Cats cleaning each other

[I_love_cats]

Hello petlovers

I have three cats, two are males and one female. Toby and Joey are always cleaning each other but my female girl, Sabrina doen't clean my males cats and when Joey wants to clean her head, she won't let him. She gets mad at him. I love seeing them lick each other. I wondering why they lick each other, i didn't think males would lick each other. Doesn't anyones cat lick each other? My Joey he lick my face all the time but boy he has a rough toung but Sabrina never licks me, i wonder why she doesn't do that. I only see males cats lick. What do you guys think?

[AmberLee]

I've heard that grooming each other can be a dominance thing. (Picture a human mom washing her kid's face with a spit-on tissue...) And cats tend to have matriarchal societies, so she wouldn't let them. Hmm, if that theory's right, she would groom them. Back to the drawing board!

[toughCookie]

I have 5 cats, 3 females, and 2 males, I think it just depends on the perosnality of the cat, and how they get along with the others.
Emma and Louise are littermates ( one year old) and they still lick each other, and Louise will lick Charlie (5 months old) Charlie will also lick Patches (male) and Louise.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I have 3 male cats and Storm will lick both Pepper and Sunny. He acts likes he's their mother. Sunny will also lick Storm and he tries to lick Pepper but Pepper won't let him. Pepper used to lick Storm's head but now he won't. Who knows why cats behave the way they do. Here's an old picture of a young Storm licking a 12 week old Pepper.

[Uabassoon]

My male Corkscrew loves to clean my female kitten Tibby.http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid32/pf343676151d7db170c42b5a8051da31d/fd431a22.jpg

[neko1]

My cats also lick each other. My oldest male and female lick each other. Sometimes my oldest male will lick my young male on his head. It's kinda funny because sometimes when the male and female are licking each other, they start play biting and then they start with their play fight and chase each other around the house. so basically half the time licking leads to play fighting. Anyone else's cats do that?

[sasvermont]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/p317c6ff648a0a6e0f9df97b331a9f80f/fd8f5e2c.jpg
Here is a picture of Gabe and Grammy Crackers, both males, cleaning each other. It is actually Gabe doing all the work this time. They take turns. Sometimes Miley, my female, cleans Graemer, her brother.

I don't know exactly why they do it. I should read up on it - get with it SAS!

;)

[jenluckenbach]

I always thought cats licking each other was a social thing, and some cats just don't like other cats as much as some do. I always am glad to see my cats lick each other, because it means they like each other. And on the other hand, when one tries to get a small head lick fron another and the other shies away, I always feel bad for the poor cat that has just been shunned. And yes, it often leads to play with mine, too. Sometimes they lick until the other has a sopping wet spot.

[wayne0214]

Tiger, my female lynx-point Siamese, is usually licking one of my furkids. Yet, this is only done when others begin licking her, or when any of them lay next to her. She was spayed before having any kittens, but still has the matriarchial character. She is quite large now, weighing in excess of 10 lbs. Remembering when I first brought her home with me 11 months ago, she was such a tiny kitten.

............wayne

[Felicia's Mom]

The two cats I have now will not lick each other. I once had two cats that were always curled up together washing each other.

[toughCookie]

yes, Louise and Charlie will do that, Louise will be licking him, then they start that playing. also, Patches and Charlie do that .:rolleyes:

[Glacier]

Glacier and Pete are always grooming each other. Glacier does more of the grooming though and Pete just seems to enjoy it all. Pete was only three weeks old when his momma cat disappeared. Glacier immediately took to Pete and started acting like a momma cat. He's a neutered male! Pete nurses on Glacier's dew claws and gets most upset if he can't find his buddy.
This was taken just before Pete was leaving for Saskatchewan to have his surgery.
http://www.seemesmile.com/photos4/2359768a.jpg

[krazyaboutkatz]

When Storm and Sunny start licking each others heads, it often leads to what I call cat wrestling. It's so funny to watch them because they start out being so loving and gentle and then one of them will bite the other one and then the fur starts flying. :eek:

[Logan]

Not in my house!!! LOL!!!! My cats get no closer to each other than is necesary!!!! :eek: They hate each other!!!

But my dogs do that........lick each other's faces and ears all the time!!! It is so sweet!!! :)

[Efrat]

Tsoomi never cleans anyone, as he hardly likes to clean himself... :) Milki ad Kfitzi clean each other often since they were kittens (they are half brothers...same daddy). Gucci only cleans his friend Kfitzi ... he hates Tsoomi and he ignores Milki...
I have a video clip in my website of Gucci cleaning Kfitzi - I thibk it's really sweet!:D

[Barbara]

Filou and Tigris clean each other but especially Tigris does the dominance thing, too. If Filou has found the sunny spot and curls up there, Tigris very often goes and starts to lick him, licking harder and harder until Filou is disturbed and lifts his paw -but at the end it's Tigris at the sunny spot.
However there are moments where it's just pure friendship and very touching to look at.

[Cataholic]

I think (as if one really cares) that they lick for several reasons. One is the matriachial thing, the dominant will lick the submissive. But, I heard they also lick to say to the other one, "everything is ok with us right now". Tenny and Dakky- nearly every single morning, on the carpet outside the bathroom door start the communal lick, then bite, then fight! It is a riot. I can almost set my watch to them. The pattern never changes.

Then Tex, the alpha male, will "let" Georgia (most submissive female) lick him for a moment...he will return a few licks, then add a little bite to the ear! Strange about those two..she gets the worst of Tex- he will stalk her, but she is on only one that gets to share his treat bowl in the am...

Someone also told me that to a cat, our petting them is like a giant tongue! I love that analogy....

Wow, so much from Cataholic in one day...I gotta get back to work! :D

[weeze]

Baby always starts to lick Minnie but it always end up in a fight. She licks first and then bites. Minnie hates it!