Why Do Cats Wash?

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 22:49

If cleanliness is one of the virtues, then cats should live in heaven, in a specially designated place for them. Feline dedication to neatness gives them a reputation for being clean, sophisticated animals. In fact, an adult cat spends 30 to 50 percent of the waking time demonstrating one or another type of washing.

From the very moment of birth, a cat learns self-care techniques. By licking the cubs, the cat mother stimulates the kittens' breathing and their sucking instincts. Licking helps guide blind babies directly to the nipples.

When the mother cares for the kittens, she not only washes them, but also establishes a relationship with them. Licking also helps kittens digestive and excretory systems; they can only defecate when the rough mother tongue stimulates their tummies.

Two-week-old kittens begin to lick themselves, for this they are obliged by hygiene and "social" instincts. Most kittens can wash before leaving their mother. But those who were poorly cared for in childhood become unkempt adults.

Cats wash most of their bodies with their tongues and teeth. The central part of the murka's tongue contains many tiny, backward-facing tubercles. These rough spots make the cat's tongue the perfect cleanser.

After eating, your pet may spend a lot of time licking her mouth, mustache, chin clean; however, washing is not only a clean face. During the cleaning hour, the cat licks and cleanses the shoulders, front legs, then the sides, genital area, hind legs and tail from base to tip. Each pussy has its own washing ritual: your own can start her toilet from the shoulders, and the other will lick her tail first.

If a cat discovers a piece of dirt or something foreign on itself while licking, it gets rid of it with its teeth. She bites the dirt between her toes with her teeth and brushes it off the pads of her paws.

But with the help of just licking and biting, it is impossible to reach all parts of the body, so the cat uses either wet front or hind legs for personal hygiene. She prefers to “handle” herself with her front paws, until they remain slightly wet; at first it is passed by this "washcloth" over the face and head, from ears and eyes to cheeks and chin. After several wipes, she licks her paws again; having finished with the head and neck, proceeds to more distant parts of the body. Having cleaned one half, changes the paw and repeats the same procedure on the other side of the head.

The same places that cannot be washed with tongue or front paws, the cat scrapes with hind paws.

Why do cats wash?

You may have noticed that your cat washes itself all the time, while a neighbor's animal starts to wash only when it gets dirty enough. Or maybe it struck you that your pet starts washing after being scared by a loud noise or having received a scolding for some offense? A man and a cat wash for different reasons; Regular cleansing procedures are essential for all cats.

1. By pinching its fur, the cat stimulates the glands located on the skin at the base of each hair. These glands produce sebum, a kind of oily secretion that lubricates and protects the fur from moisture. After stimulating these glands during the washing process, the cat spreads sebum with its tongue throughout the coat.

Another meaning of this secret is that it contains cholesterol, which is converted in the sun into vitamin D, which helps to strengthen bones and teeth, and also helps the feline body store calcium and phosphorus. Thus, by washing, the Murka provides the necessary elements for the formation of such an important vitamin.