Cat Sniffing

Felix has been really into sniffing lately. He will sniff and sniff and sniff and then do something with his mouth that looks like he is breathing out the smell.

He was sniffing Jimmy yesterday and kept sniffing and sniffing so I decided to look up why a cat would sniff.

Here is what I learned.


"All cats (or felines) have an organ at the top of their mouth. It is properly called the vomeronasal organ but is more commonly referred to as Jacobson’s Organ. Other animals with this special organ include snakes, bats, and a few other mammals.

The Jacobson Organ is what causes that peculiar cat behavior that you often see in your own house cat – that is, your cat appears to lift its upper lip and twitch its nostrils as though sniffing for something. The proper name for this peculiar behavior is Flehman Response and your cat displays this in order to identify any potential mates, a potential rival cat in the territory, or an unusual odor."
http://www.onlycatinfo.com/cat-anatomy.html

And I just thought Jimmy was stinky!!