Roof Of Mouth Licking?

Kairi

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Hello! I just joined, having recently got a rescue and am already perplexed by something he does. We've had him for about a week. He did it once or twice in the first couple of days we had him, but then stopped. Tonight, he sat and did it for like six minutes.

Randomly, without any real consistencies beforehand, he will sit there and lick the roof of his mouth like he has peanut butter stuck there or something. He's drinking a healthy amount of water and he hadn't eaten immediately prior, so there didn't seem to be anything specific that set it off.

I took a video for his vet when we go back (just had his wellness check a few days ago, but didn't bring this up because he hadn't done it again).

I just was hoping to maybe get some insight from anyone else here in the mean time until we can have him properly looked at.
 

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FeralRussian

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Cats are weirdos to be sure. Hopefully the vet will know immediately if it is an issue or not. The only time I have ever seen Anais do something similar is when she decided to leap on the counter, shove a jalapeño off and bat it about. Soon after.... yeah well, Cats! And she still goes on the counter.

Because Cats have a secondary “nose” on the roof of their mouths it could be something he smells. It could also be something like licking a blanket that had been washed with a laundry detergent or dryer sheet that had perfume additive.

Whatever is the cause I hope it isn’t serious for such a cutie pie that he is.
 
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Kairi

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Because Cats have a secondary “nose” on the roof of their mouths it could be something he smells.
This actually makes a lot of sense all of a sudden. We put catnip in all of "his" places (like the bed he's laying in, in the video) when we first got him to make him more comfortable. The more I think about it, the more that the "catnip areas" seem to line up with when he does it. I'm gonna do a heavy vacuum of the place tomorrow and see if maybe that's what's setting him off. Thank you so much for mentioning this.
 

She's a witch

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Lips licking can be a sign of nausea, but is he grinding his teeth as well? Do you hear any sound? If he is, this can be a sign that something is wrong with his mouth area, so it needs to be checked thoroughly. Bruxism can have many causes but teeth are most likely the trouble.
 
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Kairi

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Lips licking can be a sign of nausea, but is he grinding his teeth as well? Do you hear any sound? If he is, this can be a sign that something is wrong with his mouth area, so it needs to be checked throughly. Bruxism can have many causes but teeth are most likely the trouble.
No teeth sounds or troubles as far as I can tell. It's just the smacking sound of his tongue on the roof of his mouth.
During the wellness check, the vet said his mouth looked pretty good, barring probably needing his first teeth cleaning towards the end of the year.
 

meglem

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No teeth sounds or troubles as far as I can tell. It's just the smacking sound of his tongue on the roof of his mouth.
During the wellness check, the vet said his mouth looked pretty good, barring probably needing his first teeth cleaning towards the end of the year.
Did your vet ever tell you what it is? My cat is doing the exact same thing.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. The OP hasn't been active on this site since nearly 2 years ago. Can you give us more details about what else is going on with your cat?
 
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