Have you ever had a kitten try to groom YOU?

catnurse22

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So my 5 mo old baby has a special habit. Whenever he's tired and on my lap and especially when I'm trying to go to sleep, he comes up and licks at my face/ears/nose/wherever and then gently bites. It's exactly how he would groom another cat. I thought at first he might be trying to nurse on me, but it seems different. Anyway, I know this kind of behavior is common in cats taken away from their mother at an early age, which he was. He was a feral kitten and his momma left him and his siblings at about 4-5wks. How do I make it stop!? I've tried ignoring him, making him get down, popping his little nose. Everything. Nothing helps. And if I lock him out of the room, he just scratches at the door. Anybody have a similar experience, and maybe some advice?
 

gingersmom

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My kitten Bonnie does the same thing to my hands - she'll wake me up in the middle of the night because she is using her teeth to groom the tips of my fingers. I actually think it's kind of hilarious, and very sweet. She loves me.


And my oldest girl, Ginger, was a nose-licker when she was a kitten. That was bad, because it really hurt - little sandpaper raspy tounge!

I was able to stop her from going after my face by always redirecting her to my hand, and to this day, she comes up onto my bed when I wake up and gives me what I call "finger kisses" by washing my fingers and knuckles while she kneads on the blanket. She loves me, too.
 

piikki

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My Major Groomer Kille does this occasionally too.

He is particularly worried in winter time when the air is dry and I get bloody nose during night - not nose bleed but obviously he can sniff that I have crusty nose in the morning... He insist on wanting to clean my nose!! I am not so hot about this but he does know his business because he is always more keen on grooming if I am dirty otherwise too, like if I have been to gym etc. (I think he also knows he will get me up by coming at my nose...)
 

addiebee

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The only thing you can do really is redirect. Maybe give your kitten something of yours that's really smelly to love on. So when he starts grooming you, you redirect him to a tee shirt to lick, suckle and knead. It may not work.

It's a loving gesture on his part and also to seek comfort. He may not outgrow it, but as he ages it is likely to ease up.
 

firedancer722

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Siddha does this ALL the time to my chin. He licks a bit and then gently bites on my chin a little bit. I am okay with it as long as he doesnt bite hard, which he hasn't. I usually just try to redirect him like the others have said. I will gently put my hands up in front of my chin and let him lick my fingers. He usualy just wants one little nibble on my chin and then he's done.

Our kitties love us!!
 

devanagara

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Yep, in the morning when I'm waking up, but my eyes are still closed, Mony licks my eyelids, eyebrows, and hairline. It's cute!
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Devanagara

Yep, in the morning when I'm waking up, but my eyes are still closed, Mony licks my eyelids, eyebrows, and hairline. It's cute!
Bijou likes to lick my eyelids and eyebrows too - just before he settles down to sleep at night.
He'll also groom my temple hair if I have my head close to him.
 

kittieshasme

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Your kitten loves you.
I wouldn't make him stop, I'd just enjoy the love.

You have no idea how much I miss my heart cat, Freya. She loved to groom me on the face and chin. I miss our 'grooming' sessions.
 
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catnurse22

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Thanks for the advice. Yes, it is a loving gesture, but a little much when I'm trying to sleep :p. He has this little stuffed cat he loves...maybe he'll be able to be swayed towards that. Hmmm....we'll see. Again, thanks for all the helpful hints!
 

catfriend

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Danny licks my face before we settle down for the night. My RB kitty Snowy would groom my hand at night while she lay near my pillow. If I tried to move it away to soon, she would grab it and move it back as though I were a recalcitrant kitten!
 

meowqueensdaddy

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Zero used to do the chin licking/nibbling thing, and has since grown out of it.

Pumpkin... well... it took her a few months to get used to indoor life, and the idea that people tend to sleep at night. There was a period where she'd lay between my head and the wall, on my pillow. She'd put her back to the wall, and put her feet on my head, and push me off my pillow. I'd wake up to find my hair being kitty-styled... and she wasn't particularly gentle about it... no, she'd use the "tear the meat off the bone" part of her tongue, not the "groom self" part. This happened regularly, and I tried like everything to get it to stop.

Nowadays, if I happen to lay my head down near her, she'll do it, but she doesn't wake me up in the middle of the night anymore or de-pillow my head.
 
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