Why Do Cats Open Their Mouth When They Smell Feet
Camila Farah
The cat opens his mouth to allow scent to reach the vomeronasal organ called the jacobsen organ in the roof of his mouth.
Cats have an organ in the roof of thier mouth that aids with their sense of smell. It is just inside right behind their front upper teeth. That organ provides more information about certain scents than smelling them through the nasal passages alone. It s thought that by using the flehmen response cats can identify certain information like the cat s identity if it s a stranger if the cat is male or female and if he or she has been spayed or neutered.
The resulting facial expression could also have you thinking your cat is chuckling about something. They must just have a thing for. It enables their jacobsen s organ located in the roof of their mouths to investigate the scent. Holding their mouth open like that lets the scent flow across that area letting.
Flehmening can occur with a number of scents but most frequently occurs when the cat smells urine. Cats most often make the face after smelling where another cat has sprayed. The cat wants additional information from the odor. There are plenty of jokes about how cats smell their owner s feet or shoes and then make the surprised face with their mouths open because they simply cannot stand the smell.
RELATED ARTICLE :
- why does my nose piercing keep getting infected
- why does putting vicks on your feet stop coughing
- why does my husband blame me for everything
A lot of cats have the habit of opening their mouths for a long time while they are busy smelling and exploring. It separates tastes from the air allowing a cat to taste whatever it can smell. Cats have a scent gland inside of their mouths. The cats slightly raise the upper lip to create a pumping mechanism that allows odors reach the vomeronasal organ.
Cats also have an extra sense organ that is unique to felines. The jacobsen s organ as it is known can be described as somewhere between smell and taste. Many male cats will exhibit this behavior when they smell the genitals or urine of a female cat in heat. Some owners might think that a cat is opening its mouth and making a stinky face because it might be hungry or upset.
The cat uses its mouth not nose to suck in air and filter it into the vomeronasal area. But the cat is not the only animal that has this incredible organ.
Weird Behaviors Why Do Cats Open Their Mouths After Smelling Something
Last Week I Showed You How Cats Land On Their Feet After A Fall And Asked Whether You Had Any Strange Cat Scienc Cat Meowing At Night Cat Advice Cat Medication
Open Mouth Insert Foot Cats Cat Photo Cat Cleaning
Pin On Cat Behavior
Pin On Cat Health Tips
When Cats Smell Something Awful They Sort Of Look Into Space And Have Their Mouths Half Open Why Do They Do That Quora
4 Inappropriate Scratching Scratching Is A Natural And Healthy Behavior For A Cat It Helps Her Stretch Release Pent Up Ene Cats Cat Wallpaper Cat Behavior
Cat Purring With Mouth Open In 2020 Cats Cat Purr Purring
Mom Cat Carrying Kitten In Mouth Orange Tabby 17 In L Animals Cat Mom Animals Cats
Source : pinterest.com
