Hello, I’m Dr. Lauren! Read my introduction to be taught extra about me and my two adventurous cats, Pancake and Tiller.
I caught Pancake in the midst of a dramatic grooming session final night time. It concerned a lot of splayed legs, and a decided effort to succeed in one thing close to her perineum, that truly entailed what I’m fairly certain was an inverted break up. Earlier within the week, I’d watched a equally decided grooming session play out- this time with Tiller making a valiant effort to groom Pancake into sporting a Mohawk. Fortunately, “The Pancake” who’s a bit Al Pacino Godfather-esque in regards to the mattress and sharing it with different cats, tolerated the session effectively and no blows ensued.
If consuming and sleeping are two of the most typical actions I see each cats engaged in, then grooming might be a detailed third. A number of instances day by day, after consuming, and positively earlier than sleeping, generally at 3:00 am between their numerous sleep modes, they groom. However simply why do cats love grooming a lot?
Why Cats Groom: Hypothesis and Theories
Cats have at all times been thought-about pretty clear animals, as a consequence of their inherent grooming tendencies. Listed below are some theories as to why cats groom:
- The concept that groomers are positioned socially greater than groomees. And moreover, that grooming is a method in social settings to permit cats to behave out on aggression points, with out the necessity for overt violence. This principle comes from a slightly older paper, however fascinating nonetheless…
- A newer paper on the same subject discovered that familiarity and genetic relations improved grooming actions from one cat to a different. Once more suggesting a social or bonding operate.
- Operate. To take away exterior parasites, resembling fleas. In one study, grooming exercise helped to considerably lower the numbers of fleas, in comparison with management cats who wore e-collars and couldn’t groom for the examine interval. Different theories have proposed the removing of odors, resembling after consuming, to cut back the danger of being predated.
- It’s price noting that grooming can (unintentionally?) unfold anal gland secretions on the haircoat. The anal glands comprise extremely high quantities of Fel d 1, one of many principal feline allergens that contribute to human cat allergies.
- Don’t overlook that grooming can even point out abnormalities, as effectively. Flea allergy dermatitis, as an illustration, may end up in massive portions of grooming. So can Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome. And urinary tract infections or urinary crystals can result in localized, extreme grooming of the perineum.
So, subsequent time you catch your cat in a grooming session, think about for a second if there could also be extra occurring than meets the attention. It could possibly be a easy lick, relieving an itch, eradicating an exterior parasite, or adhering to social construction. However for sure, cats, as at all times, are by no means fairly so simple as they might first seem!