We all know how much our cat loves us. Animals give us unlimited moments of tenderness and fun. However, it is possible that on some occasion you have discovered your pet looking at you with a ‘disgusted face’, turning his head and wrinkling his nose and lip after having smelled something intensely.
Although at first we might think that our animal feels disgust at what it has just smelled, the reality is much simpler: it is the ‘Flehmen response’ and it is a way of sniffing the environment around them. This physiological reaction also occurs in numerous mammalian species such as giraffes, zebras, horses, llamas or cows.
When the animal has this reaction, it opens its mouth slightly and retracts its lips (as if making a face) after intensely smelling a scent that usually comes from outside. Through this movement, the animal transfers the aroma to a specific organ called the vomeronasal , which is located under the nose. This organ is in charge of analyzing aromas and transferring them to the brain. Some animals, such as cats, have a second aroma analyzer located on the palate, the vomeronasal or ‘Jacobson’s organ’. The function of this is to direct the information to other areas of the body.
Thus, by analyzing the urine in this way, our cat can detect relevant information from other animals such as whether they are in heat or not , the time that has elapsed since the last time it was there or if it is in good health. It is a communication tool used by many animals.
Sniffing process
Due to the mucus in these ducts, the odor does not naturally rise upwards. Therefore, to carry out the sniffing, the animal must first absorb the aroma through the mouth , to later dissolve it in liquid and finally put it in contact with the sensory cells of said organ. After this process, our cat puts on the famous ‘face of disgust’.
In reality, when an animal retracts its lips and performs this gesture, what it is doing is opening the ducts to begin the pumping process, taking a deep breath. Although they can smell through the nose, this mechanism allows them to receive other odors that they do not detect with smell alone. The vomeronasal organ has a cluster of chemical receptors that allows them to distinguish different aromas.
On the other hand, although this system allows the animal to receive a multitude of information, it is usually used to recognize the sex of other animals – whether they are of the same species or not – and to know if the females are in heat, thanks to the pheromones of the urine. For this reason, the ‘Flehmen response’ is also one of the main strategies that males use to reproduce.
So the next time your cat makes such a peculiar face, think that it is actually trying to receive information from the outside.
