Questions about grooming, sniffing each other's bottoms

I have two questions, for anyone who might have the answers:

1) What does it mean when one cat grooms the other, but Cat #2 doesn't also groom Cat #1?

For example, my 1-1/2 year old Geisha grooms our 6-month old kitten Kuri, but Kuri doesn't groom Geisha. Also, previously, our kitty Sumo (who passed away in August) only groomed her when she was a small kitten, but as "young adults," Geisha groomed Sumo (and not vice versa).

2) My kitties Geisha and Kuri like to sniff each other's bottom occasionally. They see each other every day so it's not like they're *new* kitties who they have to get to know. Why do cats do this?

Thanks!

my cats I found to be the same way. Nacho and Orion.. Nacho would lick Orion almost constantly, and either Orion would sit there and enjoy it.. or he would smack Nacho. But now, they are 2 years old and will sit and groom eachother for hours. Same with the younger boys.. I noticed now Poptart will groom his brother.. but Gordito only wants to chew on his face. So maybe they won't start grooming like that till they settle down a wee bit.

Are you cats spayed/neutered?

My boys groom one another alos...and sniff each others bottoms! :-)
Linda

I haven't read this from any vet or anything, but from the appearance of it, it seems to me that licking one another among unrelated adult cats may be related to dominance behavior. I took in both Purdy and Red Cat as adults, about two years apart. After they got over the first several months of active fighting and it was settled that Red Cat was dominant, RC would often lick Purdy's head. One could see that Purdy did NOT like this. He assumed the ears back defensive pose. This still continues occasionally, about five years later. Purdy NEVER licks Red Cat's head.

Sheba and Red Cat, however, will lick each other's head. But they share dominance in this household and are better friends. Sheba is dominant when it comes to mommy's affection. If RC is in my lap, getting combed, or snuggling at my side in bed when Sheba approaches, he immediately leaves. But RC is dominant cat when it comes to food and definitely dominant in all ways over Purdy. I think RC and Sheba respect each other's role, so have a more equal relationship. Anyway, that's my take on the head-licking behavior. My cats don't groom each other otherwise.

I've never had kittens, but from what I've read, it seems that kittens that grow up together, whether siblings or not, are more apt to do mutual grooming.

Originally Posted by twofatcats

I haven't read this from any vet or anything, but from the appearance of it, it seems to me that licking one another among unrelated adult cats may be related to dominance behavior. I took in both Purdy and Red Cat as adults, about two years apart. After they got over the first several months of active fighting and it was settled that Red Cat was dominant, RC would often lick Purdy's head. One could see that Purdy did NOT like this. He assumed the ears back defensive pose. This still continues occasionally, about five years later. Purdy NEVER licks Red Cat's head.

Click to expand...

WOW, this makes total sense!! When Geisha tries to groom Kuri, there are times when he'll sit there and let her, but other times when he resists and moves his head away. When we first got Kuri, he was SO little but he never backed down from Geisha, so I guess they both wanted to be the dominant kitty! And sometimes even now, when they are tumbling around with each other, after they finish their scuffle, they will sit up but neither will leave the scene. Kuri will try to bite her feet, and Geisha will bat him on the head or push his head down with her paw. It looks like she's trying to put him in his place.

Geisha used to get groomed a lot by Sumo, and she never resisted. Maybe that's why they were close and they even slept next to each other and had a more peaceful relationship. But later on, I'm not sure at what point this happened, but Geisha got bigger in size than Sumo (even though she was 3 months younger), and she would groom HIM. And he didn't always seem to like it. He also got sick and then she would always be grooming him.

Now a lot of things are coming to light.... Someone told me that grooming each other was a sign that they had welcomed another kitty "into the fold," but I always wondered why only one of them did it and they didn't do it to each other. All of my kitties have been from different litters, so this makes so much more sense. This is so interesting and I think that you have found the answer I needed, TFC! Thank you!

Oh, and also, I met someone today who said her mama cat always grooms the daughter, but not vice versa. That ALSO makes sense now!! The mom kitty is the dominant one, after all.

Now, do you know why cats who live together always sniff each other's behinds? My Geisha recently sniffed Kuri's bottom after he got back from the vet. He DID have to get a temperature check, but they sniff each other at other times, as well (when they've been home all day).

From being a kitten Rosie started grooming Sophie



Then when Sophie got a little older she started grooming Rosie back. Sophie loves to get licking inside Rosies ears, and she practically has her whole nose in giving it a good clean but Rosie loves it and i'm sure she'd have her there all day doing it if she could

Oh Rosie, your kitties are so sweet. I guess they have a wonderful relationship and treat each other as equals. Wow, they even look related because of their noses, too, how cute!! How far apart in age are they?

Rosies 3 1/2 and Sophies 1 1/2, and yes i couldn't believe it when i was told Sophie had a smudge on her nose like Rosie

Sniffing bottoms is just a way of making sure that they definately know each other - You know, just incase you switched during the night!

Grooming is not only a dominance thing, but I think its just a caring thing as well. Just like monkeys pick fleas from other monkeys, a cat grooms another cat to bond and help them be clean. My cat often grooms me, especially if I pat him while he is grooming! But sometimes he will just jump on my lap and start to lick me! I don't mind, it means he loves me! He doesn't sniff my butt though!!

This is fascinating! I didn't realize there was so much variation in grooming behaviors. My Clyde (male, neutered, almost three years old now) and Pearl (female, spayed, almost two) engage in major warfare a couple of times a day, but spend much more time in passionate mutual bathing. Does this mean they basically like each other? Or do they just temporarily set aside their differences for the sake of cleanliness?

The cutest thing: Clydie is a sleek, refined Holstein kitty with sea-green eyes, much larger than Pearl, who is just a rambunctious little grey fluffball... but Clyde will walk over to Pearl, hunker down, and ever so sweetly close his eyes and tuck his nose under Pearl's chin as if asking to be groomed. Pearl is always pleased to accommodate him, licking his head and cleaning his ears with utter devotion. And then at some point, Clyde will suddenly clamp an arm around her and now it's HIS turn, by golly! His grooming style is somewhat more forceful than hers. :-)

They both groom me, too, but Pearl is much more serious about it than Clyde is. She often wakes me by settling down on my chest and beginning to lick my chin. I accept this as long as I can stand it, and once she feels I'm adequately clean, she bows her head and waits for me to return the favor!

I adore her, but gosh... ya gotta draw the line somewhere!