# Stinky face...



## vanillasugar (Nov 11, 2004)

Ye know that face cat's make sometimes, if they're smelling something...they open their mouthes a little... It looks like they're going "pe-u"

Nya makes this face ALL the time. I've never had a cat that did it so much. I don't know what it's for, does anyone know why they do this?


----------



## vanillasugar (Nov 11, 2004)

I guess so...she did it when she walked around the room in my parents house that she stayed in when we were there. That was the first time i noticed it. Since then she does it very often.


----------



## Dusty&Lou (Jun 16, 2004)

I can't remember why, but cats usually open their mouths slightly to get a better whiff of something. She's just really concentrating on the smell! :lol:


----------



## stephanie0122 (Oct 13, 2004)

Cats have a small hole in the roof of their mouth that is directly connected to their nose...they do most of their smelling through their mouth surprisingly. If you pen your cats mouth up gently you can see it is there!


----------



## mynee (Nov 18, 2004)

I think this is something similar to a response that lions do when they smell a lioness in heat. I think in other species that do this type of smelling, they call it a Flehmann's (sp?) response. But I have seen both my males and my female cat do this. I think, for them, this is a way to draw a _very_ interesting smell over more sensitive olfactory receptors. And they do indeed have a hole in the roof of their mouth that they use to enhance scents. It's very strange to me, but it works for them! Tiny used to do the open-mouthed sniff quite a bit after Hot Rod started using his box.

-mynee


----------



## emma_pen (Nov 2, 2004)

This 'hole' in the top of their mouth is called 'Jacobson's Organ' and is very similar to that of reptiles smelling apparatus!

Ems


----------



## vanillasugar (Nov 11, 2004)

cool, thanks guys! i knew it had something to do with smell. Now i have the answer. She's probably doing it more because Buddy has come into the house, and she's checking out where he's been. Thanks!


----------



## UmmYeahOk (Jun 17, 2004)

Thats cool. I didnt know that. I just assumed like vanilla did, they just smelled something they really don't like. Either that, or they simply forgot to close their mouth. Kinda like when cats forget to put their tongue back into their mounth, and it looks like theyre sticking their tongue out at you.


----------

