Washing cats or the secret life of pets. Why do cats wash themselves? The key to a successful hunt

The cat has long been primarily a domestic animal, but the power of instincts, passed on from generation to generation, has not yet been exterminated. And the cleanliness with which they care for their fur confirms this. Let's find out why cats wash themselves and what lies behind this ordinary, daily ritual?

The key to a successful hunt

Predatory wild representatives felines are forced to hunt to feed themselves and their offspring. And here it is important that the smell emanating from the fur cannot be smelled by the victim. A domesticated cat, which is allowed to go outside, obeying the instinct of the hunter, can catch a bird or a mouse. What is important here is not only patience and waiting for the victim, but also the absence of a smell that could give away the cat. Therefore, these cunning predators lick the fur - they wash themselves to get rid of it.

What remains from wild individuals is the need to distribute excretions evenly throughout the fur. sebaceous glands. Thereby creating an obstacle to moisture that may enter during hunting. It will prevent the wool from getting too wet.

Why does a cat need to wash itself?

In addition to hunting, licking a cat is necessary for the following purposes::

• Health and well-being. It has been noted that cats also wash themselves to make their fur look neat. The hard, rough tongue makes an excellent brush, helping to get rid of tangled dirt and dead hair that can get stuck in the nasty lumps. Cats wash themselves with their tongue, but their teeth can also be involved in the process. It’s convenient to finish with paws hygiene procedures, cleaning the ears and muzzle.
• Maintaining a comfortable body temperature. By washing the cat, it not only moisturizes the fur, but also fluffs it up. The air that forms between the hairs creates an optimal balance of body temperature. This microclimate is comfortable in hot weather and cool.
• Socialization. A cat can rub against a relative that it clearly sympathizes with. This is how not only acquaintance occurs, but also the transfer of smells, which can then become a signal that this is a friend.
• Conflicts often arise among cats. An obviously strong male will never lick himself during a fight. Only losers wash themselves. This is a sign that the opponent is giving up.
• Kitten care. Newborn babies do not yet wash themselves, so their mother cat does it for them. Cats wash themselves all the time and teach kittens how to care for themselves. This is not only teaching them hygiene, but also a kind of massage for them.

Anti-stress massage

Please note that cats often wash themselves slowly and thoroughly, enjoying the process itself. If nothing interferes, then the pet can spend quite a lot of time licking itself.

The hard, rough tongue has a massage effect, soothing and relaxing. This way the cat not only cleans its fur, but also relaxes. It is especially important for her to stay in a secluded place where she can calmly wash herself after suffering stress: visiting veterinary clinic, moving to a new place, communicating with children, etc.

It has been noticed that cats like to wash themselves less than cats. This is also an instinctive manifestation, since in nature it is the female that is the breadwinner. And the success of the hunt depends on cleanliness and absence of odors.

All animal lovers note the cleanliness of cats. These animals clean themselves completely with their tongues several times a day. The cat washes itself after eating and after sleeping, it does this with amazing regularity. Even kittens are known for their cleanliness. First they are licked by the mother cat, then they quickly learn to wash themselves. Dogs also sometimes clean themselves with their tongues and remove dirt from their fur with their teeth, but they do not do this as often and do not treat issues of personal hygiene with the same care as cats do.

Why do these animals have such different approaches to hygiene issues? There is a natural answer to this question.

Hygiene and hunting of cats and dogs

In order to understand the details of this issue, it is necessary to pay attention to the lifestyle of both creatures. Cats and dogs are predators, but they have different hunting strategies. Dogs are canines and are related to wolves. Like wolves, they prefer to stay in a pack, and they also hunt in packs, driving down prey. They do not need to hide or hide their scent, since they do not lie in ambush, pursuing prey openly.

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Cats hunt alone. The only exceptions in this regard are lions, who live and hunt in prides. A cat is a lone hunter who lies in wait for his prey in ambush, and therefore is forced to act secretly. She needs to hide her own scent so that her prey does not sense her presence until the very last moment.

Interesting fact : Lions are an exception in the cat family; they differ from other large and small cats in a number of ways. They do not know how to retract their claws, live in families, and actively pursue prey. They also do not wash themselves as often or as thoroughly as domestic cats.

Communication and communication through smell

A cat does not need to maintain close connections with other members of its species. And when necessary, they successfully cope with all communication tasks through voice and gestures, because they do not need to convey too much information to each other. As for dogs, things are more complicated here. WITH secret life requires close communication with fellow humans, transmission of a lot of information about oneself, and the ability to obtain maximum information about the moods and state of surrounding individuals. This need becomes most significant during a hunt, when it is necessary to coordinate the actions of an entire group. Smells in canines play a significant role in communication; they complement the information that can be obtained in other ways - through vision and hearing.

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By smell, dogs can distinguish between the emotions of surrounding pack members - fear, aggression. Each dog has its own individual “perfume”; the pack knows the location of each individual dog by smell. They do not need to bark or look for each other, which simplifies joint actions when hunting in a pack. The dog needs the smell, so it does not get rid of it by constantly licking its fur. She only cleans herself as needed. They simply do not have the built-in instinctive action associated with constantly maintaining cleanliness.

Everyone, at least once in their life, has witnessed the most fascinating spectacle: cats being washed. The degree of diligence with which meowing pets approach this painstaking process cannot leave anyone indifferent, and the skill and natural flexibility of cats certainly delights both children and adults. What lies beneath this mundane yet captivating process of washing?

The main reasons and why so often?

Important!

Few people know that the main goal pursued by cats in the process of washing is to stimulate the production of a special secretion called “sebum”, which performs the following functions:

Attention!

An interesting fact is that cats try to get to the most inaccessible areas of the body of their comrades (earlobes, muzzles and necks), thereby expressing their warmth and tenderness.

In addition, through the same “washing” the cat demonstrates the full extent of its gratitude to the person, in particular the owner.

1. Washing helps express own emotions and feelings. It’s not in vain that after a hearty meal, a good sleep or fun game the cat lies down and blissfully begins to lick the fur over the entire surface of its own body, because in this way it demonstrates delight in what is happening. Everyone has observed this fascinating process at least once in their life. At the very beginning, the cat diligently licks its paw in order to form on its surface a layer of saliva necessary for further washing. After this, the pet, using the same limb, begins to diligently work in the area of ​​the back of the head, ears, muzzle (in particular the eye and nose). How. As a rule, the cat then begins to lick the fur on the surface of its body, demonstrating its flexibility and agility and reaching even the most inaccessible areas of its own body.

   Thorough washing is facilitated by the rough structure of the surface of the tongue and the special arrangement of the teeth in oral cavity cats specially created for “combing” and “licking” fur.

   All the time after eating?!

   Important!

   There is a common myth that cats wash themselves after eating in order to eat any bits of food remaining on their fur and between their teeth.

   In fact, even the most domestic and pampered kitten is, first of all, a predator whose instincts cannot be eradicated by the environment of life.

   Every cat tries to remove all food residues after the next snack in order to get rid of the smell of food, the presence of which on the fur intuitively causes panic in the pet:

   • such a “fleur” can attract the attention of a larger, and therefore potentially dangerous, predator;
   • the presence of a foreign odor on a cat’s body can prevent it from identifying possible “prey” by proximity.

   But there is no dog: what is the reason?

   Scientists pondering this question have come to the conclusion that evolution is the explanation. The fact is that the cat’s ancestors, who inhabited the earth thousands of years ago, used cunning to hunt, waiting tactics to track prey, and a lightning-fast form of attack that discouraged the victim to attack.

   Dogs descended from wolves, whose reprisal against potential prey is always open, and success in fights with prey was achieved through numerical, speed and strength superiority. In addition, dogs are pack creatures by nature.

   The coexistence of individuals within a group is possible only if there is a certain individual smell on the fur, which serves as an identifier for dividing into “friends” and “strangers”.

   Signs

   

   • If a pet restlessly licks its tail and nearby areas of the body, this indicates the approach of sorrows and/or unfavorable weather (blizzards, rains).
   • A cat washing its hair with its paw hints at warm, fine days.
   • If your pet, while at home, fussily begins to wash itself, guests will certainly come to visit you in the near future.
   • If a cat washes the area behind the right ear, this means a man will appear, and behind the left ear, this means an acquaintance with a woman.
   • Even the temperature of the paws of a cat washing itself can play a role: if they are hot at the tips, then welcome guests will certainly come, and if they are cold, unwanted people will come.
   • The Romans believed that if our smaller brothers were “scratching behind their ears,” we should expect cold weather and snow.
   • The Serbs noticed that during the washing process the cats turned their bodies against the direction of the wind.
   • Slavic families believed that a cat licking its own fur near the door indicated the imminent arrival of a priest.
   • Since ancient times, Japanese merchants have been confident that cats carefully “combing” their ears with their left paw indicate an approaching influx of buyers.

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   And finally...

   It’s not for nothing that cats bear the title of one of the most mysterious pets: their habits and everyday pranks often represent actions of importance unseen by the human eye.

   Only one thing can be said with certainty: these purring pets never do anything without specific reasons, and even the most innocent and touching washing satisfies not only the hygienic needs of cats, but also serves as a survival tool, a form of communication, and also a means of expression the widest spectrum emotions and feelings.