Why Does My Cat Lick Me?

Why Does My Cat Lick Me? 

In the most simple of terms, your favorite feline is showing you affection and petting you much the same way you pet him, but let's explore this in more detail.

Kittens are totally dependent on their mothers after they are born and one of the first things your kitty remembers is being licked and groomed by her mama. Immediately after delivery, felines lick their newborn kittens with their sandpaper-like tongues to stimulate breathing and to remove the birth sac and any fluids from their kitten's fur. This cleaning ritual feels really nice and includes a good over-all cleansing from the tip of their tiny pink nose to the end of their cute little tail. It's bonding for mama cat and her kittens, the same as cuddling and gentle stroking is for any human mother and newborn.

It is thought that kittens that have been weaned too early, or that have been prematurely removed from their mothers, sometimes lick more as adult cats than those that weren't. The act of licking their people companions is satisfying and recreates the pleasurable experience of being nurtured by mom. If you have a cat that loves to lick your face, hands, or arms, it is a compliment. She is demonstrating the comforting closeness that was experienced at birth.

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His Licking Hurts! Why Is His Tongue So Rough?

Now that we know the basis for cat licking is comfort and affection, what's up with those rough kitty-cat tongues?  Being licked on the hand by your cat is an experience to be had, a skin peel of sorts where you feel like you've been exfoliated with coarse grit sandpaper. 

We all know that cats are clean creatures. They constantly groom behind their ears, in between their toes, and all over their fur bodies. They remove lots of dirt and grime with special tongues that mother nature has so aptly provided them. Cats tongues are covered in hook-like protuberances named papilla. A good way to understand these papilla is to visualize them as the hook in what we know as hook and loop closures. Papilla are made of keratin, the tough stuff fingernails are made of. These protruding papilla face backwards on your cat's tongue making his tongue comb-like, and durable enough for thorough cleanings, including the ability to remove shedding hair.

Ouch! No wonder his tongue feels so rough on my skin!

This image was originally posted to Flickr by Jennifer Leigh at http://flickr.com/photos/45206157@N00/388846359. It was reviewed on 15 March 2008 by the FlickreviewR robot and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

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Why Does My Cat Lick Herself? 

Aside from grooming, cats that are under stress may lick themselves for comfort. If you find your cat is incessantly licking herself, she may be anxious. Give her more attention and remove her from the situation that is making her nervous. Sooth and calm her with gentle petting.

If you notice a change in your cat's over-all licking behavior, it may be something more than grooming. Older felines and cats that are licking frequently could be ill. Insect bites, skin irritations, fleas, and mouth conditions could be the culprit.

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Your Cat's Licking You Is Normal 

Cats are wonderful creatures and their licking is all part of what makes them fascinating, but don't respond harshly if you don't like your kitty's affectionate scratchy licks. Discourage and distract their behavior with toys or catnip. Spritz some lemon juice on your skin; cats don't like it and will shy away. But be careful. You may get what you wish for, and find yourself missing your favorite feline's lovable licks. 

Cats May See Things We Cannot

Has your cat ever acted as if there is some invisible thing that scares him? This article is a pondering of what the cause of this is. My first experience with this behavior was when my cat was fairly young, at age one. He didn't want to go under our porch, where he normally loved to hang out. If we put him under it, he would dash away and act terrified. My first reaction was that a visitor cat had sprayed under there or something. A while later, when he was perfectly fine with going under the porch again, this idea was proved wrong when my cat was scared of his box, normally one of his favorite places to sleep. There were no other cats in the house.

Quite recently, my cat was sitting around in our mudroom, one of his favorite places to sit around. I was working and not paying attention to him, when it sounded as if he slipped on the rug, and he ran upstairs. Sure enough, the rug had been moved. I don't know why he slipped on the rug, as he wasn't playing. If playing, slipping would be normal, because he could have been running around and moved the rug. He kept returning to the mudroom and acted how he does when interacting with other felines. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, he dashed upstairs, as if something was chasing him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark gray shadow going after him.

Immediately I thought of shadow people. You can't see them head on, just out of the corner of your eye and then they vanish. Upon looking in up, I discovered that many people see shadow animals. Do you think what I saw was a shadow cat?

Some may think that their cat interacts with spirits, perhaps earthbound cats, the ghost of the past. The house I live in is over one-hundred years old, do you think that perhaps it was the ghost of a past pet? Since animals can sense when disaster is about to strike, do you think that they can sense things beyond this world?

Earlier this month, before the "shadow cat" incident, a family member had mentioned that she had seen a glimpse of a "phantom" cat. She walked into the kitchen and glanced towards the doorway. There was a cat sitting in the doorway, while our cat was walking calmly past her. The cat in the doorway vanished. These kinds of things happen to people all the time. Do you think it's just our eyes playing tricks on us, or something truly supernatural?

If your cats acts as if there is something invisible that he sees, don't overreact. Don't think that you have to move out because there is a ghost infestation or something.

There are numerous reasons why a cat would appear to see something invisible. Some discover that when their cat appears to be playing with invisible things, it turns out that it was a speck of dust, or microscopic bug. Think about it. What do YOU think your cat sees?

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Here's an update that's more on the scientific side. Studies have shown that cats can see ultra-violet (UV) light. That means that that they can see in a range that is beyond what humans can see. This would be particularly helpful for cats and other prey animals when searching for food in the outdoors. 

More resources:

• What Cats and Dogs Can See That Humans Can't. You Won't Believe It!
• Shadow People