What this means
Cleaning the genital area after urinating or passing stools is normal every day, but frequent, determined or tense licking is a change. A cat may lick straight after leaving the box, over and over, sometimes without moving away. At times the skin there looks red and irritated, or the fur thins.
It is often linked with pain or discomfort in the urinary tract. The cat tries to soothe the irritation by licking, and it can be an early sign, before you see any blood or straining. It is important to notice whether the cat also visits the box often, urinates in small amounts or strains, because then the danger is greater: the urinary tract may be blocked, a male cat's above all.
Cats hide that they feel unwell, so this kind of licking is sometimes the only sign. It should not be written off as a bad habit or boredom until a vet has checked. Note how many times a day you see it and whether urinating has changed too.
Possible causes
These are things that can cause this sign. It is not a diagnosis, and they are not equally likely for your cat.
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Bladder stones
Stones or grit irritate the bladder and urinary tract, and the cat tries to soothe the discomfort by licking. Straining or blood in the urine may go with it.
About the condition: Bladder stones -
Inflammation or irritation of the bladder
Inflammation causes pain and a need to visit the box often, and the cat then licks for a long time.
About the condition: Cystitis and FLUTD -
Urinary tract infection
An infection irritates the urinary tract and the skin around it. Only tests can tell it from the other causes.
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A blocked urinary tract
A plug in the urethra can cause severe discomfort and dogged licking. It is life-threatening, male cats above all.
About the condition: Urethral blockage -
Irritation of the skin or outer genital area
Irritated, swollen or injured skin there also makes a cat lick. Only a vet can tell on examination.
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Another painful or irritating condition
Other problems in the belly or lower body can make a cat lick as well, and they cannot be told apart by looking.
What else to watch for
These observations help your vet build the picture faster. Note down what you saw and when.
- How many times a day, and for how long, the cat licks
- Whether it also visits the box often or strains to urinate
- How much urine comes and what the clumps look like
- Whether the urine is pink or bloody
- Whether the skin there is red, swollen or bare
- Whether it is eating, hiding or cries while urinating
When to book a routine visit
Book a visit if your cat clearly licks its genital area more. If it also strains to urinate or passes little urine, go the same day or straight away.
Related conditions
Conditions whose entries mention this sign. The list is somewhere to read on, not a way to reach a diagnosis.
- Bladder stones Kidneys and urinary tract Hard, stone-like lumps of minerals that form in the bladder. They rub against its lining and make passing urine painful, and a stone or grit that slips into the urethra can block it completely, which is an emergency.
- Cystitis and FLUTD Kidneys and urinary tract Inflammation of the bladder, which makes passing urine painful and sends the cat back to the litter box again and again. In cats it does not only come from stones or infection: sometimes no clear cause is found, and the signs flare up after stress.
- Urethral blockage Kidneys and urinary tract A condition in which the urethra, the narrow tube that carries urine out of the bladder, is blocked by a plug or a small stone, and the cat can no longer pass urine. It is an emergency that can threaten life within hours.
Body systems: Kidneys and urinary tract