Lip Smacking?

Background: 2 - 3 yrs old. Arthritis in rear ankle due to bad break last fall. Currently on dasuquin joint supplement daily. No other known problems. Vet checkup a few weeks ago.

I've noticed that my foster cat is often smacking his lips, similar to if he has something in his mouth. I don't see the tongue, so he's not licking his lips like he would after a meal. Just kind of... lip smacking I guess. He does it fairly often at different times of day, during different activities.

Is this anything I need to be concerned about? (His teeth were fine at his checkup). I've not noticed a cat doing this before.

The only thing I know about lip smacking, is when it is caused by nausea secondary to CRF. Do you know if he was given any Metacam for pain control after the ankle break? Metacam has been implicated in renal failure in cats. Was any bloodwork done when he was at the Vet's office recently? If not, bloodwork to rule out renal problems would probably be a good idea.

When my cat is nauseated he will lick his lips, but I don't really hear a smacking sound.

I don't hear a smacking sound either, just see him doing it, and his mouth isn't really open... its hard to describe, maybe I can find a video, lol.

They did not do bloodwork at his recent visit and since he is a foster cat, they won't approve a vet visit without more of a reason than what I've got at the moment. His file is at the rescue, so I can't look until Saturday to see if he had Metacam. I believe Buspar is what they gave me to bring home, but I haven't had to give him any yet since he is doing ok with the arthritis.

Ok, found a vid on youtube. It is similar to this, but maybe not as open mouthed as this one.

When Simba is nauseated my vet says it's ok to give him 1/2 tablet of Pepcid A/C (the regular Pepcid tablets that humans take). It works like a charm. You may want to ask your vet if it would be ok for you to try the Pepcid. That would give you a good indication if it is nausea or something else. It really helps Simba.