# Paw licking and ear rubbing question



## Punchy71 (Nov 29, 2012)

Hi,

What does it mean when your cat licks her paw and then takes the licked spot of her paw and rubs it against one ear and then repeats the same step several times in a row. 

Thank you


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

she's just grooming every inch of her body, but if she's doing it to her ears a lot, her ears probably are a little waxy and itchy. you might want to take a look and even try to clean them a little yourself if she'll let you. a cotton ball or even your finger works ok. if she's itching like crazy and shaking her head a lot to dislodge whatever's in there, then she might have earmites or some other injury or something, though.


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

Yep- she's cleaning herself. Usually happens when they are done eating. She's washing her paw, then her ears & whiskers and face.


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## hal1 (Jul 16, 2011)

Nan said:


> Yep- she's cleaning herself. Usually happens when they are done eating. She's washing her paw, then her ears & whiskers and face.


Even more specifically, she's cleaning the scent of her kill of her so other animals don't smell it and find her or it. Well, that's what she'd be doing if she was still a lion. 

Having a cat is like having a little bit of nature in your house as they are still so much like their wild ancestors.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

usually, it's normal grooming - one of my cats has rippling skin syndrome and she sometimes over-grooms her ears.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

My mother noticed that my first cat licked a longer section of their paw/forearm if she was cleaning a bigger area. For whiskers/face, just a short lick, but to clean over the top of her head, a long lick.


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