Grooming a cat

If you own a pet cat, or even if you don't, you may have seen them constantly grooming themselves. Seeing this, you may have thought that they are rather vain creatures. But did you know that cats do their grooming not only to keep themselves clean, but also to regulate their body temperature?

The sweat glands of cats are not as effective as humans' because cats have thick fur. In hot weather or after some activity, cats cannot rely entirely on their sweat glands to cool themselves. So, they will lick their fur and apply a coat of saliva on it, and through the evaporation of the saliva, they will be able to cool their bodies.

You would have noticed that cats groom themselves more after some time spent 'sun bathing' and after a period of playing or hunting. Now you know why!

The sebaceous glands in a cat's skin are also stimulated when it licks its fur. What do these glands do? They release an oily fluid that helps keep their fur waterproof. This helps them avoid getting cold and wet as the water won't seep into their skin. Also, this fluid contains a little bit of vitamin D, which the cat will consume by licking.

Most cats carry out this grooming activity without being prompted by anyone else. But there may be cats who are too lazy to do it on their own. Such animals could be induced into grooming themselves by spreading a little bit of butter on their skin. Some cats may not be able to groom themselves properly due to excessively long fur or because they are too old. In such an event, the owners will have to help them clean and groom themselves.