Why Does Your Cat Lick You?

If your cat licks you, you may have wondered: Are they trying to groom you? Are they being affectionate? Do you has a flavor?? Learn about cats' licking behavior in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/why-does-cat-lick-me.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,
Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bola Bam Here. Cats do all
kinds of stuff we don't understand, sometimes it seems like
on purpose, including licking humans. Dogs have more of a
reputation for being social, goofy, and lacking a nuanced concept

(00:23):
of personal boundaries. Cats are generally thought of as being
more standoffish and less prone to slobbering all over their
human compatriots. But every once in a while, your cat
will lose that sense of boundary and begin licking your
face or arm with that scratchy tongue, begging the question why.

(00:43):
For the article, this episode is based on How Stuff Works.
Spoke by email with Anita Kelsey, a cat behaviorist and
author of the book Let's Talk About Cats Conversations on
Feline Behavior, and she said cats explore the world as
kittens through their mouths and by chewing on things. They
lick to groom themselves and lick other cats, a behavior
called alo grooming in order to bond and groom. Cats

(01:08):
have a huge number of scent receptors compared with humans,
about two million compared to our measly five million, so
scent plays a big part in their everyday lives. Cats
can smell in two different ways. First, they sniff through
their noses in short, fast inhalations that capture the scent
molecules and hold them in a chamber in their nasal

(01:28):
cavity to let all of their sent receptors do their work.
A second, cats can taste and analyze scent through an
organ on the roof of their mouth called the Jacobson's
organ or the Eva Marionasal organ. When they're using this organ,
they make a weird face, sort of an open mouthed
grimace that scientists call a flame in response. This looks

(01:49):
to us like they're expressing distaste or disgusted, but they're
really just directing air towards the roof of their mouth.
Because most of a cat's face is involved in the
activity of smelling, it makes sense that a cat would
lick you in order to get more information about you.
But more than that, cats lick who they like, and

(02:10):
Kelsey said, cats lick us as a sign of closeness, bonding,
and affection. It's a form of grooming us, as they
do with other cats that they've bonded with. I'm sure
they're also enjoying taking in our scent. They love armpits,
for example, as there is a strong scent there. Although
cats aren't as exuberant in their demonstration of affections as

(02:32):
dogs usually are, according to Kelsey, we shouldn't compare the
two animals. She said, we are seen as part of
the cat family. Cats show us affection through behaviors like
remaining in our company, purring, sleeping next to us and
on our laps, and rubbing against us. Aside from a
cat's general affection for you and the urge to groom,

(02:54):
a buddy, cat might lick you for a variety of
other reasons. For starters, If your cat is regularly coming
at you with its sand paper tongue, the reason might
be that it wants to mark you as its territory,
and what better way to tell other cats to back
off than by smearing you with a little special spit perfume.

(03:15):
Cats also tend to lick things that they think are tasty.
Cats can't taste sweet things. They're the only mammal that can't,
but they might really like your hand, the lotion or
the residue that breakfast left on your fingers. If you
find that your cat is particularly interested in a specific
cosmetic product or appointment you use, especially a prescription ointment

(03:35):
like a hormone cream. Ask your vet whether it's safe
for them to ingest. Some cats also lick in order
to cope with stress or fear, and this behavior is
especially common in cats who were taken away from their
mothers very early, but it can happen in any cat.
If this behavior seems to worsen over time or is
accompanied by nervous body language, or if they begin over

(03:58):
grooming themselves to the point of creating bald spots, it's
a good idea to ask your vet about treatment. But
what about when licking is too much for you. It's
very sweet that your cat likes you but wants to
keep you clean or wants to tell other cats that
you're their person, But sometimes the licking can get to
be too much, especially because those little carratin barbs on

(04:22):
their tongue called pepilli, can hurt. Cat tongues are scratchy
because they need them to act as a brush for
combing fur and dislodging dirt, dander, and fleas. The papilli
are really effective tools because they're stiff, shape, wick saliva
off the tongue and onto the cat's fur for ease
of grooming and body temperature regulation. Researchers have even designed

(04:45):
better cat brushes based on the analysis of these barbs,
but they can definitely wear on sensitive skin. To dissuade
your cat from licking you, you can try distracting them
with a toy of getting out of brush and grooming them,
simply walking away, or even just putting a cardboard box
in the middle of the floor. It's worth a shot.

(05:10):
Today's episode is based on the article why does my
cat Lick Me? On how stuff works dot com written
by Jesslyn Shields. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart
Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot Com, and
it's produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio,
visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.