Self-grooming patterns in cats

Insight into why cats groom themselves and what it reveals about their health

- Dr. Irfan Ahmed

A cat sleeps for 14 hours and the next best activity it involves itself in is self-grooming; the grooming patterns reflect various behaviours of a cat. A change in cat grooming pattern reflects overall health of the cat, it shows any illness, depression, and most of all a clear indication of parasites or secondary medical conditions.

During initial days of their life, kittens are dependent on the queen for grooming; she licks to condition their coat, and to stimulate urination and defecation. This is continued till the young are able to move from their nest to eliminate. There are certain motor skills and reflex that develop with time and kittens begin to groom; initially, it is not in an order, but in days ahead, they get on to copy their mother.

As kittens grow, they take on grooming more actively - 50 percent of their awake time, or 15 percent of a 24-hour period is spent grooming. However, this may vary among breeds, coats, and geographical distribution of cats.

Cats shed hair throughout the year; losses are heaviest just before the onset of summer and winter season. As the winter ends, winter hair fall; these are much denser compared to the summer coat. This may vary on geographical distribution, but is common in most breeds.