Cats spend more than half their lives licking each other, more specifically between 7 and 12 hours a day . Whether they are in their basket, on the floor or on the dining room cabinet, they seem to have an unhealthy obsession with grooming themselves. However, they have good reasons for doing so.
Although the most widespread explanation for why cats lick their entire bodies is that exquisite taste for being clean , behind the feline grooming there are also interesting reasons such as eliminating odors so as not to be discovered by possible predators, marking their territory and even de-stressing (yes, they get stressed too, not just us).
Smells are everywhere and the cat can be “invaded” by some, such as from the food it has just eaten or from yourself if it rubs with, for example, your legs. Although a kitten that lives at home does not suffer the threat of predators as if it would experience it living in nature, in its instinct it is burned not to leave a trace of odors that can attract enemies. How to get rid of those sneaky smells? Sure enough, licking.
Related to the issue of odors is the territorial issue. Felines are animals that defend what they consider their space (surely if you have a cat you know it well) and when licking and eliminating foreign smells, they are left smelling only themselves . With this, your pet makes it clear to other animals that this territory is theirs.
And that of calming down? How do they do that? Cats do a kind of self- massage with an antistress and antidepressant effect when they lick each other, which helps them keep their emotional balance well up. They also activate blood circulation, eliminate parasites and distribute the essential oils present in their skin throughout the coat, making it in perfect magazine condition.
But this is just a preview. Do you want to know for what other reasons your cat licks itself a few times a day? Do not miss the photo gallery that we have prepared because some reasons are surprising. You will understand your furry very well …
