Cats have an incredibly powerful sense of smell that allows them to detect subtle scents that humans can’t. If your curious kitty is constantly sniffing your mouth and breath, there’s a perfectly good explanation for this quirky behavior.
If you don’t have time to read the full article, here’s the quick answer: Cats smell their owners’ breath because they’re attracted to interesting scents like food residue, toothpaste, bad breath, or even illness, and they want to analyze these smells more closely.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the science behind your cat’s powerful nose, reasons why they’re attracted to human breath smells, and tips to curb this behavior if it bothers you.
Your Cat’s Powerful Sense of Smell
Cats Have 14 Times More Smell Receptors Than Humans
Cats have an incredibly powerful sense of smell thanks to the impressive olfactory anatomy they possess. Their nose contains around 200 million smell receptors, whereas humans only have about 12-20 million. This means cats have 14 times more smell sensitivity than us!
When inhaling, air enters a cat’s nose and passes smell particles over the olfactory epithelium – a section in the nasal cavity covered with millions of olfactory receptors. When odor molecules bind to these receptors it sends signals to the brain, allowing cats to identify and process scents.
They Can Detect Subtle Scents and Chemical Changes
With such an acute sense of smell, cats can detect even the faintest and subtlest of scents that humans would never notice. They can pick up on tiny chemical changes too. Anything from pheromones, to emotions, to illness can all be sniffed out by your cat.
This allows them to gather incredible amounts of information from smells alone. For example, cats can detect the extremely subtle scent change when someone is about to have an epileptic seizure. They can even sniff out cancer in humans!
Smells Give Cats Information About Their Environment
For cats, smells provide an array of invaluable information about their surroundings and situations. Their powerful sniffers allow them to communicate with other cats, identify territory, find mates, locate prey, avoid predators, detect spoiled food, and recognise their owners.
Scent sends cats into states of joy, fear, curiosity, caution, and more. They can even scent mark objects and areas using glands around their mouths, paws and tail areas. So smell is an absolutely vital sense for our feline friends.
When your cat catches a whiff of your minty fresh breath, they are gathering intel and learning more about you!
Why Cats Are Attracted to Human Breath
Food Residue or Particles in Your Breath
Cats have a very strong sense of smell, around 14 times better than humans. When you eat food, tiny particles can stay in your mouth and throat, releasing odors in your breath that your cat can detect even though you can’t smell them yourself.
Smelling food on your breath, even when you can’t detect it, makes some cats want to investigate by sniffing or licking your mouth.
Toothpaste Smells Interest Them
Toothpaste has an interesting and strong scent for cats. The minty aroma of toothpaste is unusual compared to other household smells, so your cat may be curious about the new smell on your breath after you brush your teeth.
Some cats seem fascinated by the toothpaste smell and will repeatedly sniff your mouth after brushing.
Bad Breath Catches Their Attention
Bad breath often indicates a health problem in both humans and animals. Cats have a natural instinct to analyze scents for sickness or poor health. If your breath suddenly smells worse than normal, your cat may pick up on this scent change and sniff your mouth to investigate the unusual odor.
Bad breath can signal conditions like gum disease, mouth infections, diabetes, or liver or kidney problems.
Noticing Sickness Through Scent Changes
Cats rely heavily on scent cues to gather information about their environment. Slight changes in your natural odor from illness, infection, or hormonal shifts can alert your cat that something is “off.”
Breath that smells different than normal due to sickness will make your cat sniff you closely to collect more scent data. By nosing your mouth, they are gathering intel to understand the shift in your well-being.
Breath Smells Are New and Unfamiliar
Kittens and newly adopted cats are still learning all the smells of their new home. When you bring a new cat home, your breath odor is totally novel and fascinating to them as they map out all the scents of their environment.
An unfamiliar human breath smell can pique their curiosity and make them desire to smell your mouth to analyze the scent further when they first meet you.
Tips to Stop This Behavior
Brush Your Teeth and Use Mouthwash
Cats are attracted to interesting and pungent smells, so reducing mouth odors can make you less appealing. Brush your teeth thoroughly at least twice a day and use mouthwash to freshen your breath. Ask your dentist for advice on the best toothpastes and mouthwashes to reduce odors.
Cover Your Mouth When Yawning
When you yawn, you expel breath and scents that your cat finds fascinating. Get in the habit of covering your mouth with your hand when you yawn. You can also turn your head away from your cat.
Redirect Your Cat’s Attention
If your cat gets fixated on smelling your breath, distract it with a toy or treat. Try playing an energetic game with a fishing pole toy or offer a tasty snack like a dental treat to shift your cat’s focus.
Use Bitter Apple Spray as a Deterrent
Bitter Apple is a harmless but awful-tasting spray deterrent. When your cat gets close to your face, spritz a little near your mouth. The terrible taste and smell should discourage the behavior. Always check with your vet before using deterrent sprays.
When to See the Vet About Breath-Smelling
Rule Out Medical Issues Like Kidney Disease
Excessive breath smelling in cats can sometimes indicate underlying medical problems. Kidney disease, for example, can cause foul breath due to toxin build-up in the blood. Diabetes is another disorder that can manifest through fruity-smelling breath as the body tries unsuccessfully to eliminate ketones.
Even problems with a cat’s teeth and gums can make their breath stinky.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), around 80% of cats over 3 years old have some form of dental disease. Bacteria accumulate on the teeth and gums, releasing smelly compounds. Dental issues are also quite painful for kitties.
Left untreated, they can undermine a cat’s overall health.
Before assuming your cat’s sudden interest in your breath is just a funny quirk, it’s wise to schedule a veterinarian check-up. Diagnostic tests can help identify underlying illness as the cause of bad breath.
Prompt treatment will not only make your cat more comfortable, but also reduce the strength of that smelly cat breath!
Excessive Breath Smelling Could Signal OCD
Sometimes frequent breath-smelling stems not from disease but from a psychological condition called obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Kitties with OCD display repetitive behaviors like face-rubbing, tail-chasing, or breath-smelling that seem to serve no real purpose.
According to International Cat Care, an authoritative feline welfare charity (ICC), this condition affects around 0.5% of the general cat population. Specific causes remain unclear, though stress, anxiety, and genetics may play a role.
In case your kitty has developed an obsession specifically with your breath, try gently discouraging the behavior. Avoid yelling or punishment, as this will just make your cat more stressed. You can also discuss anti-anxiety medications with your vet to help ease any underlying factors.
While breath-smelling due to OCD is generally harmless in itself, excessive licking or chewing behaviors can sometimes cause skin irritation or hair loss. Seek treatment if you observe any self-injury occurring as well.
Conclusion
Your curious kitty smells your mouth and breath because there are interesting scents there that they want to analyze more closely. Food particles, breath odors, or sickness can all catch their attention thanks to their ultra-sensitive sniffers.
While this behavior is perfectly normal, you can curb it by brushing your teeth, covering mouth smells, and redirecting their attention. In some cases, excessive breath smelling warrants a vet visit to rule out underlying issues.
Understanding the science behind your cat’s smelling urges will help you get to the bottom of this peculiar habit and maintain a happy, healthy relationship with your furry friend.
