Why do Cats lick?

I have not known this until I got into our new home here in Texas where Andy, my husband, had three cats (one is his and two are his sister's), Pearl, Cookie, and Cream.

I have made a few post about these cats, especially Pearl because Andy had been telling me about her before and the two cats just came here a few months before we lived here.

Pearl is the one who loves to lick the most compared to the other two cats and she wants to be petted every chance she gets. When you're eating at the dinner table, doing something in the computer, or lying down in the bed about to go to sleep, she would go to you and whine for you to pet her. Then, while you pet her, she would lick your hand or any part of your body.

I keep complaining about that because I can't stand the tickle I get because of the cat's tongue treasure and keep wondering why do they love to lick. Then Andy told me the reason why.

Cats clean theirselves by licking their fur, paw, or just anything that they can reach. But there are some parts of their body that they can't reach and when you pet them, that part would be touched and they are aware that it is not clean yet. So they would lick your hand once in a while because since your hand can reach those parts that they can't, they think that they would be clean by having your hands their. It has became a habit for them too so everytime they lick you and have their body close to you, so for them it is another way of cleaning theirselves.

Now, I know! So, now I am trying my best to tolerate the tickle Pearl's lick would give me because I know that whatever I'd do, I can't stop them to do that, just as no one can stop you for cleaning yourself as well.


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