Lip Smacking Cat

by Monica
(Santa Clarita, CA, USA)

My three year old male cat has spontaneously started smacking his lips. It started while he was alseep and continued off and on since he has woken up. It doesn't appear as though he can control it. Frequently, his mouth just starts smacking open and closed. It can be just once or several time repeatedly. His mouth smacks despite what he is doing. There doesn't seem to be any kind of patternand he doesn't seem to be hurt or bothered by it. He has never done this before and he doesn't have any prior health issues. I just want to know if it is normal or if it is something that I should be concerned about.

Thanks for your help.

Hi Monica
It may well be that your cat is feeling slightly sick and may feel the need to vomit a bit like nausea.

Cats will eat grass from time to time to help make themselves sick and have you noticed him doing this at all.

If the behavior continues for more than a fe days then it may be an idea to have him checked over by a vet but hopefully cats get over bouts of nausea on their own in a few days if it is not related to an illness.

This page on my site talks about some of the possible causes of cat vomiting which you may find of further interest

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-vomiting.html
Kate

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