¿Cuánto debe LAMERSE un GATO SANO? ⌛😼| ¿Cómo saber si se acicala POCO? ¿O si se lava EN EXCESO?

Hi, I'm Carlos, your trusted veterinarian. You may remember me from other videos, like your cat scratches itself, your cat licks things, or your cat eats litter. And today we're talking about your cat grooms itself. Enough. Well, I've already introduced myself, but traditions must be followed. Hi, I'm Carlos, a clinical veterinarian at Small Animals. Welcome to the Happy Pets and Families Channel. If there's one thing that describes our feline companions, it's how impeccable and clean they are. We all have in our minds the image of our feline companion, our cat, or any cat grooming itself, washing itself and taking care of its fur. But be careful. It's just as dangerous if they do it a lot as if they don't do it a lot, because it could be a sign that something is wrong with your cat. Oh, what a surprise. I'm going to tell you about bad things that can happen to your cat now. We're the party poopers veterinarians. And I think that in four years of the channel, I've told you about many of them. So it may be that when I tell you, something will ring a bell. I'm not making a rehash video or anything like that, but I've decided to tell you how long it's normal for a cat to have to wash itself, and also what the possible reasons are for loving it too much or not loving it enough to have them all together in one video so that you don't have to go to. How many videos have we made in the last four years?

200 something.

200 something videos. Video by video. Oh, look, it says here that you can watch it a lot. Well, here it is all together. But so that you can see that this is not a video that I just pulled out of a hat. There are also some things that I've never told you before. For example, how long is it normal for cats to spend grooming themselves? Go ahead, write it in the comments. I know it's going to seem like a lot of time, but according to experts, cats can spend between 30 and 50% of their day grooming themselves. Oh, my gosh, those are really long hours. And that's normal. I mean, for us to consider them to be overdoing it. Imagine they're there all day long and they're just going at it.

So most cats groom themselves very little. Why? Because cats usually spend so much time grooming themselves, right? What happens is that we don't see it or it goes unnoticed by our eyes because the cat is Resting, which is when they start grooming themselves. And we're doing other things and not paying attention, and we're like, hey, you've already spent 30% of your day. Stop grooming yourself or groom yourself a little more. It's also very typical that according to some behavioral studies, it has been observed that cats tend to groom themselves more after eating. And there are some ethologists who explain this behavior because the ancestors of felines did it to get rid of the smell of food on their fur. That's how they washed themselves, removing all traces of flesh, blood and so on. So they weren't easy prey. What you'll notice when a cat grooms itself is that its hair is usually healthy, shiny, and its hair has a shine and it's not too greasy or matted. It's fine. And that's when we understand that it's healthy and washing what it needs to. We need to make a small aside here, and that is that cats with long hair require a series of care measures on our part to keep their hair healthy, such as combing them and removing all dead hair. Because otherwise, even though the cat is grooming itself, it obviously can't untangle its hair with its tongue. So if you don't do the job of grooming it, it could end up matting, sticking to the skin, and the cat will look bad. And it's not because it grooms us, but because we are not doing our part to care for it. Okay, well, this was normal. Now what happens if they groom themselves little less than 30% of their daytime hours to begin with? It is possible that, as I said, you are not keeping a watch to measure the hours that your cat is grooming itself in. So you do not know how to notice if your cat is grooming itself little. What you have to look at is the condition of the coat. Because if a cat grooms itself little, it is normal for its hair to appear greasy, dirty, matted, like clumps. And what are the causes of a cat grooming itself little? Well, it's usually because the cat is feeling a little under the weather, as I say, that is something is bothering it, that something is hurting it. These types of cats tend to spend more time dozing. Instead of snoozing, it's the first thing they stop doing. It usually happens in cats that have a fever or that have a serious illness, such as immunodeficiency leukemia in very advanced stages, problems such as pancreatitis, problems such as kidney disease, and a very long etc. Of course, in other words, if a person sees that their cat is not getting enough sleep, that its hair is kind of lumpy, or they should definitely worry. They should definitely worry because something is going on there. Especially if you see that its activity is less, that it doesn't want to move much, that it doesn't want to eat and all that. In other words, the signs that are telling you that the cat is feeling bad are linked to a bad appearance of its coat. But only, only, only cats that are sick occur. Well, no, it can also happen to older cats. Older cats from 8 years old. Older cats, as I mentioned in another video on the channel not long ago, have difficulty moving because their joints bother them. So it's normal for certain parts of their body which they can't reach to groom themselves to start looking greasy, for their hair to start looking in poor condition. Like for example here, behind on their back, because of course, the cat has to bend over and their back hurts, their joints hurt, and they say, look, I'll pass, I won't do. Also happens, mind you, to cats that are very fat and aren't agile enough to reach those areas. Okay, now let's talk about cats that groom themselves a lot. It's usually a bit complicated to know if a cat spends more than 50% of their day licking themselves. From what we know, when a cat grooms itself too much, it's because, well, you know how cats tongues are. They're going to start pulling out hair and bald spots can appear. That's an unmistakable sign. If you see that the cat is constantly licking that area, it means that it's excessively groomed. And this usually appears in specific areas of its body, not all over its body, but in addition to bald spots. And I don't want to forget this, the hair can also look like it's been cut with a razor blade. In other words, you see a hair that's of normal length and suddenly you see a step and another area of much shorter hair. In other words, the bald spot doesn't just mean that the skin looks completely free of hair, but that you see less hair in that area. And also that the hair, the hair that grows in that area being shorter, is coarse. Like it's not silky hair like a cat's hair. It's coarse hair. And don't ask me to post a photo because I really can't find one. Okay, and now you're seeing that from what I'm telling you, your cat licks itself a lot. Why could this be? Well, the first cause is pain if they've had a blow, or if they have a fracture or some other wound, it's normal for the cat to lick that area. And from so much licking, it will end up removing its hair. If you go and explore the area, you may find the wound, the blow, or the bruise, or when you move the area that the cat is licking, it may complain because it hurts. The second cause is because cats with allergies itch. It's normal for them to lick the itchy areas of their body because it's their way of scratching, especially in those areas that they can't reach with their hind legs, which is what cats normally scratch with. In addition, in cats that also suffer from problems with fleas and ticks, especially fleas, it is very normal for them to be licking and biting themselves with their teeth all the time because their skin itches. And that is why the bald spot appears. In these cases, they. They usually have a little scab. Hey, I know I've talked about this in a video here on the main channel, and if you haven't seen it, the topic of cat allergies and itchy skin, you already know. But there are some times when you see your cat licking very, very specific areas, such as the belly area. And speaking of the belly area, I also talk about the genital area. I can say genitals on YouTube. Why do they do it? Well, this is very, very, very common in cats that suffer from urinary problems. Because it hurts to pee, These cats lick themselves. They groom themselves in that area a lot to relieve themselves. What else can you see in these cats? Well, either they go to the litter box a lot and are trying to poop, which isn't poop, it's pee, but they can't. And then you see them squeezing and you think that what they can't do is poop. And also, if they do pee, it's small and it's more or less reddish in color. They even can't hold it in. Or they don't even go to the litter box, but instead do it, for example, in the shower tray. There you'll notice the color of the pee very well. As I've already told you, reddish pinkish, or even a little burgundy in some cases. And the last reason why a cat can lick itself a lot. I've already said this many times, but I want you to answer me. Come on, let's go.

Right. I hope that's correct, because if not, I'll throw myself out the window.

Due.

To stress, due to boredom. Cats that suffer from A lot of stress can lick themselves excessively. And related to this whole licking thing, bald spots can appear. What happens is that in these cases, it's called psychogenic alopecia. I like to use this name. In these cases, nothing happens to the skin at all. The need is only being produced by the head, the psyche, as the Greeks would say. When grooming, a series of hormonal mechanisms are triggered in their bodies and so on that lead them to secrete a large amount of endorphins. These endorphins help them escape a bit from whatever is causing them stress or boredom, which also has to do with stress. And that's why they lick themselves, because after all, they find that this activity is pleasurable. And while they're entertained by this thing, so to speak, they're not going over and over in their heads. What's worrying them. Hey, this. This is in a lot of quotes. Huh? Tell me how long your cat is grooming himself. No, I was kidding. Huh? We've agreed on timers, right? And you thought that this grooming thing was all that important, that it could be for so many reasons? Well, you know, leave it in the comments, because this is the third time I've asked you to leave me a comment. Please. I don't know what I'm going to have to do anymore. And whether your cat licks itself a little or a lot, who's going to have the answer to all this? Well, you know, your vet. I always say that. And that's it for today's video. If you liked it, please give it a like and share it with everyone. Remember to subscribe to our channel. You haven't done that yet. And remember that here on YouTube we have a secondary channel called Questions and Answers from a Veterinarian. Go to it and subscribe. And on both, you have to hit the bell like this. Look, the church already knows, so that YouTube can notify you every time we upload a new video. And today we meet this little cutie. Her name is Luna, and she's just under two months old. Her family was really excited for us to introduce her. And here we have another Luna who lives in Delicia with Zunil da Dia. And the little tyrants of Ricardo Roble's family are Marlon Brando. Look at that presence. And Yuki, thank you very much for following the Happy Pets and Families channel. And with the sound of the bell, to let you know that we're uploading a new video. See you in the next video. How relaxing this neighborhood is. How wonderful. Hello. I'm Alba Mayo, a video game developer. No, How. How would you put it? No, not like that. It looks like you've come to kill Batman. Welcome to the Happy Pets and Families Channel. I said welcome instead of welcome.

There's a person whistling here at the window.

Yes, yes. And shouting. I don't feel like killing or anything like that right now. But be careful. Triggering. Well, that's part of medicine. Don't look at me like that because if you keep talking, the video will never end. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why you have to watch the videos about diseases. Let's go back up. We live in the busiest building in Seville, right? In the 40 minutes we've been recording the video, how many people have walked down those stairs?

I hate my neighbors.

Plus he easily spends a minute and a half playing. Huh?

Oh my goodness. Okay.