WHY DO CATS LICK THEMSELVES
It is commonly know that cats are neat freaks, and that is why they spend so much time licking themselves. But the constant strife for cleanliness is not the only reason.
Not many people know that the higher the status in the social hierarchy a cat has, the less time it will spend cleaning itself.
Of course, cats are much «cleaner» than most other animal, even than dogs of noble breeds. But practical application of «licking» is very limited, and mainly helps to get rid of the odors produced by aromatic glands.
But it turns out «washing» process has a social meaning for cats. The animal with the low status in the social hierarchy will lick itself more often, reducing the amount of odor they «spread».
This conclusion was made on the basis of long-term observations of the community of stray cats. In the course of this experiment, it was proved that dominant cats in the community, avoid cleaning themselves and thus increasing the intensity of its odor.
More so, they carefully apply it to any towering and attention-grabbing relatives, to spread their dominant smell around.
But those cats, that occupy the lowest levels in the hierarchy of the pack will be licking themselves nonstop.
The process of «licking» doesn’t remove aromatic signals completely, but still significantly reduced their intensity. Thus, cats declare their existence by means of aromatic signals, but muting them (licking them off), make it clear that they do not pose any threat.
The same is true for domestic cats. The more often and more thoroughly your four-legged pet licks itself, the lower it determines its status in relation to other cats and members of your family.
Of course, this explanation may be surprising, but overall there is nothing strange about it. After all, the person (owner) completely dominates all stages of the cat’s growth and development. Then, of course, we are much larger and physically stronger, and we have complete control of such an important aspect of the cat’s life — food.
Even lions and tigers will recognize the dominant position of their master, but only if he treats them with respect and appropriate amount of care.