Expert: Tina - 11/15/2007

Question
I just got a 7 week old kitten and after a slow introduction he is surprisingly getting along with my 1 1/2 year old spayed female. However, I notice that sometimes when they are playing if the kitten is on his back (which is the way it usually is) sometimes my adult cat will lick his genital area.  I know when kittens are young that is how the mother stimulates them to urinate/defecate, but I was wondering why my adult cat with no relation to my new kittin is doing it.  I'm not extremely concerned, just curious.

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Sarah,

Your adult cat is likely doing this for several reasons; one is that many adult cats - male or female - may act maternally to kittens even if they are not their own, showing them how to keep themselves clean for example. Your female cat is probably responding to her maternal instinct to keep the kitten clean. The other reason is that this behavior shows the kitten that the older cat can do whatever she likes - a form of domination. If the kitten turns on his back he is being submissive and telling the adult cat he is not a threat - the adult cat is testing how far he will let the adult cat push him.

Some cats have a better sense of personal hygiene than others, my adult female cat thinks that one of my male cats doesn't clean his ears well enough, so she will hold him down with one paw and clean his ears for him. It seems to bother or offend her to see him walking around with "dirty" ears.

It shouldn't be a problem, just keep an eye out to make sure the cat is not licking the kitten so much that it causes irritation or redness.