Another question for a friend of mine.. Lip smacking?

[drunkmike]

I know that my Baxter does this and the vet is not sure really what it could be and I noticed it when visiting a friend of mine with her kitty. Maybe its something that is normal but I wanted to see what you all think.

The sound itself is best described as lip "smacking".. its not like they are licking there noses or anything but like when your mouth gets dry and you make that sound of your tounge and inner mouth being stuck together a bit.. Its really hard to explain lol! I need to try and get a video of Bax doing this sometime to show you what I mean.

What could this be? I mean nothing happens after they do it.. Its almost like its a nervous thing? Baxter usually does it when he is up in my face while I am sleeping. He will kinda sniff at me, try to lick my nose like he always does and then I will back off a bit and he will smack his lips 5 or 6 times and then lay back down.

I'm really lost now that I have seen 2 kittys do this now! Ideas?

[lmd]

My dogs do this for affection appreciation. When they are massaged, etc, they stick out their tongue a bit and and act like they are exercising their lips.

[drunkmike]

My dogs do this for affection appreciation. When they are massaged, etc, they stick out their tongue a bit and and act like they are exercising their lips.

nah this is more of a um.. almost like someone smacking there lips really loud when they are eating with there mouth open.

Just close and open your mouth a few times and let your lips / tongue smack when you do it. Only other way I can think of explaining it is when you first wake up in the morning and you have that kinda nasty taste in your mouth and do it lol. I will try to figure out how to get a vid of one of them doing it so you can see exactly what I am talking about!

[Traci]

If your friend's cat is doing this, (see response to that post please), she needs to get kitty seen immediately. With the increased water intake, and the smacking of lips, this could indicate dehydration. Many cats will also do this when they are nauseated or right before they need to vomit. In either case, dehydration is a real concern so she needs to get kitty to the vet ASAP (today, not next week), better safe than sorry. Another reason could be one of two things: coupled with the orofactory sense, they could be smelling or tasting something....or, there could be a serious oral health problem, such as diseased teeth, oral ulcer, oral abcess, etc.

As for Baxter, if he's well hydrated, and otherwise completely healthy,...if he has licked your skin, then he's tasting the salt from your skin, or he is or has just been grooming, perhaps to get your attention to get up and feed him, etc. If you're concerned, however, see your vet to make sure his oral health is good.

[mamabear]

Drunkmike, so glad to see you again and thank you for letting us know how Buddy is doing.

Nice to hear from you!

[Victoria]

My cat occasionally does this when she has something (like a hair or bit of fluff) in her mouth.