If you picture cats in your head, they will always appear licking themselves. This is the most prominent natural habit of cats. Any cat parent can understand this urge of cats for self-grooming, but what if you catch her licking her paws after every meal?
It can make you super curious, is she doing this because of illness, hunger, or something else? Let’s find out why cats lick paws after eating!
Licking Paws After Eating: Is It Normal Behavior of Cats?
Cats eat food from their mouth, so why do cats lick paws after eating? Yes even if it’s dry food, wet food, or a piece of chicken, they will engage in this licking activity for at least 30 to 60 seconds.
So yes it is normal for cats to lick paws after eating.
As you all know that cats tend to like cleaner spaces, they also take grooming very seriously. That’s why a cat spends almost 50% of their day cleaning and grooming themselves using their tongue. If you are a great observer, you will be able to notice that she’s licking actions are followed by wiping off the face and crown.
Basically, cats licking their feet after eating is a completely normal and natural act, now the question arises, why do cats lick paws after eating?
You will be surprised to know that the cat family follows the process of licking its paws after eating as a ritual.
Well in the wild cats are very particular about grooming themselves after eating because it allows getting rid of the scent. So that they won’t attract any predators, or won’t leave any traces behind. Cats use it as survival tactics, so it was about the cats in the wild, what about house cats?
Anticipation and elimination of odor, are the two major reasons why do cats lick paws after eating. Just like we humans smack our lips before we are about to start eating the most desirable dish.
Let’s have a look at, why do cats lick paws after eating:
1. To Spread the Sebum All Over
Just like you prefer washing your hands before and after any meal, or else it might just feel so uncomfortable, can even hurt you in the eyes if you mistakenly rub your eyes. Now, cats use their tongue to do all the grooming and cleaning business.
To remove the dirt and debris from their coat, after eating, and also to maintain good skin health. Licking helps the cat in the production of sebum-an oily secretion which comes from the sebaceous glands located in the roots of your cat’s hair.
Cats distribute the moisturizer evenly at all the parts of its body, it also helps her to remove the loose hair, dirt, and parasite if any.
2. To Create Cooling Effect
Cats can’t sweat like humans as they have a thick layer of fur on them. In humans, excessive heat is released in the form of sweating, as the heat evaporates from the body in the form of sweat, this is also known as thermoregulation.
Thermoregulation is a mechanism by which cats maintain body temperature with tightly controlled self-regulation independent of external temperatures. Temperature regulation is a type of homeostasis and a means of preserving a stable internal temperature in order to survive.
So, the bottom line is cats lick themselves to spread the saliva all over which will allow the heat to release out by creating a cooling effect, and how is it related to why do cats lick paws after eating, because they might feel hot after the consumption of food.
3. To Satisfy Their Psychological Needs
Cats prefer to be in a cleaner space, they prefer their litter box to be neat and their food to be extra neat! She won’t reside in a place that is too messy, in the same way, fastidious cats love to stay clean!
So even when there’s no leftover on her paws or face, she will feel a strong urge to clean it thoroughly.
Cat food can leave, splatter tiny particles and leave oils and various food smells around your cat’s mouth, whiskers, on the face, and even on the front paws!
The natural instinct of your cat will tell her ”that it’s too gross! And you are in danger because predators can smell you, poor kitty!”
A cat licking her paws after eating is like a medication for her, which fulfills her psychological needs to remain stress-free, increases the creation of endorphins, which can help with anxiety, tension, and pain relief, as well as eliciting feelings of euphoria.
The rough surface of a cat’s tongue, which is also compared with sandpaper, helps the cat to distribute saliva, it helps the cat to lose the dirt particles.
A cat will also lick her paws in situations where she doesn’t know what to do! For example, if a new cat or dog enters her premises, and she’s quite doubtful about greeting him/her. She will excessively lick her paws to avoid the situation.
4. To Remove the Food Smell
One of the most accurate reasons, why cats lick paws after eating, is to remove the food smell!
In the wild this is considered a very natural behavior of cats, they leave no trace for predators to track them, as wild animals depend largely on the smell while hunting or looking for their prey.
Cats are naturally designed to perform such activities.
Which helps to survive, so even the house cats follow this behavior pattern and God has given them a very pleasing and sharp tool, a tongue that helps them to clean even the tiniest food particle on their fur, paws, or other body parts.
Cats live revolving around the typical order: hunting (identify the prey, follow, chase, kill bite, dissect, ingest), grooming, sleeping.
5. Use Front Paw as a “Washcloth”
Cats can clean themselves with their tongue, although they are very flexible still there are few parts where their tongue can’t reach, including their nose, tails, or ears. So how do they manage to be spotless all the time?
The answer is very simple yet clever, cats use a front paw as a washcloth! They lick their paws in order to make them damp, afterwards they clean such unreachable areas with the paws.
So it’s very likely for cats to lick their paws after eating, also if it’s before their sleep time, they are preparing themselves for a lovely and irritation-free good night.
How to Rectify Excessive Grooming around Meal Time
One thing you should be pretty sure about, why cats lick paws after eating! While it’s completely normal for cats to do it, but again who will define the definition or criteria of normal? How to know if it’s a normal grooming habit or excessive!
The grooming nature of cats after eating helps them to feel emotionally calming and settled. But if she’s licking her paws in a very abnormal manner or for a longer period of time than usual, something is wrong with it.
Let’s look at some possible reasons, why cats lick paws after eating, excessively:
- If your cat is unable to digest a particular food properly, she might get an upset stomach, which will result in feeling pain or stress.
- If your cat food is slightly irritating or allergy-inducing, in this case, cats lick their paws excessively.
- When cats fail to digest the unnecessary preservatives or fillers present in the cat food.
What can you do about it?
Well, there’s such a thin line between both of these, excessive paw licking and normal paw licking after having a meal. But don’t worry, we will help you to rectify the difference between them in the easiest way!
You need to watch the following behavior of your cat during mealtime.
If your cat seems to be drained out, or she feels like sleeping right away after eating.in case of food-related issues, your cat with react within the first 30 minutes after eating, and more likely even sooner. Always check the ingredient list before choosing the right cat food for your feline.
A pro-tip: avoid cat foods with filler food and artificial flavors.
Conclusion
So, why do cats lick paws after eating? We hope that you got all your answers. While cats are love to stay clean especially when it’s about food. You will always find them licking their paws after eating. To remove the smell or any leftovers from the whole body helps in keeping the predators away.
Nevertheless, even house cats have these wild instincts. However, if your cat is engaging in excessive paw licking activities around mealtimes, notice other signs too! It will help you to rectify if she has some other issues.
References
- Pica and chewing behavior in cats — Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery
- Cats that lick too much — Cornell University
- Sensitive paws due to allergy — WebMD