and boredom is stressful for her. I am not saying this is what happens with your cat, but just to point out that not for every cat quiet=stress free.

 

[solowars]

Thank you all for your replies! I am hoping that her lip licking is just a habit and not a sign of some health condition, since she's been doing it for months without other symptoms. I'm trying to think of when she does it, and it seems to be mostly after drinking water/eating, which is normal since probably wants to clean her mouth, and also during play (if she caught anything with her mouth she will lick her lips after letting it go), after/during grooming, after/while interacting with or looking at me.. She doesn't seem to do it when she's just relaxed and just resting somewhere, which is why I didn't think it was a problem until I saw an article that said lip licking could be a sign of a health condition. I will continue keeping an eye on her!

Re the stress: I understand your point, though my cat, despite living in a foster home for a while, barely tolerates the company of most other cats. I've always been concerned about boredom for her though, since I am at work most of the day. I'm slowly working through as many things as possible to entertain her while I'm gone, she gets cat trees, toys, boxes, puzzle feeders, huge windows to look out, and I'm hoping to leash train her eventually + am considering the idea of a bird feeder outside. I play with her everyday after work and give her attention as and when she wants it. I do like the idea of having another cat so they can be companions for each other, but it isn't a viable option for me right now and I think it is something I will revisit in a couple of years.

 

[pipperoo]

My cat is a lip-licker. She does it when she's a bit nervous (loud construction noises outside) or stimulated in some other fashion (i.e. excited, totally into me talking to her).
She's always been a wet nose cat too, and sometimes her nose gets a little drippy - again when she's stimulated - and a few nose licks ensue.

 

[DreamerRose]

Every cat I've ever had has licked his or her lips. They do it when they're offended, embarrassed, or dissatisfied. In other words, lip licking is an expression of their feelings. It's completely normal.