Cats don’t groom themselves just to be clean

A kitten cleaning itself is one of the cutest sights in the world. But did you know there are other reasons cats lick themselves - and each other - besides grooming? We have delved into the psychology of cat grooming.

Cats can spend up to half of their waking hours doing some kind of grooming. It is an ancient instinct that kittens learn from their mothers by copying. Kittens learn to lick themselves from a very young age, and by the time it’s time to wean them, they can groom themselves.

Physical reasons

Kittens do not only groom themselves to be clean and beautiful. The activity is also essential for maintaining a healthy coat. Licking stimulates the skin and stimulates the sebaceous glands at the base of the hair follicles. The sebum produced is spread by the cat’s tongue on their fur, forming a shiny protective layer on the surface of the coat. The cats’ rough tongue also removes loose hairs – although this often leads to unexpectedly regurgitated hairballs in various areas of the home.

So self-care is essential in the life of a healthy animal – and a good indicator if something is wrong with your pet. A neglected coat can indicate disease, joint problems in older animals and many overweight pets are also physically unable to groom themselves. In contrast, emotional or physical problems can also lead to excessive grooming, which can lead to hair loss.

Finally, as cats cannot sweat, grooming in the heat helps them to cool down a bit.

The ritual of grooming

Each cat has its own grooming ritual. Most clean their face first, then their front legs. Then the two sides and the hind legs. And the cleaning of the genitals and tail is left for last.

The cleaning of different parts of the body is usually not done at the same time. During the day, they may wash the front of their body in the morning and only move on to the hind legs in the afternoon.

Besides licking, cats also like to chew and scratch themselves. These are perfectly natural actions. There may be cause for concern if scratching or chewing becomes excessive and the cat may even injure itself. It is essential to consult a veterinarian in such cases, because skin diseases and the presence of parasites could be the cause of the unusual behaviour.

Mental reasons

As mentioned above, cats do not lick purely for grooming – there are social and psychological reasons too. Grooming each other expresses a friendly relationship between cats, an important social behaviour especially between pets living in the same household.

In fact, when your cat starts to groom you, they are trying to communicate that they love you and feel safe in your company.

As with purring, cats use grooming to soothe themselves. When a cat is in a situation that is not understandable to it or simply cannot cope with a sudden impulse, it may respond by licking itself.

Animal behaviour experts believe that grooming is one of the most important conflict management mechanisms for cats. The touch of their tongue triggers a neural impulse that helps the animal to calm down. This is why, when stressed or anxious, pets tend to over-clean; they seek comfort in familiar action.