Witnessing your feline companions engage in a mutual grooming session can be both heartwarming and puzzling. Why do cats groom each other? Is it simply about hygiene, or is there a deeper meaning behind this behavior? If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why Do Cats Lick Each Other?”, you’re not alone. This behavior, known as allogrooming, is a fascinating aspect of feline interaction, serving various purposes from bonding to survival instincts.
Cats are renowned for their meticulous self-grooming habits. In fact, felines dedicate a significant portion of their day, between 30 to 50 percent, to keeping themselves clean. Their tongues, uniquely equipped with tiny, hook-like structures called papillae, act like natural combs, efficiently removing loose fur and debris. But allogrooming, or cat-to-cat licking, extends beyond mere cleanliness. It’s a complex social behavior with multiple layers of meaning.
From strengthening bonds to maintaining social structures, understanding why cats lick each other provides valuable insights into the intricate world of feline communication and relationships. Let’s delve into the primary reasons behind this intriguing behavior, exploring why your cat might be treating their furry housemate to a bath.
1. Expressing Affection and Strengthening Bonds
Allogrooming is a significant way cats demonstrate affection and solidify their bonds with other cats they are close to. According to Certified Animal Behavior Consultant (CABC) Steve Dale, a renowned pet expert and author, “With preferred individuals, cats demonstrate bonding with one another through allogrooming.” This highlights a crucial point: cats don’t just groom any cat. Allogrooming is reserved for cats who share a special connection.
This bond is often observed in cats who are family members, such as littermates or mothers and their kittens. Cats who have lived together for a considerable period, typically years rather than months, can also develop this level of closeness and engage in allogrooming. Pet training expert Andrea Arden emphasizes this connection: “If two or more cats choose to be close to one another that suggests that they are comfortable with, and benefit from, each other’s company.” Therefore, if you observe your cats grooming each other, it’s a strong indicator of a positive and affectionate relationship between them.
2. Tapping into Survival Instincts for Hygiene
While bonding is a primary driver for allogrooming, especially among indoor cats, it also stems from deep-seated survival instincts, particularly in outdoor or feral cat colonies. In these environments, allogrooming plays a vital role in hygiene and parasite control. Mutual grooming helps cats remove fleas, ticks, and other parasites that can pose serious health risks.
Even for indoor cats, these ingrained survival instincts can contribute to allogrooming behavior. Although the need for parasite removal might be less pressing for indoor cats, particularly those on regular flea preventatives, the instinct to maintain cleanliness and protect against parasites remains. As Steve Dale explains, for indoor cats, allogrooming is more likely driven by “social reasons and a means of communicating mutual trust” rather than pure survival. However, the underlying instinct for hygiene inherited from their wild ancestors still plays a part in this behavior.
3. Reaching the Unreachable Spots
Cats are fastidious groomers, but there are certain areas of their bodies that are difficult to reach on their own, such as the top of their head, neck, and ears. This is where allogrooming becomes incredibly helpful. A feline friend can effectively clean these hard-to-reach spots, ensuring comprehensive hygiene.
Furthermore, these areas are not just physically challenging to groom; they are also significant in feline communication. Cats have scent glands located on their head, cheeks, and under their chin, which release pheromones. When cats groom each other in these areas, they are not only cleaning but also exchanging and reinforcing their shared scent. Andrea Arden notes, “These pheromones are chemicals that provide information for communication with other cats. This is part of why much of allogrooming is focused on these areas of the body.” This scent exchange further strengthens the bond between the cats and reinforces their group identity.
4. Maternal Care: A Kitten’s First Grooming Experience
For newborn kittens, allogrooming is one of their earliest and most crucial experiences, initiated by their mother. Mother cats instinctively groom their kittens immediately after birth. This maternal allogrooming serves several vital purposes beyond just cleaning. It stimulates the kittens to eliminate waste and helps keep the nest clean, crucial for the health and survival of the vulnerable newborns.
As kittens grow, maternal grooming continues to play an important role in their development. Andrea Arden explains that “While hygiene is one of the main underlying factors for mother cats to lick their kittens, maternal allogrooming also serves to support bonding, to provide comfort, and to teach them to groom themselves.” Through their mother’s grooming, kittens learn essential self-grooming techniques, establishing a foundation for their lifelong hygiene habits. Moreover, the nurturing act of maternal grooming strengthens the mother-kitten bond and provides comfort and security to the young kittens.
5. Allogrooming as a Signal for Health Concerns
While allogrooming is typically a positive social behavior, changes in grooming habits, including excessive allogrooming, can sometimes indicate underlying health issues. According to Dr. Louis DelGiudice, DVM, National Emergency Specialty Director at AmeriVet Veterinary Partners, excessive licking, whether self-grooming or allogrooming, “could signal skin inflammation or itchiness.” This can be triggered by parasites like fleas or allergens from food or the environment.
Cats are often highly attuned to changes in their housemates’ well-being. Andrea Arden points out that “Many cats form close attachments to their feline housemates and can be quite in tune with their emotional and physical state.” If one cat is experiencing a health issue causing skin irritation or discomfort, other cats in the household might sense this change and increase their grooming of the affected cat. This heightened allogrooming could be a sign of concern or an attempt to comfort a housemate who is not feeling well. It’s important to note that while cats may groom wounds, feline saliva does not possess healing properties and can actually introduce bacteria and potentially worsen the situation. Observing changes in allogrooming behavior can be an early indicator that warrants a check-up with a veterinarian.
6. Redirecting Aggression and Establishing Hierarchy
The dynamics of cat-to-cat relationships can be complex, and allogrooming can sometimes play a role in managing social hierarchies and redirecting potential aggression. While it’s a myth that cats groom humans to assert dominance, cat-to-cat allogrooming can be linked to dominance in certain contexts. Steve Dale clarifies that “Cat-to-cat relationships are very complex. It depends on context.”
In households with multiple cats, allogrooming can sometimes be observed as a way to avoid conflict and maintain social order. Andrea Arden explains, “A cat might lick another cat lower in hierarchy as a way of calming themselves. In addition to redirecting their aggression the allogrooming is possibly a bonding moment.” In such instances, a cat might initiate grooming with a lower-ranking cat to diffuse tension or assert their position without resorting to overt aggression. However, it’s crucial to remember that feline social dynamics are nuanced, and allogrooming is not solely a dominance behavior. It often intertwines with bonding and affection, making cat-to-cat relationships intricate and multifaceted.
In Conclusion
Why do cats lick each other? The answer is multifaceted and deeply rooted in their social behavior, instincts, and communication. From expressing affection and strengthening bonds to maintaining hygiene and navigating social dynamics, allogrooming is a vital behavior in the feline world. Observing your cats engaging in mutual grooming provides a window into their relationships and the complex ways they interact with each other. Understanding these reasons behind allogrooming enriches our appreciation for the intricate social lives of our feline companions.
