A cat cleaning itself in slow motion

And it became clear to the scientists, through slow imaging, the mechanism of cats cleaning themselves clearly, and each lick that the cats licked to itself includes 5 steps, which are:

Tongue stretching: Cats would stick their tongue out of their mouth and extend it as far as it could reach.
Horizontal expansion: After extending her tongue longitudinally, she extends it horizontally to reach the widest possible width, in order to clean the largest possible area.
Hardening of the tongue tissue: After the tongue’s enlargement, its muscle tissue hardens to play its role in combing and cleaning the fur, with a higher efficiency than combs and hair brushes.
Passing the tongue through the hair: Cats not only pass their tongue on the surface of the fur, but also penetrate it through their fur and reach the skin to clean it of fleas, dirt and everything that is stuck to it.
U-shaped tongue retraction: After the thorns on the cat's tongue pick up dirt and hair from its skin and fur, the cat begins to pull its tongue from its body and fur by bending it into a concave U-shape, in order to collect the dirt it picked up and not re-spread it inside its fur.
Read also: Where do peacocks live?
licking language in cats
Many people are afraid of cats licking themselves or things around them, but cat licking is harmless, especially if it occurs by house cats that receive attention in terms of vaccinations, veterinary treatment, and cleaning from worms and fleas, and cats use licking behavior with themselves or those around them for many reasons. Among them, we mention the following:

The mother cat licks her kittens in their stomachs to help them expel gases that cause bloating.
The mother cat licks her kittens in the anal area to clean the traces of urine.
The mother cat licks her young to strengthen the relationship between them.
The cat licks itself after giving birth to get rid of traces of birth blood stuck in its skin and fur.
Cats lick themselves at the site of the wound to sterilize and disinfect it.
Cats lick themselves to regulate their body temperature.
Cats lick themselves after human contact as a form of sterilization.
Cats lick each other as a kind of courtship.
Cats lick their owner as an expression of love and gratitude.
Cats lick their owner after eating because the smell of food attracts them.
Cats lick their owner after bathing because the smell of shampoo attracts them.