2007-02-26 09:54:30 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Cats have a scent gland in the roof of their mouths. They can actually smell with it and savor the aroma.
2007-02-26 09:59:27 · answer #1 · answered by peach 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
It is called Flehman...even big cats do this. More info below:
The Flehman Response
All felines have a special organ at the top of their mouth called the vomeronasal or Jacobson's Organ. That "James Cagney" look you sometimes see on your cat when his upper lip lifts and his nostrils twitch is called the Flehman Response, or just plain Flehman and he's using his Jacobson's Organ to sniff out something: a potential mate (a female in oestrus), a strange cat in his territory, or an unusual odor. (Cats aren't the only animals with a Jacobson's Organ. They're also found in snakes and some bats, as well as other mammals.)
2007-02-26 10:02:25 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
A cat has an extra sensory organ in its mouth and if it smells something strange it will open it's mouth and inhale the scent to get a better idea of what it is.Sort of like tasting the air.
Flehmening/Flehmen Reaction: The facial gesture similar to a grimace that a cat makes when it draws air over and stimulates the Jacobsen's Organ in the mouth.
Jacobsen's Organ: A sense organ located in a cat's mouth that functions somewhere between smell and taste.
Horses do this too -it's commonly referred to as "laughing"
2007-02-26 12:14:13 · answer #3 · answered by Debi 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are glands (Flehman) in their mouths that they smell with -- so breathing in the smell through the mouth helps. You'll only see them doing this when they're actively trying to smell something, like a spill on the floor from another cat...
2007-02-26 10:39:50 · answer #4 · answered by Corinnique 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some kitties are better at this than others... For instance
I have a little siamese kitty that is her actual job at our luxury kennel. When we strip the kitty rooms to clean and pull the kitty furniture out and it is possible we have had a cat who has litter box issues in this room she is the one who tells me so. We have her smell the furniture and If she opens her mouth that is it..... the furniture is thrown away. No fixing it. If she smells anything out of sorts so will others and then it will be a competition of marking.
2007-02-26 10:22:14 · answer #5 · answered by KittyCondos 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is something called the Flehmen response. Felines (and some other animals) have something called Jacobson's organ on the roof of their mouth. This organ can detect pheromones - in a way, you could say they can taste smells with it.
When cats smells something particularly interesting or pleasurable, they open their mouth and draw in air to bring the smell onto Jacobson's organ and analyze it more closely.
2007-02-26 10:04:58 · answer #6 · answered by Ms. S 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
When you smell something, your tastebuds are doing most of the work. When a cat smells something interesting, he will sometimes open his mouth and breath deeply to get a more detailed idea of what it is he is smelling. It's like turning your smeller up 500%. Think, wine tasting.
2007-02-26 10:35:41 · answer #7 · answered by Julia H 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They have an organ in the roof of their mouths-call the Jacobsens organ-it lets them check the scent more deeply than just by smelling it.
I think the action is call Flehming.
2007-02-26 12:58:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
They can usually smell a scent on you from another persons dog or cat it's nothing to worry about
2007-02-27 01:35:46 · answer #9 · answered by Sylvia B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your cat has probally just smelled a female or male cat. Cats usually do that when they smell something unusual
2007-02-26 10:11:10 · answer #10 · answered by jeviper653 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋