8 Reasons Why Your Cat’s Tongue Sticks Out

Cats are adorable creatures that have a lot of funny gestures, like lying around on their back doing absolutely nothing, chasing their tales, poking their tongue out, and much more.

Some of these gestures indeed raise questions regarding their health and well-being, but is this one of them? Cat’s tongues stick out because…

1. Your cat is grooming

Sometimes, you may see your cat’s tongue poking out after or during grooming time, if something else distracts its attention. This is perfectly normal, probably your cat forgot its tongue outside of its mouth.

2. Your cat is bleping

Is that even a word? Well, yes it is and no one knows its origin but yes, cats do blep. This means the cat sticks its tongue out for no reason. As a vet, I can assure you this is absolutely normal, as long as the cat isn’t in distress and as long as the bleping doesn’t take too long. If your cat does this very often, it’s time for a check-up.

3. Your cat smells or tastes its surroundings

Well, yes, cats can smell their environment using other organs instead of their noses. The cat has an olfactory organ inside of its mouth, called Jacobson’s organ or the vomeronasal organ. This is a structure located in the anterior portion of the roof of its mouth. 

How does it work? The scent from the environment, particularly pheromones, is collected in the mouth, and then the cat uses its tongue to flick it up to the vomeronasal organ.

The cat’s upper lip is curled and keeps its mouth slightly open. It’s called the Flehmen response or “flehmening”.

Cats use this response to detect sexual status or information about other cats. It’s a reaction somewhere in between tasting and smelling. 

4. Your cat is relaxing

Well, if you ever slept and woke up to find you’re drooling in your sleep and you slept with your mouth open, you must know this happens to cats as well. 

5. Your cat has a genetic issue

Some cats, like Persian or Burmese cats, that have a squished flat face, are called brachycephalic cats. This means their skull bones are shorter than normal. These cats’ tongues might stick out more than any other cat, because of this reason. 

6. Your cat has a mouth disease

Some cats, as they age, might develop certain dental problems, such as tartar, periodontal disease, stomatitis or even tumors.

Dental problems that lead to the loss of the cat’s teeth, especially the canines, may be one of the reasons the cat isn’t capable of holding its tongue inside its mouth. Conditions like tumors or cysts don’t allow the entire tongue to stay inside the mouth. 

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7. Your cat has a neurological disease

Older cats may suffer from neurological diseases, due to age, living conditions or infectious diseases. Some of these conditions may cause abnormal movement of the tongue, the impossibility of the mouth opening entirely, or the impossibility of retracting the tongue.  

8. Your cat’s tongue has something on it

Your cat may exhibit a behavior that resembles “spitting”, to remove debris from its mouth. Its tongue may stick out, because of this particular reason.

For whatever reason your cat might be poking its tongue out, be sure to pay attention to it when doing so, to make sure your feline friend has perfect health.