# Sniffing means...?



## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

I mean obviously sniffing is used by cats for a variety of benign reasons, greetings, gathering information etc. While cuddling my gal now I sniffed her mouth the way she does with me. In the middle of her purring she snorted at me each time I sniffed and looked at me irritatedly - there was even a hint of a swat if I didnt lay off. 
What was going on there?


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## Xanti (Nov 4, 2008)

Maybe she was embarrassed because she hadn't cleaned her teeth yet?


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

I actually like the smell of her stinky cat breath


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## Kiki (Jan 23, 2010)

Dasher does this to me too. If I audibly sniff him, he will swat at me and run away. I have been wondering if it *means* something to them.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

It means you are being rude and invading her space. :wink 

When I put my face near their faces it is *very* rare that I ever look them in the eyes. When I'm that close I'll look off to the side, sort of 'staring-into-the-middle-distance'. Usually, I'll put my face near them and then stop, letting them evaluate their own reaction, and if they show interest (_leaning towards me or stretching their nose/face towards me_) *then* I'll move forward again to bump noses, sniff their breath and/or kiss them. 
...but I have to have that little bit of interest from them before I just go ahead and do it or I risk their displeasure and a slight decline in their trust. 
A few of my kitties trust so deeply that me invading their space would never be an issue, but it is always nice to remain polite with them at all times anyways. It keeps me in good habits so I don't slip-up with a kitty who isn't as laid-back.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

She might think you are checking for alcohol breath, Daddy! Trust is so important! :wink:


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## NosyKitty (Feb 3, 2010)

Did you "poof" any air on her when you were sniffing? I do the same thing sometimes, and if I accidentally blow too much air on Ninja, he will be like, "Hey, what did you just do!?"


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Nah, I was trying to sniff in the same manner she sniffs me, no hissing. I think heidi is correct, she was having a nice, purry catnap and I invaded her space. So she gets to sniff me whenever she wants but I dont eh...spoilt brat


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I overheard your cat talking to the other girls: "Hmmmph! They don't call him Faithless for nothing! He had the nerve to sniff my breath! I wonder how many other cats he's done that to? A bit personal, don't you think? MRRRRRRRRow!!!"


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## NosyKitty (Feb 3, 2010)

Jeanie said:


> I overheard your cat talking to the other girls: "Hmmmph! They don't call him Faithless for nothing! He had the nerve to sniff my breath! I wonder how many other cats he's done that to? A bit personal, don't you think? MRRRRRRRRow!!!"


 :lol:


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

I just tried it with RayRay. He sits next to me when I'm on the computer and he is cleaning himself at the moment. I sniffed at him and he turned around and looked at me as if to say, "What the heck are you doing?" Then he gave me a head butt.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I'll experiment with my kitties...
_sniff = a few quick in/out sniffs that make a light and audible sound_

Malibu just hopped up on the desk next to me and I "sniffed" her nose. She is one of my cats who doesn't mind my face close to hers. She turned her head and sniffed my nose, giving it a quick lick and a sigh before she turned and sat down in her spot.
BooBoo just hopped up on the other side of the desk and when I sniffed him, near his cheek, he sort of stiffened and pulled his head away, looking at me out of the side of his eyes. I held still and he held still. When I moved my head a few inches away, he visibly relaxed and then head-butted me before hopping to the top of the roll-top.
Shadow was laying on a towel on top of the LitterChest behind me and I got on my knees next to her to sniff. She sat up and 'trilled' at me, seemed to be questioning what I wanted. I sniffed again and she trilled and stood up, then paraded in front of me, rubbing her body along my face and wrapping her tail around my head in a kitty-hug.
S-Jo walked in and I got down on all fours to sniff at her head and she immediately turned her head and began to interestedly sniff at my mouth.
Louie walked in and when I sniffed at his head, he turned his head and sniffed me back, then gave me a head-butt. (_Louie can NOT smell anything at all_)
Floofy was asleep and when I sniffed at his head he just woke slowly and turned towards me as if asking what I wanted.
Pretty let me put my face close but when I sniffed she stiffened and backed up from me in confusion. When I pet and scrubbled her shoulders in apology she relaxed and laid back down.
Shasta wanted nothing to do with being sniffed, she quickly turned and left.

None of my cats offered to swat me.


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Actually, there wasnt really a hint of a swat, Im having trouble identifying her reaction to this. She didnt budge her paws, but she stared at me with an expression that I couldnt quite place. Whether it was irritation or excitement. It's similar to an overstimulated cuddling, because she continues to purr louder and louder as if in excitement, though possibly in irritation, but stands up if I continue. Usually, but not always, once she's stood up, its only a matter of time before she jumps down from the couch and goes off to stalk and kill a wad of paper or eat or something.

More like this:



> "Shadow was laying on a towel on top of the LitterChest behind me and I got on my knees next to her to sniff. She sat up and 'trilled' at me, seemed to be questioning what I wanted. I sniffed again and she trilled and stood up, then paraded in front of me, rubbing her body along my face and wrapping her tail around my head in a kitty-hug."


Just tried again and she trilled and stared at me. Im still confused as to whether she likes it or not. Its a little peculiar if she dislikes it though, since cats do that without irritating each other.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Well, the only thing I could add is that kitties do this to each other and in most of these cases, we were doing it to our kitties. Boo and Pretty were absolutely affronted that I would invade their space by sniffing. Pretty had the strongest negative reaction and I expected that from her as she was a very difficult feral cat to socialize and we are still working on areas and strengthening what she has learned. Boo appeared to not be comfortable with what I was doing, but as soon as I backed off a bit, he relaxed and gave me a friendly head-butt. 
So, I think the difference is if the action is "mutual" it is completely agreeable. If it is one-sided, the other party may feel irritation, express confusion, lift a paw as a 'stop' signal or simply leave.


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## NosyKitty (Feb 3, 2010)

> but she stared at me with an expression that I couldnt quite place.


That's probably because you don't normally perform this gesture to her and SHE couldn't quite place YOUR expression. lol

Since Ninja was a kitten, I have been sticking my face in his and handling him all different ways just so he would be so used to it and comfortable with me doing anything to him. But if I do something to him that I haven't before then I do get that, "What on earth are you doing?" look.

I do know that cats may purr for other reasons than contentment, such as fear etc., but I have never heard a cat purr out of irritation. If she's irritated, like you said, she will just get up and leave. I believe the expression your receiving from her is just confusion since this isn't your "normal" behavior, and she doesn't know what your trying to tell her, "is he nuzzling me, investigating me, telling me to leave?"

If you would like behave more "cat-like" with her, just start doing it more often, but not to the point where she gets annoyed and leaves. Just give her a nose-to-nose nuzzle or whatever when she is laying down relaxed, and turn her confusion into a positive experience with praising or a treat. Then she will begin to understand what this new behavior means.


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Some good answers there. I was thinking it might simply be confusion on her part too. Ive always had my face in her neck and tummy, but trying to mimic what she does with me when I come home or have eaten, sniff her mouth, was new.


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## NosyKitty (Feb 3, 2010)

faithless said:


> Some good answers there. I was thinking it might simply be confusion on her part too. Ive always had my face in her neck and tummy, but trying to mimic what she does with me when I come home or have eaten, sniff her mouth, was new.


Yeah, she's probably like, "Um, your a human, what do you think you're doing!?" :lol:


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

Fay responded with an especially hearty head butt and face rub. 

We greet face to face all the time. She's allways been a face comfortable cat. Her favorite spot is sitting on a shoulder. When I get in at night I get down on my kness and we face touch. A lot of times she'll lie down on the back of the sofa at the end and I'll go over, knell down to be at her level and we'll nose touch and face nuzzle. When I did this last night I added an audible sniff and she responded with an especially long rub of her face and neck.

When I tried this with Mia I couldn't tell if she responded. She's a very busy active cat and is always on to the next thing quickly. I'll have to catch her when she's in a sleepy affectionate mood to be sure.


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

I did it in reply today when she did it first and there was no reaction. She sniffed, I sniffed quietly back, she sniffed again, and that was all. Whether shes getting used to it or whether she needs to initiate it, Im not sure.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I bet she needs to initiate. :wink: 
Experiment: At a later time, you initiate sniffing and see what her reaction is. It will probably be one of two things, she sniffs back and has no issues or she thinks it is rude and she pulls away, giving you "The Look".


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I greet Nito and my mom's cat Elfie with head butts, and they love that (esp. Elfie, he'd head butt with you all day if he could!)

I think I've sort of "trained" my girls into kissing- I kiss them so much that the greeting I usually get from them is a tilted up head- presenting a little wet nosey to be kissed. If I kiss them too much (see: machine gun kissing) then close their eyes, put theirs ears back, and bear it. :lol:


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Well, today I reciprocated when she sniffed my mouth and she headbutted me. Later, I initiated it while she was lying next to me in the couch purring and she trilled and gave me the look.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Just so you don't head butt her back! :wink:


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Well, it sounds like she's accepted you as another cat.  Good job!


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