Obsessive Licking

One of my cats loves to lick people (especially me) to the point where it becomes painful. Sometimes it feels like she's trying to take the skin off my arm! If I push her away, she just comes back and starts again, very gently, as if she's hoping I won't notice; but she gradually licks harder and harder until I push her away again. Putting her in another room only makes it worse when she's allowed back, as if to make up for lost time. Does anyone else have a cat like this? How do you deal with it?

Originally Posted by momto3cats

One of my cats loves to lick people (especially me) to the point where it becomes painful. Sometimes it feels like she's trying to take the skin off my arm! If I push her away, she just comes back and starts again, very gently, as if she's hoping I won't notice; but she gradually licks harder and harder until I push her away again. Putting her in another room only makes it worse when she's allowed back, as if to make up for lost time. Does anyone else have a cat like this? How do you deal with it?

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Yes, I have a tortie (a she of course) that has always done the same. I don't know the reason, but my guess is that it is some form of insecurity that makes her over-protective. This is not because of something you did wrong, rather something that possibly happened to her when she was very young such as being weened too soon or perhaps she was a "runt". The other possibility is that it is a "dominance" issue. (Yes, female cats can be extremely aggressive too, just not as often as the boys!) :-) In the case of my cat, besides me, she also "grooms" one (and only one) of my male cats endlessly as well, to the point where he gets mad and tries to get up sometimes too! The minute he tries though, she practically tackles him or puts a choke hold on him to try to make him stay down and then she proceeds to lick even more! I have to admit it's quite unusual, but comical and so far harmless. I've just learned to live it. If it really bothers you, run her behavior by your Vet. I suspect a hormone disorder could also play a role in such a problem too. Although that was ruled out in my case, it's still a good idea to report to your Vet any unusual behavior.

Thanks, I hadn't considered that there might be a medical reason. I do wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that she had a few litters before she came to me - it seems to me that she acts like a momcat bathing a recalcitrant kitten sometimes. Anyway, I guess I'm used to it by now, she's done this for all of the five years I've had her. It just gets annoying sometimes. No one else will spend time with her because of her incessant licking, so I wondered if there is anything that can be done about it.