Can you answer the question “why does my cat lick me”? Let me help you.

Many people think that the cat licks them as a sign of true love not far away. While it is hard to tell if a cat feels complex emotions like love, licking is a sign of affection. Cats often lick themselves to the groom. 

The mother cats will lick their kittens as part of the grooming process as well. However, cats will also lick each other as a sign of affection. 

Cats lick humans for one of these reasons, but most of them come down to show affection. 

In the same way, you show affection to your cat by rebuking them, and your cat can try to repay you by licking you. 

Kittens will use licking as the way to relieve anxiety about how humans might use hugging. If your cat friend likes to lick you, he or she may want to have affection in return. Honestly, it is one of the best parts of owning a cat! 

Let’s review eight reasons for the question “why does my cat lick me?”

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8 Reasons for “Why does my cat lick me?”

First reason: Show the affection

Similarly, you show affection to babies by petting them, and cats will try to return the favor by licking you. 

More interestingly, the kitten will lick it to reduce anxiety when being away from her mother, in a new environment, or being hugged by others. 

If your cat often licks you, he will love him. Being licked by a cat is the best feeling of owning a cat! Mark you as your own for your baby. Like dogs, cats use pheromones to mark their territory. 

We often think that cats mark territory by peeing on objects, but they can do it in other ways as well. But this does not stop at territory. 

Why does your cat lick you? Cats can lick things that baby cats love, and humans are no exception! The truth is that when your cat licks or rubs you, they reaffirm that you are essential to them and that they want all the other cats to know. 

You may find that other cats avoid you sometimes, perhaps because they smell and understand that you belong to another cat!

Second reason: Show the desire of being taken care

Many joked that the cat might see its owner as a member of its small family, that the cat will find a way to take care of you. That is one reason a cat kills rats or a dead bird and leaves it in front of you to dine. 

Also, it is common for a female cat to have a more habit of licking her owner because of this feature. When a cat licks you, it means they are trying to teach you to groom yourself. 

Like in the old days when she was a kitten, she was licked by her mother. Now that the baby is grown up, he will lick you back. 

So another reason “why does my cat lick me?” is that cats are very attentive to their owner’s moods, so you may find that your cat is more affectionate when you are stressed or sick. Your cat is trying to calm your anxiety in the same way you would treat it. 

Third reason: Show the loyalty and emotions

This display of loyalty and love is familiar to dogs. But cats lick people for this reason much less often. They usually rest, but sometimes a cat can express love by licking their face or hand. It will be a short-term, committed act as stealth. 

This action happens more often in abandoned cats because, after such an activity, the commitment to domination diminishes. They no longer see such a strong competitor in one person and can afford to show love. 

Forth reason: Show the desire of being cared by its mom

When the kitten is born, it will communicate with the petting mother. This issue is because he is deaf and blind. The cat licks the belly. In this way, she calmed him down. Another reason to lick a belly is to stimulate her digestive system. 

This action crashed into the cats’ memory for life. As it grows, it starts to ripen. The body is preparing to give birth to children. 

If the animal has not been disinfected but does not have a kitten, then there is a time when it seems like the cat is pregnant or she has kittens. 

In cats, this is manifested as a result of a failure in hormone levels. When cats and cats experience different emotions due to hormonal changes, they try to express them in every possible way. 

When an animal feels attached to a person, her expression of emotions will become an alternative to taking care of children. It looks adorable, but when the manifestation of caressing occurs, for this reason, it is harmful to the health of the animal. 

Therefore, experts recommend disinfecting cats for up to a year if they are not planned for spawning. 

Because they are hungry

If the cat often licks your hand, it could be a sign of begging. After all, the hand of giving your cat is the primary source of food, this is why your cat licks you continuously.

This thing is shown to a greater extent when, from childhood, you feed the cat by hand, and it gets used to it. It would lick your palm and bite you. 

Also, an expression of what the pet asks for food would be a combination of hand licking and kneading on the front paws. This expression is because a kitten is a way to get milk from a cat. 

Sixth reason: Self-affirmation

This action is because there are older and younger animals in the hierarchy when communicating in a herd. 

A taller cat can lick another animal, and this thing meant it showed condemnation this way. The cat’s behavior can understand this. She shows with her appearance that, in this case, licking is not tender but merely condescension towards you. 

Such an expression of emotion is inherent in many more mature pets who have gone through puberty. In this dominant manifestation, there was no danger. The main thing is that the animal does not start to show excessive aggression on its part.

Because they are in good mood

This problem is a situation when a cat, on the contrary, considers itself in a herd to be lower in condition than the others. 

The cat is demonstrated by licking the hands or neck. Here the reason can also be determined by the behavior. Its behavior was not arrogant and tender. This stiffness in movement and emotion. 

In one pack, the lowest condition usually falls on its back and then licks the animal, which is the oldest according to the state in their pack. 

This activity is one way of saying that the animal does not claim its position. This condition can be bad for the mentality of the cat. When your pet is continually affected by a stressful situation, it leads to fear. An often stressed cat will get sick. 

Because they are feeling bored

Another reason that cats licks a person might be they feel bored at this moment. This feeling is a way to find something for itself. Therefore, why your cat licks you because they are looking for enthusiasm. 

Often the owners forget about the pets. It sits at home and receives no affection or attention from anyone. 

Sometimes it happens that animals from boredom can constantly be overeating. But some resorts come to another method – this is lick all around. At first, the cat may constantly lick its wool, and over time it moves to everything that comes through with it. 

Final thoughts

Emotionally, being licked by a cat is a delight. But the sensation of a tongue touching your skin is not pleasant at all. 

The tongue has a back hook, which acts like mini combs when the baby is brushing or cleaning himself. So when the baby licks you, the tongue hooks directly into the skin and makes you uncomfortable. 

But remember, your baby never wants to hurt you! When a cat licks you, it only tries to show affection. Cats only lick their favorite person, so please let them lick you as a natural instinct.