Answer: No, there is absolutely no truth in this statement, though naturally a cat with residues of soap or shampoo in its coat may at first be reluctant to lick at it. However, a coat covered in diesel oil, foul-smelling mud or other obnoxious matter is even more unpleasant, and will often effectively deter the animal from cleaning itself.
Washing normally takes place after sleeping or eating. The cat first licks around its mouth, then at all the areas it can possibly reach, manoeuvring into vey strange postures to do this. Finally, to clean the areas that can’t be reached with its tongue, it licks a paw to dampen it, and then rubs the paw over its head and ears and down the face. A considerable quantity of saliva is used each day in the washing process.
Smearing a little butter onto the coat is one way in which you might be able to provoke a lazy cat into grooming itself. Kittens start to groom themselves, and each other, at about three weeks of age, and can do so very efficiently by six weeks’ old.
