Some cats actively groom their owners’ hair in addition to carefully grooming themselves.
While you’re asleep, a “beautician cat” may sit on the back of a chair or above your head and comb your hair with its paws and teeth. The cat will occasionally even hold your head steady or toss something when you pull out from its grasp.
Cat grooming habits can lead to interpersonal and physical issues. A cat’s physical, emotional, and innate traits all have an impact on how they behave and operate. This can be explained using the H.I.S.S. Test, which stands for health, instinct, stress, and symptom solutions.
Health
Grooming maintains the cleanliness and health of skin and fur. Grooming activities take up a sizable portion of a cat’s waking hours.
Instinct
Kitty pups begin to groom themselves. The environment has an impact even if a lot of grooming behavior is innate. If Mom is a neat freak, it’s possible that the babies will also acquire clean “cattitudes.” Shabbily Mom-cats, on the other hand, might reflect on their grooming contempt for children. Mom-cats groom their kittens to keep them clean, and social cats groom and share a shared scent.
Stress
Another way that cats unwind is via grooming. Self-care for lowering stress could be compared to receiving a relaxing massage. Sometimes cats will use “power grooming” to scare away rival cats from a desired location.
Signs, Alerts, and Treatment
If your cat is brushing your hair, it’s likely doing it as a form of social grooming. Cats in a family group will groom one another when they get along and show affection for one another. Since licking also transfers aroma, cats who groom and sleep together will have a similar scent. As a result, the family creates a kind of friendly, protective “perfume.” She might even enjoy the scent of your new shampoo if the cat suddenly starts behaving out.
When grooming you, your cats don’t attempt to produce appropriate feline hairstyles (well, maybe some cats have a style in mind). The majority of the time, cats who pick at their owners’ hair are simply reacting to the “furry part” of the human and want to share the family scent by being well-groomed.
The cat can receive some sort of inducement to repeat the behavior. Do you talk to the cat while it is being groomed? You may only need to react if your cat scratches your head to get your attention after you have left the area.
The habit can become a little grating if it is exhibited too frequently. Some cats can pull out or chew off their owner’s hair in the same way that they can overgroom themselves when under stress. Possible extensions of the wool-sucking predation that cats with Oriental ancestry frequently appear to participate in include pulling and chewing. In rare cases, a dietary shortage may be the root of the behavior. If your cat ingests lengthy pieces of human hair, it might get tressesballs. If a cat seems to want to eat your hair, it’s a good idea to take them to the vet for a checkup.
You can offer Kitty an alternative, like a cuddly plush toy, and shoo the cat away to prevent getting grabbed bald. The majority of people, however, consider a cat combing a person’s hair as a huge compliment and token of affection, something like to a cat petting session. Don’t worry, you won’t be expected to transform into cat beauticians with a lick and a promise. It’ll affect pets.
READ NEXT: Why Do Cats Lick Their Paws After Eating?
