Why do cats wash themselves?
Why do cats always wash themselves? How do cats wash themselves? How often do cats wash themselves?
Frequently, a cat’s self-grooming is attributed to their incredible cleanliness and neatness. But is this really the case? Is this assertion mistaken?
Did you know that the higher a cat’s status in the social hierarchy, the less often they will groom themselves?
When comparing cats and dogs, it’s true that cats are generally more fastidious, and owners of unkempt dogs may have a hard time disagreeing with this.
But from a practical perspective, cats only groom themselves to reduce the expression of their own scent. The cat’s aromatic glands are located on the side and top of their head. By frequently rubbing these areas with their paws and then licking their fur, the animal simply reduces the intensity of their scent.
But it turns out that «washing» is also a behavior characteristic of a subordinate animal that recognizes its low status in the social hierarchy.
This conclusion was drawn based on long-term observations of a community of stray cats. During this experiment, it was proven that dominant cats in the community are far from «washing» and thus reducing the intensity of their scent. On the contrary, they diligently apply it to any elevated and attention-grabbing surfaces among their peers, from which the scent will spread with maximum effect.
Here are those cats and kittens that occupy a lower level in the hierarchy of the pack, they wash themselves quite often. This also applies to domestic cats. The more frequently and thoroughly your four-legged pet washes itself, the lower it defines its status in relation to other cats and members of your family. Of course, this explanation may surprise you, but there is nothing strange about it. After all, humans completely dominate at all stages of a cat’s growth and development.
Being much larger and physically stronger, we completely control such an important aspect of a cat’s life as feeding. Even lions and tigers can recognize the dominant position of their owner throughout their lives, but only if he treats them well.
During the «washing» process, the aromatic signals are not completely removed, but their intensity is significantly reduced. Thus, cats declare their existence through aromatic signals. By dampening them, they indicate that they pose no threat.