If my face were dirty, and I licked my arm, then rubbed my arm on my face, it might move the dirt around, and transfer some to my arm. I guess if I then licked my arm, I might remove dirt by swallowing it. But unless I wiped my arm off on another surface or something, I don’t see how this could remove dirt.
I know there are other reasons why cats groom themselves, e.g. to spread oils around their coat. But, in terms of actually removing dirt … does it help?
In: Biology
If you had thick fur covering your face and paws, yes it would work. It sort of works like a washing cloth would, giving you more grip instead of just mushing the dirt around. Also a cat’s tongue is different from other animals’ in ways that make it better at grooming so that helps a lot too.
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