Why Do Cats Lick Each Other?

6 Reasons Kitties Allogroom

Allogrooming refers to animals grooming each other. This is a social activity that also provides health benefits.

Grooming themselves and each other is a behavior that cats learn from kittenhood and continue to practice throughout their lives.

Allogrooming is a multifunctional behavior that has many advantages. Understanding it will help you decipher your own kitty that much better.

Kittens are born extremely vulnerable. They’re blind and deaf, covered in blood, and generally relatively weak. The mother cat compensates for this by allogrooming.

Mothers Care for Their Kittens

Cats groom their family not because they are related by blood but because they have a strong social relationship.

They’re Family

Felines groom other felines when they want to bond. So, if you have more than one cat and they’re not related, they may lick each other’s coats.

They Want to Bond

It’s a Display of Dominance

If you watch your cats when they lick each other, you’ll probably notice that there’s generally one cat who does most of the grooming. That is likely to be the dominant cat.

Cats have a tongue designed for grooming. Their tongue can detangle knots and remove dirt from their coats.

Cats Need Help Grooming

Swipe up to read the rest of the article.

Subscribe to The Discerning Cat Newsletter and we'll send you a free 50 page ebook Why Do Cats…. Common Cat Behaviours Explained