How often do cats wash themselves and why?

How often do cats wash themselves and why?

Make no mistake, cats love to wash! Much more than humans and this is incredibly common.

Let’s not I forget, cats on average can sleep up to 16 hours every single day and occasionally wake up to have a romp around, play on their cat tree and if they are lucky enough, go outside for a wander!

In between this very relaxing way of life, they spend their times maintaining their fur and washing themselves to keep their appearance in tiptop shape.

Have you ever noticed this?

If so, then you should be proud of yourself as you have a very healthy cat, because a cat that regularly washes itself is a very social creature and also very clean naturally as a result!

How often should your cat wash itself?

Compared to humans who would shower on average around 10 minutes every day, your cat will spend much longer focused on their self hygiene and can spend on average around an hour and a half to 2 hours every day maintaining their appearance.

The time that they spent cleaning themselves it is best that you leave them be as cats appreciate this time to spend on themselves privately on most occasions.

Little washes, big washes

Of course, cats will not spend one hour and a half continuously washing themselves. This time is spent spread out throughout the course of a normal day.

Sometimes it may just be a quick lick of the fur, other-times after they have used the litter tray it may require a more thorough deep clean!

A little bit of blemish is quite normal for cats, do not worry!

Why cats wash themselves?

The answer to this question is mostly common sense and very similar as to why humans wash themselves. Put simply, cats like to maintain good hygiene and also love their own smell!

Washing themselves simply makes them feel good and next time that you take them to the vet be sure to watch them closely when they get home and you’ll find it on most occasions they will give themselves a good wash almost immediately.

Another thing to look out for is if you happen to cuddle your cat and you’re wearing a strong perfume, they will again clean themselves so that they can feel comfortable from their familiar smells that make them feel warm and cuddly inside.

Cats  maintain themselves due to their social functioning as well. If you have a household with multiple cats you may find that cats will clean each other and this is a sign that not only do they enjoy sharing each other’s scent, but it is also used for mutual affection as well.

Has your cat ever tried to lick you? If so, you should be pleased to know this is a huge compliment! They do this out of pure love for you.

If you notice a change in your cats cleaning habits and they are cleaning excessively then there may be an underlying condition there that should be investigated by your vet.

If you are starting to see bald spots appearing on your cats then they should also potentially be a cause for concern that needs checking over with your local vet.

We hope that this article has been useful to you if you have any more questions then there are plenty of available resources online that can give more in-depth details as to why cats clean themselves.

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