{"id":3893,"date":"2023-02-16T07:28:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T07:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.republicofcats.com\/thelick\/?p=3893"},"modified":"2023-02-02T12:33:30","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T12:33:30","slug":"why-does-my-cat-lick-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.republicofcats.com\/thelick\/why-does-my-cat-lick-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Why does my cat lick me?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Read time: 1.5 mins<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adorably affectionate despite their rough tongues, when a cat decides to include <em>you<\/em> in their grooming regime, it can leave you wondering why? Is it because, in their opinion, we stink or is it just a simple sign of their love. Why is it they feel the need to give you the roughest of baths, sweet though it may be, why does your cat lick you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sandpaper shower despite what you might think isn\u2019t actually because they think you need a good clean, there are actually a few reasons why your cat might lick you and most of them are pretty darn sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sharing their smell<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When cats are super bonded to their humans, they feel inclined to share their scent. Those little licks are actually a way of transferring saliva, and therefore their own smell, onto you to make sure everyone around knows exactly who you belong to. This is behaviour learnt between other cats to identify their family and which cats are safe by sniffing. Their kisses signify you\u2019re part of their fam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bonding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If they do identify you as part of their family, then grooming you is a simple way to strengthen your bond. It is a sign of affection and a way of making friends in the cat world, so actually, maybe they do love us back and this is their own little way of showing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Anxiety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as the cute stuff, cats can also excessively lick if they\u2019re a little on the stressed side. If your cat seems a little obsessive with the licks lately, don\u2019t hesitate to call your vet just to be sure they\u2019re not overly anxious. Watch out for other signs they could be stressed alongside the licking. Body language like tail swishing and flattened back ears may also be a giveaway that they\u2019re a little uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Endorphins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just how we humans feel good from a rush of endorphins after exercise, our kitties can get the exact same buzz from licking. The release of happy hormones in their brain whilst grooming gives them a natural high, so it\u2019s no surprise they may want to keep up the licks to keep them in a beautiful mood.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t be inclined to return the favour though. As much as they love to lick, it\u2019s unlikely those furballs will appreciate being on the receiving end, so stick to the simple brush when it comes to grooming the floofs. No need for human hairballs!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 4 reasons behind those sneaky licks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,46,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anxiety-depression-and-cat-psychology","category-behaviour-and-training","category-lifeguides"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why does my cat lick me? - The Lick<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 4 reasons our cats sometimes take a nibble at your nose - we answer the age old question: Why do our cats lick us and what does it mean?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.republicofcats.com\/thelick\/why-does-my-cat-lick-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why does my cat lick me? 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