Why Does My Cat Lick Me?

Cats have had a very diverse and interesting history behind them.

In ancient Egypt there was a cat goddess called Bast which is always fun to think about and imagine.

Thousands of cat mummies have been discovered in Egypt often accompanied by mouse mummies which served as cat food in the afterlife, which tells us that our beloved cats haven’t changed much over time really.

Cats have been in our lives for 1000s of years…

Why does my cat lick me?

Cats consider the people that they live with members of their family and will lick them, licking you will leave their scent on you.

Cats are territorial animals and they mark their environment with scent glands on their faces and all over their body.

Why does my cat lick me?

Cats will usually lick their owners and others who they consider to be part of their family so it is not a bad sign really that a cat would lick you.

This is the cat way of showing closeness and affection and you will notice that they will usually not do this with strangers or people they don’t know.

It is a behavior that they display with their siblings while they are still in the litter actually.

By grooming their owner it is a way of showing that you are a member of their family and they want you to be groomed and form a social bond with them which is a good and positive thing.

When they are kittens and their mother grooms them she is teaching them to groom themselves and in turn they are doing the same thing to you.

This licking is also very calming to them when they are stressed they do tend to lick more if that is the case.

Cats have rough tongues.

On the cat tongue there are a type of almost backward facing hooks which are specifically there for helping the cat with getting knots out of their fur and cleaning themselves.

So when they start licking you it can feel a bit rough on the skin.

The cat will spend a lot of time every day on grooming themselves, and then they go to sleep for hours and hours upon time, but you probably knew of that habit already.

Also read: why do cats sleep so much?

Stress and licking, why the cat licks more when stressed

When a cat begins to lick itself it releases endorphins from the brain and this makes the cat feel less stressed and is a calming mechanism.

Just like a human might fidget when stressed, cats can do this similar thing to calm themselves down.

The release of endorphins is comforting to the cat so if he is very stressed he will lick more sometimes.

Some cats tend to lick and groom almost constantly and if this happens it may be important to try to find the reason for the ongoing cat stress.

Usually it is something obvious like the introduction of a new animal to the house, or maybe a move into a new apartment even.

A new baby can make the cat feel stressed as they may not realize what it is making all the noise.

When our cat was stressed he had a safe place, always under our bed and that is where we would find him usually licking and grooming, where he can feel safe and secure.

Other reasons for Licking

Over licking in cats is often a behavioral problem, and it is important to rule out medical conditions like an allergy or something of the sort.

It could even be fleas, so make sure that your cat has had their flea treatment.

Another condition called skin mites can be ruled out by the vet.

Whether this is behavior related or is medical if the cat continues to over groom it is a good idea to consult the vet.

There is a condition called Psychogenic alopecia that can occur in very nervous cats and this can cause loss of fur from over grooming.

How to calm the stressed Cat

The only way to relieve the cats stress is to eliminate the reason for it.

It may not be immediately obvious to you what is causing the stress, so this can be tricky.

The cat likes places to hide around the house and also likes things to scratch like a scratching post and a bit of old carpet and things like that.

There is a spray called Feliway which can be used in calming cats, it contains a natural cat pheromone which they would normally use to mark their territory.

Licking and Cat boredom

Excessive licking by your cat could simply be a sign of boredom as well in some cases. Cats like to go outside and run up trees and be free, so if they are confined indoors they will need some things to occupy them.

They are not getting the exercise that they would like to have and often revert to obsessive licking.

It is a good idea to buy your cat an activity center, these can be purchased in online catalogs or at pet shop and will give your cat hours of fun.

If your cat can go outside make sure that there is a cat door for them to re-enter the house if another animal chases them or they feel threatened.

Cats like the company of their immediate family, but if you are at work or out it is not unusual for the cat to sleep for hours at a time.

Cats in Groups

Some people decide to breed cats or to have more than one in their house. If you have more than one cat you will be able to observe their behavior together and how they interact with one another.

If you have several cats you will notice that they may start licking one another, this is more likely to happen if they have a social bond ( from the same litter)

If a new unrelated cat comes into the house the grooming and licking will probably not occur in most cases.

They are not going to groom an outsider cat and may even become aggressive to the new cat. If the cats were living in a Colony of cats, they would probably be related and more likely to groom one another.

Scientists have also noted in recent studies that cats have a hierarchy or a rank and that higher ranked cats groomed lower ranking cats more than the other way around.

This would indicate that grooming and licking appear to be a sign of social acceptance of one another and when they become part of our family we are also included in this structure.

Conclusion, so why does your cat lick you?

Licking for cats is not just a mechanism to keep themselves clean, but has far greater social implications which are not yet fully understood yet.

When the cats live in a Colony the type of grooming is known as allogrooming and that the head and neck of the cat are generally targeted.

This is an area that the cat would find most difficult to reach by themselves, and that the cat doing the grooming is standing up, indicating dominance.

I hope I have answered the question of “why does my cat lick me” nicely, so now you can go back to maybe cuddling your beloved cat again.