Woman licks her cat like a feline mother but is she ingesting fleas!

The news media calls this a 'strange addiction' and it describes a woman uploading videos to Instagram of herself licking her cat like a feline mother. You know what I mean: when a queen (a cat mom who has just given birth) licks her kittens to keep them clean which includes the anal area!

RELATED: Can I get a tapeworm from my cat?

Woman licks her cat like a feline mother but is she ingesting fleas! Image: Instagram screenshot.

Only this woman sensibly agrees that she should not lick the anal area of her cat companion because that would be horrible, she said. Also, she does not lick the feet of her cat companion because there may be faeces on the feet after going to the toilet in the litter tray.

The woman is in her 50s and she has uploaded videos to My Strange Addiction series. She defiantly says that she will not stop her habit.

She said:

I know everybody knows I'm a crazy f***ing cat lady. I'm in my fifties. I don't have any children. I never wanted any children. These are my babies. If I was a momma cat I would clean them just like that.

As you can see, she says that IF she was a mother cat, she would lick them but she isn't a mother cat! She is the cat's caregiver but hey ho, it doesn't really matter. If it pleases her then that's okay provided her cat is also pleased.

You might argue that it is a refinement to stroking a cat. When we pet our cats by stroking them, we are, in the cat's mind, licking them. That is how the cat experiences the sensation.

The woman adds that this is not a sexual thing. I hope so! And I don't see anything sexual in it to be honest. And she says that she doesn't lick butts or their genitals blah blah blah.

She added the following slightly baffling statement:

And I know they're gross. We're all gross. Everything is bad for you. If I want to groom my cat, I'm going to groom my cat. I'm not going to stop licking the cats or eating the cat fur. I'm just not.

People who have seen the video tended to be slightly disgusted! One said that they are not babies but cats and another said that the woman's behaviour was disgusting.

I do not see it that way. I see it as a bit bizarre and a bit offbeat but, as mentioned, if it pleases her and if it pleases her cat then there can be no harm in it. I don't think it is unhealthy for her but see fleas below. She will no doubt ingest some fur but that might be good roughage for her digestive tract!

Fleas!

She might ingest the odd cat flea which would not be a good idea because the life cycle of the tapeworm includes the cat flea. That's how cats develop tapeworms inside them. The flea passes tapeworm eggs into a cat when they feed on the cat's blood.

Image: MikeB

So, provided this woman ensures that her cat is entirely flea-free, there is no prospect of the woman getting a tapeworm inside her gut! I'm not sure that this is a risk that the woman has taken into account. It is not mentioned in any news media article. It would seem to be a genuine possibility depending upon the number of fleas on the cat.

I feel like telling her of the possibility. I would surely stop her strange addiction.

Petting your cat with a wet toothbrush. Worth doing?

There is a group of people who believe that petting your cat with a wet toothbrush is a good idea because it replicates the kind of sensation in an adult cat that they experienced when they were newborn kittens being licked around the head by their mother.

Petting a cat with a wet toothbrush. Image: Reddit.com

I'm sure this is true. It is probable that the toothbrush more accurately replicates the sensation of being licked by a mother than petting with the fingers on the forehead. But I don't think it is significantly better.

Personally, I don't see a great advantage in petting with a toothbrush. I think a cat companion will enjoy a very similar sensation if you pet their forehead with two or three fingers. This is what I do also

I actually use three fingers on the part of the head you see in the photograph because it avoids touching the ears when you pet at that position. I don't want to disturb his ears. I also do the same thing with a flea comb.

I believe that cats don't particularly like it if you use the entire hand to pet their forehead and squash their ear flaps down. I don't think it's a big issue but it is not quite as good as doing it with three fingers.

Sometimes if you pet a cat's forehead with the entire hand, they shake their head afterwards as if to adjust their ear flaps and return them to their natural, neutral position.

The conclusion for me, is that you should pet their forehead with two or three fingers and then the entire hand can be used to stroke the back of their neck which by the way my cat loves and then down the body.

The sides of the face i.e. the cheeks can be petted with a couple of fingers as well. I usually use the back of my fingers to do this as it is more convenient and actually it is gentler because the positioning of the fingers means that the muscles of the fingers act as a kind of spring system and allows the fingers to follow the contours of the cheeks more reliably.

Flea comb as an alternative tool to pet your cat.  It does two things at the same time. Image: MikeB

As mentioned, I also pet my cat's head and cheeks with a flea comb. This provides a very similar sensation for the cat as a toothbrush and has the added advantage of checking for fleas.

Do this for five minutes daily and make your cat happy

This is one thing that all cat owners should do daily to make their cat happy. It's uncomplicated, it doesn't cost any money and it makes the person happy as well. It's a form of mutual grooming. It is called allogrooming. 

But the point is that you are flea combing as well. It's a combination event. From the cat's perspective it is like being licked by another cat. The teeth of the flea comb are like the spines of a cat's tongue. It is delightful. But the added benefit is that you are checking for fleas and if you find one you kill them immediately. And every cat should be checked for fleas because they can be picked up very easily.

Even full-time indoor cats living in a clean home can pick up a flea because they can be brought into the home by their owner. Flea combing should be a way of life. Every morning at the same time the owner should flea comb their cat around the head, on the cheeks, down the back of the neck and on the shoulders. These are the basic areas where fleas congregate. 

The product of flea combing but no fleas. Photo: MikeB.

You can check for flea dirt at the base of the tail. But I comb my cat all over with a flea comb. This also helps to make the cat glossier because it stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce more oil.

Like I said, it is so simple and perhaps can owners do this a lot but I suspect not. Many cats develop an allergy to flea bites which is devastating. It causes self-mutilation due to intense itching. Fleas are probably in the top 10 all-time cat health problems. 

And this something that anybody can do something about. And it brings pleasure to your cat. It is guaranteed. I would state with some confidence that every single cat on the planet will enjoy it provided it is done gently, precisely and with respect. It takes little investment but there is a big reward.