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# Soft paws, hard power
- URL: https://www.redeyebr.com/soft-paws-hard-power/
- Published: 2026-07-12T23:45:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-12T23:45:03.000Z
- Description: That cat grooming you see, it could be a deception.
- Author: Mukul Verma

At [Companion Animal Alliance](https://www.caabr.org/?ref=redeyebr.com), cats lick each other—a behavior known, rather grandly, as allogrooming. It looks sweet.

But do not be fooled. One cat may be delivering a threat with its tongue.

[Researchers studied ](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159126001292?via=ihub&ref=redeyebr.com)videos of 53 pairs of cats and found that grooming can mean affection—or function as a velvet-gloved warning. The difference depends on the cats’ relationship and what the rest of their bodies are saying.

When cats cuddle, mirror each other’s posture and linger together after grooming, the licking appears to strengthen their bond. 

But watch the ears.

If one cat looms over the other, pins its ears back, licks its lips, shakes its head, swats or bites, the grooming may be an attempt to settle tension—or a polite reminder that the place has an unofficial management structure.

**Bottom line:** When one cat washes another, do not assume you are watching tenderness. You may be watching diplomacy. Or the feline equivalent of a mobster brushing lint off someone’s jacket before explaining the consequences.

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