We all know that cats spend a good part of their day performing grooming or washing behavior. It is estimated that around 30% of the day they may be washing. They learn this behavior from a very young age, being with their mother, and they will not stop doing it throughout their lives. However, there are cats that do not wash, either because they have not learned or innate behavior or because they suffer from diseases or disorders that cause the absence of grooming.
In this article on our site we will address the causes that can explain why a cat does not wash itself and what to do in each case.
Why do cats groom themselves?
Grooming in cats is not for pure hobby or boredom, but responds to survival instincts. It is a custom that they learn since they are with their mother, when she grooms them and they see how it is done.
Cats wash themselves, in addition to maintaining hygiene and the good condition of their fur, for the following reasons:
Thermoregulation
Cats sweat through their pads, not their body surface, as they lack sweat glands in these locations. For this reason, grooming cools cats when temperatures are high, maintaining their body temperature and preventing heat stroke.
Protection against external agents
Cats' tongues have tiny thorns or spicules that are very useful for trapping the remains of society, parasites and germs that can cause harm or illness.
By carrying out this behavior every day they prevent a series of dermatological and systemic conditions, while stimulating blood flow and, with it, the strength and shine of their fur. However, with this they also catch a lot of loose hair that, if it is abundant or presents diseases that predispose to the accumulation of hair in the digestive tract, can form hairballs that in some cases end up in obstructions requiring surgery for removal.
Maintain neutral body odour
When cats wash themselves, in addition to removing the aforementioned remains, they eliminate more personal, intense or different odours that they can detect possible predators. They carry this in their genes as they descended from the wild cat of the desert, which lived in complete freedom, was a predator and prey of other animals.
Tranquility
When cats begin to wash somewhere it indicates that they feel comfortable and at peace, so they carry out this behavior to relax. It is a clear sign that they are doing it for peace of mind, but they can also do it to indicate to another animal or person that they "give up" or "give up".
Affected
If two cats get along it's not uncommon to see them grooming each other. It is a sign of love and affection between well-matched individuals of the species that they perform to strengthen bonds and to show affection. They can also do the same with humans.
Why doesn't my kitten wash?
The aforementioned reasons are what lead us to understand grooming behavior. However, the problem that concerns us is precisely the opposite, why does a cat not wash or stop doing it? When a kitten of a few months, already separated from the mother and that we have recently adopted, never washes, it is something strange and disconcerting for this species. In these cases, it is conceivable that did not learn the behavior from his motherfor the following reasons:
- Death of mother: If the mother dies during childbirth or after a few days, the cats will be raised without a figure to I teach you this and other behaviors of the species.
- Rejection by the mother: if the mother is alive but she rejects them, they will also have to be bottle fed and they will not learn The conduct.
- Early separation from the mother: if they are separated a few days or weeks after birth, they will not have had time to learn The conduct. In this other article we talked about when your mother's kittens can be separated.
- Mother not preening: Sometimes, the breeding stage of the kittens may coincide with the fact that the mother may be developing some disease that causes unwillingness to groom and therefore kittens don't see the behavior and don't learn it.
Why isn't my adult cat grooming?
When a caregiver has noticed the disappearance of grooming behavior in his cat when he has always done it and asks himself: "why does not my cat clean himself?", the answer can be explained with the following diseases or problems that cause this cessation of washing in adult cats:
- Dental Problems: Broken or infected teeth cause pain and refusal to wash in cats.
- Oral Problems: Conditions that cause infection or inflammation in the mouth, such as gingivitis or feline chronic gingivostomatitis, cause pain and make cats stop preening to avoid it. In addition to the cessation of grooming, they also stop eating solid food for the same reason.
- Obesity: When a cat has a high body condition, movement is limited and he is unable to groom himself as he would with ideal body condition
- Osteoarthritis: the degenerative process of joints due to age causes discomfort and pain that can hinder or prevent normal grooming of the cat.
- Low back pain: Low back pain can also make a cat reluctant to groom itself to avoid painful twinges.
- Fractures: Broken bones, whether mandibular, thoracic, pelvic or vertebral, prevent grooming due to reduced movement and associated pain.
- Dementia: With age, cats can develop dementia and forget behaviors such as grooming.
My cat doesn't clean his anus
If a cat does not clean its anus, but does clean the rest of its body, it may indicate that has a problem in the same area as causes pain when touched, such as full glands, perianal tumor, hernias, wounds or fistulas. Both in these cases and in the previous ones, it is necessary to go to the veterinary clinic.
What to do if my cat won't groom itself?
When the problem of lack of grooming is caused by not having learned it from the mother, regardless of the cause, we can try to teach this behavior ourselves. So if you're wondering how to teach a cat to clean himself, try the following:
- Pass some wet cloths through some areas of its fur, so the cat will notice that something is happening and will try to remove it, being able to take that behavior as a custom for the future.
- Apply m alt somewhere on the legs or other easy grooming area to see what grooming is all about. Learn about all the benefits of m alt for cats in this other article.
Cats are very clean, so as soon as they see how clean their grooming area is, many start cleaning themselves.
Now then, if your cat doesn't wash because of an illness, it should go to the vet to be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible, in order to recover the quality of life of the animal and ensure that it can resume this behavior that is so necessary for it.
