Why do cats awkwardly lick their necks beneath their chins, and what is it called?

I think they are programmed to clean anything they can reach, with emphasis on places where food items might drip or splatter.

It is part of their instinctual ritual. http://pets.thenest.com/cats-clean-themselves-after-eat-4103.html

Just normal grooming behavior. It looks awkward, but cats are extremely flexible.

A good sign of an unhealthy cat ,is one that’s not grooming.

Yes, just them trying to groom the hard to reach parts.
You should see my giant, almost 18 lb. tuxedo Ragdoll pussy “Myles” do this. His fur is so long that he ends up sneezing because it poofs up into his nose. haha
I groom him daily too but he is quite fastidious about keeping himself spiffy.

Yup. It’s their instinct. They’ll groom others if part of a group.

My cat Megatron used to “clean” my he’d with his mouth. It was odd,and uncomfortable. But I didn’t want to admonish him. He thought he was grooming the alpha male. Which, I guess I was.

Sometimes he would like my head for like 4–5 minutes . After that he would have liked through to my skull. I loved him and didn’t want to take away this nurturing behavior. He ended up living around sick animals a lot. He had an excellent personality. He made my days better, despite destroying many of my prized possessions.

What an odd species we are…As far as our relationships with animals that we share our planet with.