Why do cats wash themselves, while dogs don鈥檛?
Guy Cox
Sydney, Australia
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Most cats hate getting wet and therefore have to clean themselves with their mouths.
Most dogs, on the other hand, love playing and swimming in water, which cleans them quite effectively. Another factor is that dogs like to roll in smelly substances to disguise their own smell and, well, licking dead rat from your back wouldn鈥檛 be a terribly good idea.
Garry Trethewey
Arkaroola, South Australia
Perhaps because cats are stealth predators, who rely on being quite close to prey before making a sudden lunge.
If that fails, the hunt is pretty much over. So, for a cat, not smelling is important.
On the other hand, dogs run after a prey animal (often in packs) and make no secret of their presence, eventually exhausting it, so smell is irrelevant.
Arvind Joshi
Mumbai, India
Every animal needs to clean itself or get cleaned. Cats lick themselves clean, but dogs do have ways to clean themselves too. They are often seen gnawing at their fur, thereby dislodging parasites. Some prefer their humans to bathe them.
For the past few years, I have observed a pack of free-living dogs. They regularly go into a nearby stream.
These dogs either like to play in water or they are enjoying the luxury of a bath.
Chris Nieass
Sydney, Australia
Actually, cats aren鈥檛 washing themselves. They are transferring allergens in their saliva to their fur before zeroing in on the person in the room who has allergies and jumping on their lap.
Russell Branch
Ipswich, Suffolk, UK
My personal theory, as a custodian of several cats, is that they have evolved to a superior level to dogs. Therefore, they can鈥檛 help but be more high-gene-ic than them.
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