affection
Licking You After a Shower
Grooming, bonding and investigating fresh scents
Persistently licking your damp skin or wet hair when you step out of the shower or bath.
Emerging from the shower to find your cat determined to lick your damp arm or wet hair is a surprisingly common experience, and it is usually a mix of affection and feline curiosity. Cats groom those they trust, and turning that grooming on their freshly washed human is a form of social bonding — the equivalent of the mutual licking that bonded cats share.
There is a practical draw too. The water droplets on your skin offer a little fresh moisture to a species that loves novel water sources, and your newly washed skin and hair carry an unfamiliar scent from soap and shampoo. By licking, your cat is both sampling that interesting new smell and working to layer its own familiar scent back over the top, effectively re-marking you as part of its group after the shower has stripped away your usual smell.
Some cats are also drawn to the salty taste of skin or simply enjoy the warmth and steam of the bathroom. The behaviour is affectionate and harmless, though a rough tongue on tender skin can be uncomfortable — a gentle redirection to a stroke or a toy is all that is needed if you would rather not be groomed.
🐾 Most common in
Seen in affectionate, people-bonded cats of all breeds, and often most pronounced in cats who already follow their owners into the bathroom.