My cat sticks his tongue out 24/7

My cat has a habit of sticking the tip of his tongue out all day long. His tongue is even sticking out when he's asleep. The only time when he doesn't do this is when he's scared.

It's to the point where the tip is dirty. There are brown specks on it. I don't know if this is because he's always sticking his tongue out or what. I only started noticing the change in color recently.

Is this something I should be worried about? He's almost 5 years old and he's been doing this since he was a kitten.

You should get his teeth checked out - cats with very bad stomatitis tend to do that...

Yup, buddy had a cat that was doing that, which was not tame enough to allow handling to check her teeth. Brought to the vet, and just lightly pulled on the back tooth with a tissue after noticing it was wobbly, and it fell right out.

Not sure how sticking a tongue out makes them feel better, but definitely a concern to bring to the vet and if you can, just pop open the mouth and do a good inspection and sniff (it shouldn't be stinky unless they just ate).

i'll definitely bring this to his vet's attention. I never even thought to bring this up with him before

Thanks for the help

If the cat you are talking about is the picture you have posted by your name, persians do sometimes tend to do that. It could mean that their bite is off or even the tongue is too long to fit all the way inside his mouth. It doesn't necessarily mean there is anything wrong with his health.

Yes, my cat is a persian. The reason why I wasn't concerned before was because he seems to be able to control it. If he's scared or angry, his tongue disappears. So I figured it was just a habit. He's never stuck it out during his vet visits or when he's at the groomers. But I guess it never hurts to double check with his vet.

Is his bite straight? I mean he doesn't have an underbite or stuff like that?
(He's cute, I have a 'secret' crush on chinchilla and shaded persians )

Agree with most others here. Have the vet check the teeth out. I've never had this with any of my cats but a friend couldn't figure out why her cat was doing the same thing. Sure enough, bad tooth.

This isn't a great pic, but you can see his teeth. would you guys say it's normal?

Originally Posted by ixi

This isn't a great pic, but you can see his teeth. would you guys say it's normal?

Click to expand...

I really can't tell from the pic but he sure is a cutie