You are a proud cat parent coz you know that you are owning a cute cat to cuddle and play with. Therefore, cats tend to maintain their beauty and body by grooming themselves constantly. Your feline friend is all the more conscious of herself than you might imagine.
For those of you, who are new cat parents, what exactly is cat grooming?
This ritual is carried out by licking! Ha… ha… don’t be surprised, there is a science behind this. Cats have a special microscopic spine on their tongue called papillae. These are made up of keratin, which is found in human nails. They put their saliva to clean up their whole body, to detangle their fur, cleanse any dirt and distribute their skin oil uniformly.
Why do cats groom each other?
Scientists term this cute cat behavior as “allogrooming”. There are many reasons behind this natural behavior of your furry felines. But here is a list of the most common reasons for this:
1.Social bond
According to research, by a bunch of experts in Georgia, it was concluded that cats do not necessarily groom a stranger cat. Grooming is a way of showing the social bond and nearness to a cat belonging to the local colony.
Allogroomers do not choose any random cat as an allogroomee.
2. Sign of affection
While this is the most usually attributed meaning, it is true. Cats groom other cats when they are affectionate towards them and care for them. Coz, this is in a way bathing them.
Although cats can self-groom, they cannot reach their neck and head all by themselves. Therefore, they tilt their head and enjoy while a cat offers to groom them.
3. Mommy routine
Of course, you might have observed this in almost every animal, that the mother grooms her newborns. It is mainly to remove the fluids and other infectious particles that may be present in her babies.
Mommy cats groom their kittens as a routine, especially in the first 4 weeks to maintain their healthy body and bathe them.
In fact, you might have noticed that almost every cat enjoys it when anyone pets her in the neck or head. Because they are indirectly helping her groom.
So, what are you waiting for? Your furball will enjoy it more if you pet her in the neck. Cuddle her, groom her and pet her… after all, she enjoys all of these!
Kudos and cat cheers to cat parenting… 