Cat behavior expert, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, author of Play With Your Cat! (2024, Tarcher Perigee). Vegetarian. Punk. Californian. She/her. Covid conscious.
![Maybe we should find a new name for stink face.
While science has been able to nail down some information around cats’ pheromone signaling behaviors and the capabilities of the vomeronasal organ, much of it still remains unknown, and humans can merely make an educated guess. For example, we don’t yet know if the vomeronasal organ is also capable of detecting regular, non-pheromonal scents. “We know [the vomeronasal organ] is specialized for pheromone detection,” says Delgado, but “it’s an open debate as to whether or not they can actually detect other scents with this organ.”
She also points out that referring to the flehmen response as stink face is kind of a misnomer. “I think stink face is maybe not the best word to describe it,” she says. “We’re interpreting their facial expression as unpleasant, but there’s no real reason to think that what they're encountering is unpleasant to them … I think we just make a lot of assumptions that they’re experiencing the world pretty similarly to us — which is a flawed assumption.”
While this is certainly true, it’s still only natural for us to instinctively anthropomorphize our pets. Faced with large gaps of knowledge about how our companions experience and process the world, we’re forced to fill in the blanks with our own human experiences. But the next time you see your cat making “stink face” at something, you’ll know a little bit more about what’s really going on — and perhaps have a new sense of appreciation for your kitty and their fascinating physiology.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:hzy6huvsy5wzx5zpmaez33yo/bafkreiecerofndvhe5k6tlqm5nzoipfyhwtwuqnqakonifsodp3nrvyd2e)
Cat behavior expert, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, author of Play With Your Cat! (2024, Tarcher Perigee). Vegetarian. Punk. Californian. She/her. Covid conscious.