Do cats understand kisses?

For HUMANS kissing is a common way to express affection or greet someone in many cultures around the world. However, in some cultures, kissing was not a regular practice before European colonization. 

In these cultures, kissing was introduced by Europeans and did not have the same significance as it does in other cultures. Kissing can be used to express a wide range of emotions, including love, gratitude, compassion, sympathy, joy, and sorrow.

Your cat understands your kiss as an act of allogrooming from another cat. - MikeB

Your cat understands your kiss as an act of allogrooming from another cat. Image: MikeB

It is an intimate exchange. It is a practice that was created by humans for humans. We don't know the origin. Anyway it is irrelevant. This is about humans.

When we kiss our cat they don't understand the action as a kiss per se. You've probably kissed your cat before during moments when there is emotional warmth between you. Your cat will have learned that the act of kissing is a sign of affection, a bit like stroking their head. 

Cats don't understand kisses per se in the way humans do as a deeply intimate action. But they understand the affection attached to it provided there is affection attached to it! And it has been done often. This teaches your cat what it means.

That's about it on cats understanding human kisses. Except for this afterthought:

Allogrooming versus kissing

Petting your cat and stroking him or her is very close to the human kiss from the cat's standpoint. They interpret is as their mother or a feline associate (friend) grooming them. When a cat grooms another cat (allogrooming) cats understand this as a physical sign of affection. It is bonding.

Allogrooming is almost a feline version of the human kiss. - MikeB

Cat allogrooming. A feline version of the human kiss?! Image in the public domain.

Allogrooming means licking another cat. The tongue is involved as it is in French kissing! You can see the association.

The cat may even understand the human kiss on their head as a allogrooming from another cat. If that was the case, once again they'd regard it as a friendly act which is very similar to a peck on the cheek from a dear friend.

There is a big overlap here between cat allogrooming and human kisses 😎. 

Why do cats lick you?

Photo: iStock

Why do cats lick you? It's an often asked question and it is equally often answered so I will be brief, very brief. Domestic cats do not relate to us as if we are a different species of animal to them. Therefore, we conclude that they believe that we are large domestic cats, specifically a mother cat who cares for them in feeding them and providing security and warmth. On that premise, we "lick" them by stroking them with our hands. Or we groom them with our flea combs. They sense that we are licking them. In return they lick us. It is part of a mutual bonding process and it is called allogrooming. It is as straightforward as that and I hope that you find the answer useful.

Why does my cat groom so much?

Why does my cat groom so much? Of course, he's grooming his coat. You might think that the obvious answer is that he's cleaning himself and that is the only reason why he does it. That is one reason but not the only reason. Not only is he cleaning away dust and dirt when he licks his coat he is also making his coat into a more efficient insulating layer. This keeps him warmer when required.

Cats do not have sweat glands. As you know sweat evaporates and cools us down. Instead of sweat, in warm weather, the cat will groom himself so that his saliva evaporates on his fur thereby cooling him down.

In addition, when a cat is lying in sunlight, vitamin D is produced on his hair.  A cat will lick off and ingest this vitamin D, an essential vitamin.

When we are agitated sometimes we scratch our head or bite our fingernails. Instead of this, a cat might lick his coat or his nose. A cat will feel better when he does it and it is called displacement activity.

You will notice that when we stroke our cat or handle our cat in anyway, he will often, shortly thereafter, groom himself. One reason for this is to smooth down the fur,  another reason is that he is tasting your scent that you deposited on his coat.  In addition he is removing your scent and letting his scent take its place. A cat prefers to have his fragrance on himself rather than our scent.

In addition to the above, in grooming himself, a cat will stimulate his skin glands at the base of individual hairs. The secretions from these glands help to keep his coat waterproof.

Sometimes, very rarely, a domestic cat will groom too much and this might be because he is stressed and he is using grooming to calm himself down. When a cat does this you will tend to see bald spots in his coat and usually in areas which are easily accessible such as the belly.

Finally, you will see domestic cats grooming each other. This is an act of friendship as we would expect it to be. The domestic cat has become quite social in his or her domestication and the concept that the domestic cat is a solitary animal is no longer true.

When a cat grooms another cat it is called allogrooming.  When a domestic cat grooms himself it is called autogrooming. You will notice that the domestic cat follows a set procedure when he grooms himself. And the domestic cat will groom  routinely at certain times (for example after eating) and in certain places (for example in a favourite chair after eating or against you when you are in bed).

A cat will nibble at his claws to remove any loose keratin and when he grooms around the eyes and ears he will deposit saliva on his paws and then use that to wash himself. I'm sure that you are familiar with this. I hope this helps.

Classic Cat Allogrooming

Friendly kiss, a photo by fofurasfelinas on Flickr.

The friendly kiss. This is another lovely photograph by Giane Portal (AKA fofurasfelinas) showing two cats living in a sanctuary who have a close relationship. And what a sanctuary! These cats look as if they are well cared for.

The tabby and white cat on the right is licking the all grey cat on the ear. The grey cat seems to have presented his right ear to the tabby cat for a spot of grooming.

This is called "allogrooming" by scientists. We call it a friendly kiss, as has Giane Portal.

Allogrooming happens more often between cats who are friendly ("preferred associates") than non-preferred associates (see The Sociable Domestic Cat).

Sometimes, as might be the case here, one cat invites another to groom her/him.

The cat being grooming is "highly cooperative". I bet he is! I would be too. I'd love a bit of allogrooming from time to time.

Cats in colonies and groups can be very sociable with each other. This appears to be an adaptation to domestication as the small wild cats do not have the same lifestyle.

However, when there is more space and food sources groups are less likely to form up. It is about these things: food source and available to space to form a home range.

The domestic cat is adaptable. They do choose their buddies though. We can't force that.