TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Behavior › Joni did this weird tongue thing
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Joni did this weird tongue thing

post #1 of 7
8/19/11 at 5:48pm
Thread Starter 
Yesterday Joni had a vet visit and it was the first time she'd left the house since I brought her home from the first vet visit about a month ago. She was really freaked out in the carrier - I guess this is standard for most cats but maybe because of having each other, Simon & Garfunkel have never really cared much about being in the carrier, so it was hard for me to hear her moaning and carrying on, lol,

We were stuck in traffic for awhile so I was looking down at her in the cage and she was turning around and mewling up at me... and then she started doing this really weird thing with her tongue that FREAKED ME OUT.

She would open her mouth like she was mewling or about to yawn, but just left it open and wiggled her tongue back and forth, not really in and out like a snake but sort of a side-to-side circular motion - and she was looking at me with really big freaked out eyes. It was almost like a panting but I knew she wasn't hot since I had the AC on. It is actually freaking me out remembering it, lol! That's how creepy it was! She did it several different times and I tried to get a video but she stopped doing it, of course.

Has anyone ever seen something like this? It was so weird and scary! It reminded me of a dog I'd seen who had a seizure so it really freaked me out. She turned out to be fine of course but I still wonder what it was.
Reply
post #2 of 7
8/19/11 at 7:41pm
Oh, poor baby was scared out of her mind! I can't picture what you've described, Anna, but from the sound of it, I'd be freaked out, too. *yeesh*

Just a thought... maybe you could leave the carrier out and open somewhere in the house, and put a few toys or something with which Joni's familiar inside it so she can go in and out, exploring and playing? This will get her familiar and comfortable with the crate.

She might still be scared riding in the car, but that little bit of extra familiarity might help take it down a notch. Hopefully!

AC
Reply
post #3 of 7
8/19/11 at 7:59pm
Hmm, I don't really know what to say, except it reminds me a bit of what I wrote about the neighbor cat Mister in response to this thread. Now I know Mister isn't scared when he does the mouth/tongue thing, because it's while he's wandering around in between getting distracted by birds or bugs and running at me and flopping over for pets and belly rubs. It's a mystery to me, but as long as little Joni's ok, then I wouldn't worry about it too much.

BTW, I think we're due for some more pics of your babies......
Reply
post #4 of 7
8/20/11 at 7:02pm
My girl has done that panting at the vet. I was amazed myself. Vet didn't seem terribly surprised or worried. She's also drooled on the vet -vet said that's happened to her before as well.
Reply
post #5 of 7
8/21/11 at 1:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by parsleysage View Post
left it open and wiggled her tongue back and forth, not really in and out like a snake but sort of a side-to-side circular motion - and she was looking at me with really big freaked out eyes.
That's how Buttercup pants after a really hard play session. I've read that some cats pant in response to stress, so I think you are right and Joni was just freaked out in the carrier.
Reply
post #6 of 7
8/21/11 at 5:57am
Utu pants if I give him a bath. He freaks out so much. Also when I moved to this current place, Utu and Kuura were panting when I brought them here. They never did that when I took them to my mom's house, but I think this place was a bit different because the previous resident had dogs and the cats probably could smell them everywhere.
Luckily they are all fine in car and vet visits.
Reply
post #7 of 7
8/21/11 at 7:56am
Loki does this when she's really stressed out, too. She has a really intense yowl, and the combination of that and the tongue wagging really stress ME out. I know that it's normal behavior for her, but it is just so unnerving!!
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Behavior
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Behavior › Joni did this weird tongue thing