Why do cats always love to lick their feet? Pay attention to these situations!

There are so many cute things about kittens, one of which is jiojio that you can’t put down! But sometimes this kind of licking behavior makes people wonder, why do cats lick it every day?

① Clean paws

Cats have to walk on the ground every day and touch this and that with their paws, so their paws can easily hide dirt.

Licking paws also cleans paws. The papillae on their tongues can take away dirt. Cats will also use their claws to assist in cleaning some places that their tongue cannot lick (such as their face).

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② Nail pulling

When cats lick jio, they are often accompanied by a finger-picking action...

In fact, this is related to the structure of cats’ nails. Their nails grow layer by layer (a bit like an onion).

When the nails are worn, they will become dull, which means that for cats in the wild, their fighting ability is weakened. Therefore, in order to keep the nails sharp, they will actively tear the outer layer of the nails to facilitate the old nails to fall off, and then Revealing the latest and sharpest nails.

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③ Heat dissipation

Because cats only have a few sweat glands on their paw pads and muzzles, they have very few ways of cooling themselves off.

Licking the paws is also one of them, leaving saliva on the flesh pads. When the saliva is evaporated, it can take away some of the heat.

Licking paws is a daily routine for kittens, but frequent and excessive paw licking may often be a warning that there is something abnormal in the cat's claws!

How to judge whether a cat’s claws are abnormal?

The simplest and most direct way is to observe the cat’s paws.

●Cats lick their paws more often and for longer periods of time.

●Abnormal symptoms of licked paws: redness, swelling, heat, skin damage, scabs, etc. caused by prolonged licking.

●Cats are also accompanied by other conditions: loss of appetite, listlessness, lameness, limb avoidance and other abnormal symptoms.

From these performances, it can be comprehensively judged that the cat is indeed licking its paws excessively. So what is the cause?

What causes paw licking problems?

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Culprit No. 1: Trauma to the claws

Including but not limited to the cat knocking off its nails, the cat scratching itself by playing with sharp objects, injuries caused by fighting with other cats, etc., resulting in "glorious" claw injuries...

After being injured, cats will frequently lick their paws in order to clean up the blood and relieve pain.

Solution: Clean the injured area, disinfect it in time, and wear a collar.

? But if the wound is deep and bleeding and cannot be treated by yourself, you should take the cat to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible.

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Culprit No. 2: Parasites

When cats are bitten by mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, mites, bees, etc., their paws may cause an inflammatory reaction in their skin. Just like humans, cats will feel itchy, swollen, and uncomfortable, so they want to lick them. Take it easy.

Solution: regular deworming (external deworming once a month) + environmental deworming

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Culprit No. 3: Stress/Anxiety

Just like someone chewing their nails when they are nervous and anxious. Cats may also lick their paws frequently when they are stressed or anxious.

Solution: Investigate stress sources + environmental enrichment

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Culprit No. 4: Fungal and bacterial infections

When cats live in a humid environment for a long time or their immunity is weakened, they are easily infected, causing the cat to lick and bite its paws many times to relieve swelling and itching.

Solution: Go to the hospital to prescribe antibacterial drugs

Culprit No. 5: Allergy,

Some kittens will develop itching on their paws due to allergies to certain foods/plants/dust/pollen, etc. In order to relieve this, they begin to lick their paws frequently.

Solution: Find out the cat's allergens and replace them to solve the problem.

In addition, there are some rare disease factors that may also cause cats to lick their paws frequently:

●Feline plasma cell pododermatitis

●Feline eosinophilic granuloma

●Cancer metastasis, etc.

However, in fact, compared to dogs, inter-digital diseases are not more common in cats. As long as you pay attention to the details in life, you can avoid them to a certain extent.

How to prevent it?

? Store sharp items in your home

For example, scissors, needlework, glass products (broken glass shards) and other things that are easy to scratch cats can be placed in drawers or cabinets to prevent cats from coming into contact with them.

? Keep the environment dry and the cat’s paws dry

For example, the toilet is usually the humidest place in the home. It is recommended to lock the toilet door to prevent cats from entering.

If your cat’s paws touch something dirty and you can’t bear to wash it, please remember to dry the cat’s paws too~

? Do not remove hair from the soles of your cat’s feet at will

The hair on the soles of cats’ feet can protect their feet from minor trauma.

Many times, the cat's feet are accidentally scratched when forcibly shaving their feet.

Therefore, if the cat’s foot hair does not affect its normal activities, it is recommended not to trim it.

? Do not keep cats in cages for long periods of time

Living in a small space for a long time can cause stress and anxiety to cats. Moreover, if the cage is not properly cleaned, bacteria may breed and the cat’s immunity will decrease.

If there are no blankets in the cage, the cat’s feet will not have a suitable foothold, and the toes will always get stuck in the gaps, and they will be easily injured and infected.

In daily life, the easiest thing for us to do is to trim our cat’s nails regularly. This is the most intimate moment of contact between the scavenger and the cat’s paws.

It can not only observe the status of the cat's claws, but also trim overly long nails in time to prevent the nails from digging into the pads~