What Does It Mean When A Cat Licks Your Hair?

Understanding why a cat licks your hair is a combination of a desire to return the cat’s affection and a desire to protect your pet in times of need.

Whether you’re a first-time cat owner or have had a long-term feline companion, your cat’s behavior can be perplexing. Animals may not be able to speak through words, but they do have their own ways of expressing themselves and interacting with those around them. When a cat licks your hair, the messages they’re trying to convey are more complex than what you might assume.

Why does a cat lick your hair?

A cat licks your hair is only their instinct.

It’s simply said that a cat grooms their hair when it is still young. That is a method of maintaining their skin’s cleanliness and wellness. Cats spend a substantial percentage of their waking hours licking. That is the unique characteristics of cats.

In addition, it’s also an interesting sign that your animal companion has a neatnik mother. Like human-being, the environment plays an important role in establishing the attitude of animals. Having a mother of neatnik is a chance for their kittens to develop that clean attitude.

Moreover, grooming is also an expression of love for other cats. It demonstrates that they have a warm and close bond with their extended family. When they sleep together, they want to smell their own scent from their partner since it makes them feel safe and secure. In other words, a cat licks your hair because it loves you and wants to show you how much they care. And there is no clue that it wants to comment on your hairstyle or your hair health condition. So when your cat shows its love, why not touch their fur and spend some relaxing time with your kitty companion?

A cat licks your hair to relieve their stress.

Cats groom themselves for stress relief. When a cat licks its skin, endorphins in their brain naturally makes them feel good. Therefore, if a cat licks your hair, it means they are stressed and need your help to relieve it.

However, be careful when your cat grooms itself excessively or swallows long strands of human hair. In this case, you should take it to the veterinarian to have your cat checked-up. A food deficiency could be to blame for this behavior. Allergies in cats can also be caused by food, and they can over groom to soothe the itching.

A cat licks your hair because you’re tasty.

More likely, the smell of your shampoo or mousse appeals to them and makes cats confused with foods or vegetables. It’s not good information at all because from the cute gesture, this may turn into a big problem if your cat swallows your hair products. Remember to put your chemical products somewhere that the cat can not touch, due to these things not being safe for their health. 

A cat licks your hair when you are dirty.

Cats, after all, are tidy freaks that prefer to keep their silky fur in immaculate shape. If you are a member of their family, they will like to take care of you by assisting you in cleaning your “fur.” For instance, when you have something stuck in your hair like dirt or debris, they will lie beside you and start licking until your hair is as smooth and neat as theirs. 

Is it safe for a cat to lick your hair frequently?

This is usually not a cause for concern when a cat licks your hair regularly. Their health is normal as long as they don’t consume your hair or get sick after grooming it.

You, on the other hand, are not in the same boat. Cats have rough tongues to remove trash and loose hair from their coats, as you may know. Excessive licking, on the other hand, is likely to irritate your scalp skin and result in bald patches. Furthermore, even if your cat is indoor and vaccinated, his saliva is full of pathogens.Not to add the fact that cats lick their privates and eat a variety of disgusting stuff. So you should not let them lick your hair too much. 

When a cat licks your hair, how do you stop it?

Some people appreciate it when cats rip out and chew off their owners’ hair, because it makes them feel nice. Others, on the other hand, find this behavior extremely irritating, particularly when they are asleep. They don’t want to be woken up at midnight and have the dark circle the next day. If you are in the second group, there are some solutions for you to halt hair licking.

• When they start licking your hair, you should not talk, touch or even look at them. That behavior will increase the frequency if you do these actions and react like you feel comfortable with that. Just get up, remove your hair from your cat’s reach and leave your cat away.
• Providing your furry friend an alternative,such as a fuzzy plush toy, food-dispensing toys,frozen cat food smeared,…is also a way to keep your cat away from your hair.
• You can cover your head with a blanket every time you want to lie on the sofa or even on your bed.

You can do your own ways to prevent your cat from licking. However, don’t punish it for grooming you because it will make them feel unloved. I’m confident that your pet will understand that you don’t like their behavior and they will stop doing so soon. 

In the nutshell, a cat licks your hair when they want to express how much they love you and somehow, it’s one of their natural behaviors. Sometimes, cuddling your cats and allowing them to groom your hair is lovely but don’t let them do that frequently because it’s not safe for your skin. And keep in mind to put your hair products in places that cats can not access them. 

For more interesting facts about cats’ behavior, you can click the links below to discover them.

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