Display of dominance and intimacy: In feline society, higher-ranking cats often lick other cats. Therefore, a male cat licking a female cat may be a way of demonstrating its dominance or showing affection and friendliness towards the female.
Scent marking: Cats lick each other to retain each other's scent, thus identifying and confirming their relationship. Male cats may lick female cats for this purpose, marking the female cat as their partner or mate.
Courtship and Mating: During estrus, female cats secrete special hormones and produce vaginal secretions, which arouse the interest of male cats. Male cats may further arouse the female cat's mating desire by licking her genital area. While licking the female cat's anus (i.e., the anal area) is not typical mating behavior, any licking of other parts of the female cat's body by a male cat may contain courtship intentions.
