When God created living beings, He fully considered the function of every body structure, so every part of a living organism is not just decoration but has actual use. Take a cat's lips, for example; they not only protect the teeth and oral cavity, but research has found that lips greatly help a cat's sense of smell and how it perceives odors.

　　We often see cats curl their lips, especially when they see food. If a cat didn’t have lips, it often would be unable to taste flavors. Abroad, there was a kitten named Norris born with a cleft lip and palate. Because of the lips, it was almost impossible for him to eat or drink, and his originally beautiful face was thus marred. When Norris was two weeks old, the veterinarian told his owner Sarah Ross that Norris’s lips and lower jaw were severely deformed and surgery was needed.

　　Fortunately, Norris has now almost fully recovered, and Ms. Ross shared this inspiring treatment process on Facebook, which attracted many social media users. Norris has undergone two lip repair surgeries, and this charming little cat is now more willing to appear in front of the camera. Norris’s Facebook page has already received over two thousand likes, and Ms. Ross said more and more fans are following. She said, “Whenever Norris has a new update, about 150 more people start following him; now Norris is practically a celebrity cat.”

　　In fact, many mammals raise their upper lips, such as horses, lions, pandas, and so on. Raising the upper lip helps convey scents to the vomeronasal organ, allowing animals to better detect odors and external hormones.

　　The vomeronasal organ may be unfamiliar because it has degenerated in humans and some primates, only being visible in embryos and newborns. But in other terrestrial animals, the vomeronasal organ is well developed.

　　The vomeronasal organ itself is a very inconspicuous organ. For cats, it is a pair of small tubes about 1 cm long; one end is closed, and the other opens behind the upper front teeth in the palate. When a cat curls its lips and flicks its tongue, it can better direct air into the openings of the vomeronasal organ. The closed end’s inner wall is covered with sensory epithelium and olfactory mucosa and is connected to the brain via nerves. Therefore, the vomeronasal organ can be considered an additional, non-ventilated nose.

　　In early embryonic development, the vomeronasal organ gradually forms from the nasal plate at the anterior end of the neural plate. It is a chemical receptor located inside the nasal cavity, consisting of a pair of blind sacs supported by cartilage tissue. This tubular structure divides into two branches by the nasal septum. It serves as the first station of the accessory olfactory system because chemical stimuli signals transmitted via the olfactory bulb pass here before heading to the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, with the hypothalamus responsible for integration.

　　Other animals’ vomeronasal organs have various shapes, structures, and positions, but generally, each has only one opening with a blind sac internally covered by olfactory mucosa and sensory epithelium.

　　Though very small, the vomeronasal organ plays a crucial role in enhancing smell and detecting external hormones to find mates. The most developed vomeronasal organs exist in reptiles, especially snakes, where the organ was first discovered.

　　Evidence shows that the mammalian vomeronasal organ can detect non-volatile substances through sensory neurons. These substances directly contact neurons to receive odors; some of these are pheromones (chemical signals transmitted between members of the same species). Some animals rely on this to monitor aggressive and mating behaviors, for example, using the vomeronasal organ to detect if the season is suitable for mating. Overall, it has a strong connection with the olfactory system and pheromones.