Almost every time I watch one of those adorable cat loves dog and dog loves cat videos, the mutual grooming, which more often is the cat grooming the dog, focuses on the inside of the ears.
I haven’t done a survey and watched hundreds of videos (thank God), but the ones I have seen nearly always show a cat licking the inside of the ear of her dog companion and, for me, although it happens less often, the same thing happens when a dog licks his cat companion.
The two videos on this page show what I mean. If I am correct and not totally misconstruing what is going on, this indicates to me that both cats and dogs realised that the inside of the ear is a ‘weak spot’ in terms of the health of both cats and dogs and needs to be constantly checked, groomed and maintained in excellent health. If that is correct then it might be a signal to us to keep an eye on the inside of our cat’s ears.
As I have never seen a problem with my cat’s ears, perhaps cats lick the inside of a dog’s ear because the dog likes it. It is more than just about health. It is about delivering sensual pleasure, dare I say it 😉 Is this a form of love between cats and dogs?
If it is not the ears then anywhere around the head or shoulders are normally the favourite places, which reinforces the views of cat lovers that the best places to stroke a cat are in those areas. Have you seen a cat lick the hindquarters of a dog? I never have. It is almost exclusively around the head. Once again we learn a lesson from our cat.
