# I've never seen my cat lick his butt. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 10, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630 "2005-10-10T21:06:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/1 "2005-10-10T21:06:31Z")
Don’t most cats lick their butts frequently? It seems to be relatively clean back there. His poop isn’t unusually hard, so there should be residue. He’s fuzzy, and gets an occassional dinkleberry, that requires me to chase him down with a pair of scissors. I hope he’s not wiping his butt somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/2 "2005-10-10T21:12:49Z")
I only worry when he licks _my_ butt. Very rarely seen my cat rooting around down there, but for the most part he keeps his mouth and his arse away from each other. Dogs seem to like nothing better than a good whiff of butthole, but I’ve never seen a cat with that fixation. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/3 "2005-10-10T21:18:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I hope he’s not wiping his butt somewhere… If you’re ever hoping your cat isn’t doing something, then it’s almost certain that it is. My cats lick their butts all the time. They’re shorthairs, but for being such they do have relatively long and silky hair, and so occasionally have some residue back there after completing their business. Luckily, they are extremely fastidious cats, and so clean it up immediately (and then come kiss me on the mouth, natch). ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/4 "2005-10-10T21:24:20Z")
My cats (three) are constantly cleaning their butts, along with the rest of their little furry bodies. Maybe you just have secretive cats. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/5 "2005-10-10T21:31:06Z")
My cat will have at it from time to time, but not very often. On the other hand, my old cat used to spend hours down there, with that horrible snuffly, nuzzly, slurpy noise going on the whole time. That was nasty. ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/6 "2005-10-10T21:40:06Z")
IMHO, your cat is just blessed with a sense of discretion. Or is shy. But trust me, any cat that can reach back there is licking it. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/7 "2005-10-10T22:45:24Z")
_My_ cat spends many happy hours “playing the cello,” usually as soon as company comes over. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/8 "2005-10-11T00:57:24Z")
One of Mr. Spock’s favorite pastimes is to prop up against the wall like a drunk and lick the area where his ball would be if he had any. If I say anything about it, he gives me that “you would do it if you could” look. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/9 "2005-10-11T01:19:27Z")
[The caption says it all!](http://www.twolumps.net/d/20040426.html) ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/10 "2005-10-11T01:20:01Z")
If a cat licks its butt… and noone sees it… Ok, my wit tank has run dry. /makes way to fridge… ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/11 "2005-10-11T01:30:17Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > One of Mr. Spock’s favorite pastimes is to prop up against the wall like a drunk and lick the area where his ball would be if he had any. If I say anything about it, he gives me that “you would do it if you could” look. You know, it took me a second to realize you were talking about your cat here. Bad, bad imagery. My feline brother-in-law, Kipke, took to me from the start. How did we know this? The first time my then-boyfriend took me to meet his parents, Kippers wound around my legs for a chin-scratch, then flopped down next to my feet to give his butt a good wash. I felt very loved. My Emmy will flop over on the bed, usually around 7 AM on Saturday morning while we’re half asleep and start licking the crap out of her butt. LICK, LICK, LICK, LICK, SLURP, LICK, LICK, SLURP, SLURP, SLURP, LICK, LICK, LICK. E. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-never-seen-my-cat-lick-his-butt/325630/12 "2005-10-11T01:44:01Z")
Just what is it that goes on when your cat visits your neighbors, and does it have anything to do with your cat not needing to lick his butt?