12/29/2025
The open-mouth sniffing face is caused by something called the “flehmen reaction,” and it’s perfectly normal. When your feline friend takes a sniff and leaves its mouth open for a few seconds, it’s actually drawing air into the mouth and up into Jacobson’s organ. This action helps the organ to process the scent more deeply than your cat’s nose can and sends signals to your cat’s brain. Usually, cats will have the flehmen reaction when sniffing urine or f***s from another cat, since these substances contain pheromones. Do your cats do this?
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