To everybody out there with two or more cats can you please tell me if they groom each other? I have heard that females are far better groomers and they end up doing all the work. What happens in your house? Can you please share your stories.
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Do your cats groom each other?
- Thread starter tammat
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My 2 girls are sisters, groom each other very often but not the others. The 3 boys only groom themselves and don't bother the rest.
I have a male and female, unrelated. We had him for several years, she just came aboard about 6 months ago.
They groom each other, neither more than the other. Not to excess, but, they do. Sometimes it leads to play fighting but other times it is specifically meant as a cleaning and bonding gesture. They obviously both enjoy it.
They groom each other, neither more than the other. Not to excess, but, they do. Sometimes it leads to play fighting but other times it is specifically meant as a cleaning and bonding gesture. They obviously both enjoy it.
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- #5
Thanks for replying. I wondered if it would just be a case of every cat being different. They certainly are individuals!!
Out of our three neutered males, the grooming duties descend by age. The older (alpha) boy does most of the grooming. This is reciprocated by the middle cat, who will occasionally groom the younger one. The youngest only grooms himself, but will offer the odd lick to the others in order to kickstart them grooming him!
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- #7
Oh that's funny. I had heard that's what male cats do. They start to groom the females and when the females reciprocate they lay back, enjoy and go to sleep!
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My adult female only grooms herself. Never the other cats. But she also isn't good friends with any of the others. Jackson and Cooper groom each other but they were raised together as kittens. I don't think I've ever seen Lucky groom anyone but himself, but he is the most recent addition. He gets along well with the other boys and is BFFs with Jackson especially, they play all the time. But I've never seen him groom Jax.
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Definitely! Archer is always grooming Hugo, and Hugo really seems to enjoy it. And even when he's not in the mood, Archer will hold him down to give him a thorough bath! It's pretty cute to see
Hugo does reciprocate somewhat. He'll help Archer with his face and ears, but I haven't noticed him grooming Archer much more than that.
Hugo does reciprocate somewhat. He'll help Archer with his face and ears, but I haven't noticed him grooming Archer much more than that.
Mine don't really groom each other. Gus may hold Peppy down and give her ears a few licks, but she takes that as an invitation to wrestle. Then he gets mad at her and runs away. Pepper will groom me as long as I let her but her tongue seems especially rough so it hurts.
2 girls and 4 boys here, one boy is grooming old girl, young girl is grooming everything, from toys to other cats, but rest are not grooming much of others. That one boy is not quite normal, he eats with 'hands' is much more social than rest and also quite vocal, has ton of energy and even is not very large weights more than any other, he is quite muscular too and is not really afraid of anything, he has not even healthy self preservation, but he does groom others and is very nice polite cat compared to rest, so I think he is bit of exception in there too.
His brother is such that he gets these moments of caring when he bumps heads with everyone, rubs his side and tail to everything, then turns upside down and starts to purr louder, but he only grooms himself.
His brother is such that he gets these moments of caring when he bumps heads with everyone, rubs his side and tail to everything, then turns upside down and starts to purr louder, but he only grooms himself.
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- #12
Oh yay! Thanks for sharing your grooming stories.
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- #13
When I started this thread I had just welcomed two kittens into the family. Until then I only had one indoors only cat so I was interested to know what I might expect to see. Now that everyone is settled in I have my own story. Cleo the biggest kitten grooms herself very well and also grooms her little sister Neffie. Ruben and Neffie are not good at grooming themselves so I have to do it for them. Neffie reciprocates by grooming me in the middle of the night!! It's a lovely show of affection but I prefer to clean myself the human way! Lol!
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- #16
None of my cats groom one another. I have two sets of siblings, who have never groomed each other. Our two boys, Chester and Halsey, have a bit of a "bromance" going on and once in a great while, I will find them sleeping, just barely touching one another. If they wake up, they look guilty! It is so funny.
I do try to brush them all with the same brush, to mix their scents, but no one appreciates it.
That's Chester in my avatar.
I do try to brush them all with the same brush, to mix their scents, but no one appreciates it.
That's Chester in my avatar.
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Oh yes!! I have 4 male neutered cats and 1 spayed female. One of the boys does not participate so much in mutual grooming, but the 3 other boys love to groom each other. The female cat will be the recipient of mutual grooming, but will not groom the others!! They all grew up in social groups at a no-kill rescue shelter, so they learned the fine art of mutual grooming at a young age!!
What is the best way to post photos on this site? I had a grooming photo to share. But when I tried to use photobucket IMG link, it did not seem to work (??).
What is the best way to post photos on this site? I had a grooming photo to share. But when I tried to use photobucket IMG link, it did not seem to work (??).
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I'm so happy to be able to post that one of my older cats ( he was a stray and is about a year old) has started grooming the kittens I took in. He started out hissing at them and trying to stay away from them. It's been over a month and this week he started putting his paws around them and grooming them. So sweet to see.
There are two sticky threads at the top of the Fur Pictures forum that should help you with posting your images.
How to Add an Image to Your Forum Post
Image and Video Tutorial
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