Your cute little kitten will just love to keep herself neat and tidy – in fact, grooming will take up many hours of her day. Not only does your kitten enjoy it, but it’s good for her too. Licking her coat helps keep it in perfect condition, controls parasites and strengthens social bonds.
It’s a good idea to be aware of your kitten’s grooming habits. If she does it too little, that might mean she’s poorly. On the other hand, there is such a thing as too much licking.
Over-licking
Pleasurable as it is, grooming can occasionally be taken to extremes. Boredom or unhappiness can cause nervous licking, which may cause partial hair loss. The answer is to find out what the cause of your kitten’s stress might be, and make the appropriate changes. At the same time, it’s worth taking her to the vet for a quick check-up.
Hairballs
Did you know your kitten’s tongue is covered in tiny “combs”? These help remove loose hair and keep her coat in tip-top condition. However, if the fur gets trapped in the combs, your kitten can’t spit it out … so she swallows it. And, where cats are concerned, what goes down must come up!
You may not enjoy watching your kitten cough up hairballs, but there’s no need to worry – it’s completely natural behaviour.