Hello. I was just wondering one of my babies does something I have never seen before. I was holding him and he will open his mouth up and take in 2 breaths. Kinda like panting but not really. He will do this quiet a few times. And Im not sure what it could be. Any advice will be greatly helpful.
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Sick Newborn?
- Thread starter momof6mews
- Start Date
I think they have a smelling thingie on the roof of their mouthes.. maybe he's smelling hi gramma?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Well maybe? He only does it when I hold him....
I took the liberty of moving your post to Kitten Care.
All cats, even kittens, have something known as the Vomero-Nasal Organ or VMO (also known as Jacobsen's organ). It is located in the roof of the mouth with a small opening behind the front teeth. This tiny organ (approximately 1/2" long) is thought to "taste" the air and to offer the cat additional sensory information.
When a cat sniffs an odor, it sometimes draws its lips back from its teeth into a grimace. It draws back from the source of the odor, the eyes narrow into slits and the cat pauses to contemplate. It may flick its tongue, sit back on its haunches and appear to be in a trance for several seconds. This grimace is known as the Flehmen reponse and it is the cat making use of its VMO.
It is easy to see the grimace as a reaction against a bad odor when it is actually just the opposite. When a cat sniffs a sharp smelling chemical, such as those in some household cleaners, heavily spiced foods or citrus scents, it turns away or draws back quickly to get away from the odor. The Flehmen response is just the opposite. The cat wants additional information from the odor.
This is a completely normal response when you hold this kitten ... he is just getting to know your smell!
Additionally, little kittens can and often do hiss when they are lifted off of a solid surface. Many will even scream blue bloody murder. *grin* Sounds like you have a pretty laid back baby there!
All cats, even kittens, have something known as the Vomero-Nasal Organ or VMO (also known as Jacobsen's organ). It is located in the roof of the mouth with a small opening behind the front teeth. This tiny organ (approximately 1/2" long) is thought to "taste" the air and to offer the cat additional sensory information.
When a cat sniffs an odor, it sometimes draws its lips back from its teeth into a grimace. It draws back from the source of the odor, the eyes narrow into slits and the cat pauses to contemplate. It may flick its tongue, sit back on its haunches and appear to be in a trance for several seconds. This grimace is known as the Flehmen reponse and it is the cat making use of its VMO.
It is easy to see the grimace as a reaction against a bad odor when it is actually just the opposite. When a cat sniffs a sharp smelling chemical, such as those in some household cleaners, heavily spiced foods or citrus scents, it turns away or draws back quickly to get away from the odor. The Flehmen response is just the opposite. The cat wants additional information from the odor.
This is a completely normal response when you hold this kitten ... he is just getting to know your smell!
Additionally, little kittens can and often do hiss when they are lifted off of a solid surface. Many will even scream blue bloody murder. *grin* Sounds like you have a pretty laid back baby there!
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If the kitten is not showing any other signs of illness, I would suspect he's hissing. Kittens just a few hours old will hiss in response to unfamiliar or startling stimuli, such as being picked up. Once you know what it is, it's really pretty funny. Their eyes are still closed, they have no teeth - but they'll still hiss if they don't like what you're doing!
That's exactly what I was going to say! And it's so cute when they do it, because they don't yet know HOW to do it! It's so funny. Sounds to me like their hissing. LOL!
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- #7
Ha Ha.......Laid Back kittens....Oh no!! I left out the part about the bloody murder screams...They do that when they are eating too. They are brats!
