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You are here: Home / Kitty Wisdom / Why Cats Blep – Is There Even a Meaning?

Why Cats Blep – Is There Even a Meaning?

January 24, 2023 By: Summer Samba13 Comments

Summer looks at why cats blep, and is there even a meaning to them blepping at all.

Cat tongues are fascinating things! At least humans seem to think so. Just flash a photo of a cat with their tongue sticking out and they go crazy! Especially when it’s just a tiny sliver of tongue, otherwise known as a blep.

So what is a blep, and why do cats do it? Is there a meaning behind it? Let’s see what info I could find for you.

For all the human obsession over bleps, surprisingly little hard information exists about them. No scientific blep studies or research. Nobody even knows for sure exactly how or when the term blep originated. It just sort of appeared in the internet lexicon at some point and stuck. Sort of the way a cat’s tongue sticks out and stays that way.

Somali cat sticking out tongue

The truth is that bleps happen for a variety of reasons, the end result being that the cat forgets to put their tongue back in their mouth. So what are those reasons?

  • Enjoying a treat or other tasty food. (That’s most often my excuse — that, and my human’s itchy trigger finger for taking photos.)
     
  • The leftover result of the Flehmen response. (That’s when a cat holds their mouth open to sense the world around them with the vomeronasal organ. In case you are wondering, humans have that organ too, but they don’t rely on it anywhere near as much as cats do.)
     
  • Dreaming about nursing, or actually doing it to a piece of fabric. That’s why you see a cat moving a tiny tongue in a slightly sucking motion.
     
  • The cat is genetically disposed to sticking their tongue out. This would include many flat faced breeds like Persians.
     
  • The cat is missing teeth, or has a misaligned jaw, causing the tongue to stick out.
     
  • They were grooming and have fur stuck on their barbed tongue.
     
  • They are sedated. Sometimes you see a cat under anesthesia with their tongue sticking out.

Somali cat sticking out tiny tongue

Most of the time, bleps are completely normal (and cute!). But there are also medical reasons, which include dental disease, respiratory issues, dementia, overheating, car sickness, or even poisoning. So if your cat’s blep is accompanied by other unusual behavior, or it looks strange in any way, talk to a veterinarian about it.

I hope this answered some of your questions! Does your cat blep, and when? Let me know in the comments.

Other posts you’ll enjoy:

  • 10 Little Known Cat Facts – Impress Your Friends!
  • Paw-Some Facts About Your Cat’s Paws
  • Do Cats Have Tonsils?
Why Cats Blep - Is There Even a Meaning?
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Comments

  1. BellaDharma an BellaSita Mum says

    January 27, 2023 at 11:19 am

    Furry innterestin post Summer!!!
    Mee does Blepss efurry so offen an BellaSita Mum will meow to mee” BellaDharma you furgot to put yore tongue inn!” An mee lickss mee lipss (due Catss HAVE lipss?) an putss tongue inn….
    **purrss** BellaDharma an ((hugss)) BellaSita Mum

    Reply
  2. Catherine A Lingg says

    January 26, 2023 at 9:18 pm

    Great advice Summer

    Reply
  3. PAT+K says

    January 26, 2023 at 9:18 am

    I bet when you do it………..it’s just because
    you’re cute.

    Reply
  4. Tommy & Teaghan says

    January 26, 2023 at 6:48 am

    Very educational and cute post on bleps. You are so sweet!

    Reply
  5. mark's+Mews says

    January 25, 2023 at 7:24 pm

    We seldom blep, but we have been seen bleping rarely. We’ll just go with “forgot to pull it all the way back in”. We mean, its not like we can SEE it… MOL!

    Reply
  6. Ellen+Pilch says

    January 25, 2023 at 4:12 pm

    My angel Phoebe used to do that. It seemed like her tongue got stuck out after bathing.Every time I tried to get a photo, she pulled it back in.

    Reply
  7. Melissa+&+Mudpie says

    January 25, 2023 at 4:00 pm

    So interesting! Mudpie does it when enjoying her squeezie 🙂

    Reply
  8. meowmeowmans says

    January 25, 2023 at 2:48 pm

    We sure do love seeing cat bleps, Summer. Well, as long as there’s not those medical reasons you mentioned. 🙂

    Reply
  9. Katie+Isabella says

    January 25, 2023 at 10:39 am

    I love seeing them and Katie does more than ADmiral did.

    Reply
  10. Mickey's Musings says

    January 25, 2023 at 5:44 am

    Gee! Those are a lot of reasons for the blep.
    Mum says I do not do that very often so we like to see you doing it 🙂
    Purrs, Julie

    Reply
  11. Ernie+the+Island+Cat says

    January 25, 2023 at 5:15 am

    I do it because I forget to put my tongue back in!

    Reply
  12. Memories+of+Eric+and+Flynn says

    January 25, 2023 at 2:30 am

    Flynn very occasionally did a tiny blep, but I can’t say I ever remember Eric doing it. We had a cat once that would groom himself and then sit up with his tongue fully out. I think he just forgot to retract it because if we touched it he would whip it back in.

    Reply
  13. Meezer'sMews&TerrieristicalWoofs says

    January 24, 2023 at 9:25 pm

    Interesting facts, Summer…as well as cut ‘bleps’!

    Pipo & Minko did those little tongue outs too, but I hardly ever ‘captured’ them.

    Reply

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