However, grooming can also have psychological benefits. A cat may groom to temporarily reduce conflict, frustration, or anxiety. Unable to do so, a third behavior arises that is out of context with the situation. For example, during a social conflict a cat that feels threatened may be conflicted between running from its attacker and fighting.
Caught in a bind, the cat decides to groom instead! Grooming appears to calm and reassure the cat. Over-grooming, in the form of excessive licking, biting, nibbling, chewing, or sucking the coat or skin, with no underlying medical cause, is typically indicative of stress.
Common causes of feline stress are: fear, lack of stimulation, isolation, new pet in the household, move to a new household, separation anxiety, or in some cases early weaning.
In some cases, excessive grooming can start in response to a skin irritation fleas, allergies, infections , but it can escalate into a behavioral problem even though the condition has cleared. It is thought that the grooming behaviors become self-reinforcing by reducing anxiety. Cats are social animals. They lick their people as a display of affection and trust, the way they would lick littermates or their mother.
They also may lick to taste any substance that is on your skin, such as salt. Should You Groom Your Cat? For instance, psychogenic alopecia, or fur plucking, is a common condition that includes hair thinning, balding, and skin infections.
Regular self-grooming will help your cat look good and feel good, but if she becomes ill, she may stop cleaning herself. This could be a sign of arthritis, pain, or dental problems. Cats who are taken away from their mothers too early may also not know how to properly clean themselves.
To encourage your cat to begin grooming, start by brushing her daily. Brushing stimulates the skin and blood circulation, and rids her of fleas and ticks. When she starts grooming, try not to interrupt her. Select Your Region. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram Youtube. As used herein, denotes registered trademark status in the U. Your use of this site is subject to the terms of our Legal Statement.
About our Ads. Cookie Consent Tool. Belgium - Belgique. Brazil - Brasil. Canada English. Costa Rica. Croatia - Hrvatska. Denmark - Danmark. Finland - Suomi. France - France. Germany - Deutschland.
Greater China - Taiwan. Italy - Italia. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Featured Video. Article Sources.
The Spruce Pets uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Read More. Your Privacy Rights.
To change or withdraw your consent choices for TheSprucePets.
0コメント