Cat with lip balm fetish?

mycherona

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Ok, so this is probably very weird sounding, and I know my cat is kinda weird, but I just thought I'd ask if anyone else has this experience with their cats....my cat LOVES Burts Bees lip balm! I put it on every night before I go to sleep, and he tries to lick my lips! And if I wipe any excess on the blanket, he will lick the blanket for 30 min or until I try to stop him. It has peppermint oil in it - do cats typically like peppermint or is mine special?
 

tuesmall

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I think some of the catnip i have uses peppermint and the cats go crazy for it
It may be the texture of the the lip balm as well as the smell.
 

adamcm

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When I was younger the cat in our house loved the smell of polysporin. I never was sure why, but we didn't leave any lying around just in case
.
 

mrblanche

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It could also be the petroleum jelly in it. I've seen cats that loved it.

But if it has any form of mint, that could also be the explanation.
 

GoldyCat

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My cats don't react to catnip, but they go absolutely crazy over peppermint. When I make peppermint tea I have to seal the teabag in a ziplock freezer bag and put it in the trash inside a locked pantry. That is unless I want tea leaves scattered all over the house and cats using the house as a NASCAR race track
and doing backflips midair
.
 

jkat62

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I would guess it is the petroleum jelly in the lip balm that he likes. Our cat loves the stuff so we have to hide our Vaseline to keep her out of it. Which is harder than you might think as our cat has figured out how to open most of our cupboard doors. We finally had to put it in a heavy drawer to keep her out of it.
 

Willowy

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

It could also be the petroleum jelly in it. I've seen cats that loved it.
That brand doesn't have any petroleum products in it. I know because I have a tube right here in my pocket! OK.....Ingredients: Beeswax, coconut oil, sunflower oil, vitamin E, lanolin, peppermint oil, comfrey root extract, rosemary extract

My cat Bitsy also goes after my lips right after I've applied that lip balm. I figure it's either the lanolin or the peppermint.
 
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mycherona

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yeah, i was just about to say that about it not having petroleum in it - i suppose catnip is in the mint family, so maybe that could explain it....aren't they just little weirdos? love em!
 

howtoholdacat

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Yeah, cat nip and mint are very closely related plants. I'm guessing it's the mint, too. Though an interesting note, and I know this product doesn't contain petroleum but, non-medicated petroleum jelly can be used as a hairball remedy. One of my cats loves it and will lap it up. Perhaps this product is close enough that it's satisfying both the craving brought on by the mint and hairballs? If so, Burt's Bees may have a new marketing campaign in the works!
 

calico2222

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It my be the comfrey because that is the same thing that is in muscle rub, right? Two of my cats go CRAZY if DH or I use muscle rub and insist on licking our hands, backs, legs, jeans, towels....anything that gets in contact with muscle rub...it's almost like catnip for them. We try to keep them away, but with 7 sometimes it's difficult. But, they've all survive so I'm guessing it's not deadly.
 

mrblanche

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The peppermint in the lip balm is the culprit. And most muscle-soreness rubs, such as Ben-Gay, have mint in them, too.
 

beturtlement

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Mycherona, I have the same issue!
I only use Burt's Bees lip balm, myself, and whenever I open the cap and Niko is nearby, he's all up in my face trying to either sniff/lick my lips or the balm itself. I agree with the other posters that it's probably due to the peppermint or comfrey oils in the balm as he doesn't seem interested in any other balms.
 

lamiatron

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could be the coconut oil. when i put coconut oil in my hair, my cat Charlie flips out and keeps licking my head till he licks it off -__-
 
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