Chewing On.....nothing???

[kcat25]

My one cat, Glenn, has a habit of chewing..... nothing? Air? Haha, not sure how to describe it. He looks like he's chewing gum. Makes a quick little chewing motion/sound for a couple of seconds, stops and then may do it a couple more times and then carries on with his day. I thought maybe he had some fur in his mouth or something. But he does it so frequently I don't think that's why. He seems to do it when he's relaxed. Laying down, with his eyes closed, purring. Not always, but usually. He does this every day. Any guesses as to why? Or does anyone else's cat do this? I try to take him stop when I catch him doing it. I'm worried about his little teeth

 

[Willowy]

That's tooth grinding, and it's usually done because of nausea or pain :/. I suppose there may be some cats who do it purely as a habit, but a full checkup wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[tabbytom]

How old is he? If he’s below a year, he could be teething.

Here are some threads that may interest you :-

Chewing nothing?
Cat "air chewing" - sign of nausea?

 

[kcat25]

He's a year and a half, thankfully we're through the teething phase. No more stepping on little kitten razor teeth! I've actually heard about the nausea thing, but he almost never throws up, and his poops are literally always normal. He threw up after being neutered and getting his vaccines, most likely from so the medicine, that was almost year ago. And a hairball last week. Maybe 2 additional incidents that I can't really remember. He used to pretend to nurse all the time when he was little, we curbed the habit, and he's been doing this almost ever since. It makes me think maybe it's a replacement quirk?

 

[tabbytom]

Maybe he could have a strand or two of his fur in the mouth but and when he does that while he’s relax, could be just a habit like ‘Ah, satisfied and now relax’ before he sleeps.

Think if it’s nothing odd, it shouldn’t cause an alarm. But just observe and take note if it turns out to be something else. Take a video and show it to the vet on the next visit if it’s not an emergency.

 

[kcat25]

Yeah, he seems to do it mostly when he's just relaxed and content. Like when I'm petting him, or he's laying on or with me. I'm mostly worried he's going to mess up his teeth. He is due for a vet visit soon. He's so skittish around strangers, I've been putting it off. But we're coming up on a year since our last visit. In the meantime, I'm just trying to make him stop everytime I catch it. We'll see if we can shelf it like nursing thing!

 

[Kefa]

or is he doing this:
It's called chattering. I read an article scientists think it is a hunting technique but I have had cats that do it at the strangest non hunting times, sometimes with or without noise.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I'd definitely take Glenn in for a vet check, with special emphasis on his mouth initially. How is his eating, is he eating regularly and well? Nausea could be a cause, but this teeth grinding or chewing motion he is doing daily could have a few causes. Oral pain could be one of the possible causes.

 

[kcat25]

He LOVES eating. Whenever I walk into the kitchen he comes running in after me rubbing against my legs begging for food. But yeah my main concern is his teeth, like if something's not wrong already, there probably will be if he doesn't stop. I just wasn't sure if other people had cats doing this too. Like maybe it was just a quirk.

 

[Lindr]

Hi my cat does it to. It’s a neurological habit like suckling. My cat only does it when he is snuggling and purring also with his eyes closed. It’s cute. But I also worry about his teeth.