1
00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,320
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

2
00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:11,080
Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bola Bam Here. Cats do all

3
00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:14,280
Speaker 1: kinds of stuff we don't understand, sometimes it seems like

4
00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:19,119
Speaker 1: on purpose, including licking humans. Dogs have more of a

5
00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,560
Speaker 1: reputation for being social, goofy, and lacking a nuanced concept

6
00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,920
Speaker 1: of personal boundaries. Cats are generally thought of as being

7
00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,520
Speaker 1: more standoffish and less prone to slobbering all over their

8
00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,520
Speaker 1: human compatriots. But every once in a while, your cat

9
00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,319
Speaker 1: will lose that sense of boundary and begin licking your

10
00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,880
Speaker 1: face or arm with that scratchy tongue, begging the question why.

11
00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,160
Speaker 1: For the article, this episode is based on How Stuff Works.

12
00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,440
Speaker 1: Spoke by email with Anita Kelsey, a cat behaviorist and

13
00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:52,640
Speaker 1: author of the book Let's Talk About Cats Conversations on

14
00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,840
Speaker 1: Feline Behavior, and she said cats explore the world as

15
00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,240
Speaker 1: kittens through their mouths and by chewing on things. They

16
00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,520
Speaker 1: lick to groom themselves and lick other cats, a behavior

17
00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:08,280
Speaker 1: called alo grooming in order to bond and groom. Cats

18
00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:11,360
Speaker 1: have a huge number of scent receptors compared with humans,

19
00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,520
Speaker 1: about two million compared to our measly five million, so

20
00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,240
Speaker 1: scent plays a big part in their everyday lives. Cats

21
00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,479
Speaker 1: can smell in two different ways. First, they sniff through

22
00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:26,240
Speaker 1: their noses in short, fast inhalations that capture the scent

23
00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:28,800
Speaker 1: molecules and hold them in a chamber in their nasal

24
00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,600
Speaker 1: cavity to let all of their sent receptors do their work.

25
00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,800
Speaker 1: A second, cats can taste and analyze scent through an

26
00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,240
Speaker 1: organ on the roof of their mouth called the Jacobson's

27
00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:42,199
Speaker 1: organ or the Eva Marionasal organ. When they're using this organ,

28
00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,279
Speaker 1: they make a weird face, sort of an open mouthed

29
00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:49,800
Speaker 1: grimace that scientists call a flame in response. This looks

30
00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,240
Speaker 1: to us like they're expressing distaste or disgusted, but they're

31
00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,800
Speaker 1: really just directing air towards the roof of their mouth.

32
00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:00,320
Speaker 1: Because most of a cat's face is involved in the

33
00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,400
Speaker 1: activity of smelling, it makes sense that a cat would

34
00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:05,920
Speaker 1: lick you in order to get more information about you.

35
00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,639
Speaker 1: But more than that, cats lick who they like, and

36
00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,680
Speaker 1: Kelsey said, cats lick us as a sign of closeness, bonding,

37
00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,640
Speaker 1: and affection. It's a form of grooming us, as they

38
00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,560
Speaker 1: do with other cats that they've bonded with. I'm sure

39
00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,160
Speaker 1: they're also enjoying taking in our scent. They love armpits,

40
00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,760
Speaker 1: for example, as there is a strong scent there. Although

41
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,960
Speaker 1: cats aren't as exuberant in their demonstration of affections as

42
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,880
Speaker 1: dogs usually are, according to Kelsey, we shouldn't compare the

43
00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,600
Speaker 1: two animals. She said, we are seen as part of

44
00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,360
Speaker 1: the cat family. Cats show us affection through behaviors like

45
00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,400
Speaker 1: remaining in our company, purring, sleeping next to us and

46
00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:51,280
Speaker 1: on our laps, and rubbing against us. Aside from a

47
00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:54,400
Speaker 1: cat's general affection for you and the urge to groom,

48
00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,440
Speaker 1: a buddy, cat might lick you for a variety of

49
00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,640
Speaker 1: other reasons. For starters, If your cat is regularly coming

50
00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,440
Speaker 1: at you with its sand paper tongue, the reason might

51
00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,399
Speaker 1: be that it wants to mark you as its territory,

52
00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,720
Speaker 1: and what better way to tell other cats to back

53
00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,680
Speaker 1: off than by smearing you with a little special spit perfume.

54
00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:18,440
Speaker 1: Cats also tend to lick things that they think are tasty.

55
00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,040
Speaker 1: Cats can't taste sweet things. They're the only mammal that can't,

56
00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,120
Speaker 1: but they might really like your hand, the lotion or

57
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,640
Speaker 1: the residue that breakfast left on your fingers. If you

58
00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,359
Speaker 1: find that your cat is particularly interested in a specific

59
00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,360
Speaker 1: cosmetic product or appointment you use, especially a prescription ointment

60
00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,200
Speaker 1: like a hormone cream. Ask your vet whether it's safe

61
00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:42,680
Speaker 1: for them to ingest. Some cats also lick in order

62
00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,320
Speaker 1: to cope with stress or fear, and this behavior is

63
00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,800
Speaker 1: especially common in cats who were taken away from their

64
00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,600
Speaker 1: mothers very early, but it can happen in any cat.

65
00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,160
Speaker 1: If this behavior seems to worsen over time or is

66
00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:58,920
Speaker 1: accompanied by nervous body language, or if they begin over

67
00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,360
Speaker 1: grooming themselves to the point of creating bald spots, it's

68
00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:06,160
Speaker 1: a good idea to ask your vet about treatment. But

69
00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,920
Speaker 1: what about when licking is too much for you. It's

70
00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:12,360
Speaker 1: very sweet that your cat likes you but wants to

71
00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:14,720
Speaker 1: keep you clean or wants to tell other cats that

72
00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,200
Speaker 1: you're their person, But sometimes the licking can get to

73
00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:22,039
Speaker 1: be too much, especially because those little carratin barbs on

74
00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:26,839
Speaker 1: their tongue called pepilli, can hurt. Cat tongues are scratchy

75
00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:29,040
Speaker 1: because they need them to act as a brush for

76
00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:33,640
Speaker 1: combing fur and dislodging dirt, dander, and fleas. The papilli

77
00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:37,839
Speaker 1: are really effective tools because they're stiff, shape, wick saliva

78
00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,680
Speaker 1: off the tongue and onto the cat's fur for ease

79
00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:45,359
Speaker 1: of grooming and body temperature regulation. Researchers have even designed

80
00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,880
Speaker 1: better cat brushes based on the analysis of these barbs,

81
00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:54,040
Speaker 1: but they can definitely wear on sensitive skin. To dissuade

82
00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,680
Speaker 1: your cat from licking you, you can try distracting them

83
00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,400
Speaker 1: with a toy of getting out of brush and grooming them,

84
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,320
Speaker 1: simply walking away, or even just putting a cardboard box

85
00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:05,919
Speaker 1: in the middle of the floor. It's worth a shot.

86
00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,279
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article why does my

87
00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,719
Speaker 1: cat Lick Me? On how stuff works dot com written

88
00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,520
Speaker 1: by Jesslyn Shields. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart

89
00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:20,760
Speaker 1: Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot Com, and

90
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,320
Speaker 1: it's produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio,

91
00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,200
Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

92
00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:28,760
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.