Cat Hanging Mouth Open A Lot

[bathedinshadow]

My cat has started a new behavior. I've had her for 5 years and never have seen this until the last couple months, but she's starting to hang her mouth open. I've read up on it and most things point to "smelling." She's not smelling. I feel pretty confident in that. First of all, nothing is new in the house. She often does it after meowing or cleaning (when her mouth is already open). It almost seems like it's stuck momentarily. If I talk to her and get her to meow again, she always shuts it. She doesn't look like she laboring to breathe either. I mentioned it to my vet when I was there a couple weeks ago, and she just gave the "she's probably smelling" answer. I find it strange that my cat decided (after 5 years) to start smelling a new way. Anybody have an alternative rationale for this? I took a little video of her doing it, but she of course stopped 2 seconds in. I'm trying to capture it as it looks different than when I've seen cats do this as a means of "smelling."

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

First of all, nothing is new in the house. She often does it after meowing or cleaning (when her mouth is already open). It almost seems like it's stuck momentarily.

B bathedinshadow - "Stuck momentarily," is the key here, I suspect (as does likewise your veterinarian). The vomeronasal organ, which is employed for pheromone communication between cats, can be seen in action via the Flehmen Response - an involuntary response to the pheromones of other cats. There's also a voluntary response, however - the cat drawing fluid into the vomeronasal organ's lumen, which connects directly to the nasal passages - when the other cat is a good distance away (e.g. on the other side of a wall, or outside), in order to - voluntarily - 'get a better smell.'

Best guess, there's a new kid cat in town. Other best guess: your vet's best guess was the best best guess.
.

 

[1 bruce 1]

B bathedinshadow - "Stuck momentarily," is the key here, I suspect (as does likewise your veterinarian). The vomeronasal organ, which is employed for pheromone communication between cats, can be seen in action via the Flehmen Response - an involuntary response to the pheromones of other cats. There's also a voluntary response, however - the cat drawing fluid into the vomeronasal organ's lumen, which connects directly to the nasal passages - when the other cat is a good distance away (e.g. on the other side of a wall, or outside), in order to - voluntarily - 'get a better smell.'

Best guess, there's a new kid cat in town. Other best guess: your vet's best guess was the best best guess.
.

My childhood cats made me scream laugh with this, they'd smell something, then look around, eyes half shut, mouth hanging open.
Parents always called it the "Duh George Face".

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

My cat has started a new behavior. I've had her for 5 years and never have seen this until the last couple months, but she's starting to hang her mouth open. I've read up on it and most things point to "smelling." She's not smelling. I feel pretty confident in that. First of all, nothing is new in the house. She often does it after meowing or cleaning (when her mouth is already open). It almost seems like it's stuck momentarily. If I talk to her and get her to meow again, she always shuts it. She doesn't look like she laboring to breathe either. I mentioned it to my vet when I was there a couple weeks ago, and she just gave the "she's probably smelling" answer. I find it strange that my cat decided (after 5 years) to start smelling a new way. Anybody have an alternative rationale for this? I took a little video of her doing it, but she of course stopped 2 seconds in. I'm trying to capture it as it looks different than when I've seen cats do this as a means of "smelling."

Yep, the Flehmen response.

Cats don't only do this to smell other cats' pheromones and hormones... they also can do it when cleaning themselves, particularly their own private parts.

When it has happened in our house, we say that our cat Milly is smelling her own "pee pee and poo poo scent molecules". lol.

Sometimes any human can smell those poo poo molecules too, in the midst of the race to quickly clean the litter box.

 

[bathedinshadow]

I find it odd that she has NEVER done this and now she does this all the time. In reference to there being another cat, I highly doubt that. We live on the top of a hill, quite a distance away from other houses. I've never seen another cat outside. I've seen plenty of deer, but no cats. Oddly, about a year ago, we lived down the hill around many cats, and she never did it. I can see that would be the assumption (I've done a lot of reading), but it's odd to suddenly start 3 months ago.

As long as it's nothing to worry about, she can hang her mouth open all she likes!