My cat is sneezing on me on purpose!

annapoj · Nov 12, 2009

About a year ago we rescued a cat. We've always been dog people so this is all very new to me. We all get along very well. I'm the one who feeds him, changes the litter, plays with him, etc.
During colder weather he likes to wake us up in the night to snuggle in under the covers. About 2-3 weeks ago, we noticed a very irriating pattern. Rather than getting comfortable, he works his way under the sheets to sneeze directly on me, then darts away! This has been happening just about every night, and I'm convinced he is doing it to entertain himself. Is there something we can do to prevent this? Please help!

carolina · Nov 12, 2009

Originally Posted by annapoj

About a year ago we rescued a cat. We've always been dog people so this is all very new to me. We all get along very well. I'm the one who feeds him, changes the litter, plays with him, etc.
During colder weather he likes to wake us up in the night to snuggle in under the covers. About 2-3 weeks ago, we noticed a very irriating pattern. Rather than getting comfortable, he works his way under the sheets to sneeze directly on me, then darts away! This has been happening just about every night, and I'm convinced he is doing it to entertain himself. Is there something we can do to prevent this? Please help!

I find extremely hard to believe that he is doing this to entertain himself - he is a cat, not a person.
There is something in your bed that is making him sneeze, some sort of allergen.
He is probably darting because you react, and he is afraid of you.

strange_wings · Nov 12, 2009

^Some people don't change their sheets weekly, use dust covers or vacuum their mattresses regularly. It causes a lot skin cells to build up which is one of the main foods for dust mites. Human sweat also has a lot of icky things in it that could irritate a cat's nose.

annapoj · Nov 12, 2009

Thank you for your responses. However, we are very clean people and it just started happening. I still stand by the theory that he finds it hilarious.

carolina · Nov 12, 2009

Originally Posted by annapoj

Thank you for your responses. However, we are very clean people and it just started happening. I still stand by the theory that he finds it hilarious.

Nobody is saying that you are not clean - however, he is a CAT, not a human being. Something is making him sneeze, and you can believe it or not... your cat, your mind, your call.

howtoholdacat · Nov 12, 2009

I cannot conceive of a way a cat would sneeze on purpose or find it entertaining if he did. Cats do tease, if you don't believe me come to my house, but they do it by pouncing, swatting and nipping, not sneezing.

sweetseamus · Nov 13, 2009

I don't know where you are located, but I have a cat that has allergies and tends to sneeze more when we turn on the heat in the fall, probably because of the drier air and possibly dust coming up from the heating vents. I agree with others that it's most likely some kind of irritant that sets off the sneezing.

cassielainie · Nov 18, 2009

i'm sure it has nothing to do with how clean you are..
a cat wouldn't amuse himself by sneezing on you and then running away. he would amuse himself by attacking your feet under the covers or something.. which is far more annoying than just about anything i can think of when you've had a long day and you're ready to catch some z's.
i had a kitten once that was scared of her own sneezes.. it was the cutest thing.. she'd sneeze and then go hide under something. maybe that's why your cat is running away.
some cats do have allergies though.. that could be why he's sneezing.
and they have a more acute sense of smell than people do.. maybe it's the smell of your laundry detergent that's irritating his nose..

ricky_ponting · Nov 18, 2009

Hi Carolinalima,

I agreed with you. Of course you are not clean - he is a CAT, not a human being. Something is making him sneeze.... make comfortable.

gen · Nov 24, 2009

I know what you mean, two of our kitties sneeze if the house gets dusty and the quantity of snot that blow out of there little noses is amazing. I have to regularly dust under my bed and behind the shelve and in all the other strange places the kitties like to hang out.

catkiki · Nov 24, 2009

Have you changed laundry detergent or fabric softener? Maybe that would be it, or maybe the company changed formulas for the detergent. cats do not sneeze on purpose, something is causing him to sneeze.

meowith7 · Oct 22, 2013

I've only read a handful of these replies, because I'm here with the same question.. but umm no.. dude does do it on purpose. M cat will only sneeze on my brother. When he sneezes, he sneezes a few times in a row.. and i have seen him go out of his way multiple times just to walk over to my brother and sneeze on him 5times.
So your are not alone in this! Lol. It is hilarious though.

MoochNNoodles · Oct 22, 2013

Hi Meowith7; welcome to TCS!

This thread is a few years old; I'm not sure how many of the posters are still active. Please feel free to start a new thread and tell us more about what your kitty does. We'll likely get your kitty's sneezing more attention that way too!

mark christie · Aug 26, 2015

lmao ..The cat would not sneeze on purpose for laughs ..hes allergic to something obviously lol

debmalta · Mar 5, 2017

I found this by looking up the same thing- my cat sneezes on me on purpose!

rampionrampage · Mar 5, 2017

Could it be that he isn't doing well with a detergent, softener, or some kind of soap you may be using? In which case being clean can be part of the issue.

That or he has some kind of mild kitty cold.

EDIT: Just noticed this is a *very* old thread just resurrected, but I think it's still worth considering.

Eratosthenes · May 31, 2017

The original poster is absolutely correct. The cat is sneezing on you on purpose. However, it is not for entertainment. It is likely he (I assume it is a 'he') is marking you with his scent. I am sure he does this to other people also, he will do it whenever he is trying to show you affection and get loving attention from you -- not just in a bed or a particular location. Also the cat *never* sneezes when you aren't right there. He is not alergic to anything since I am sure he sleeps comfortably on your bed all the time without sneezing. In fact, you will probably notice he only sneezes when you are right there and when he is sure it will get all over you -- most probably your face. Also, he is not alergic to you either, he can be held, carried around, played with, etc., and will not sneeze, it is only when he is in his loving, kneading mood that he will mark you like this.

So don't worry, you are not crazy, your cat is definitely doing this on purpose. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about it. Don't 'discipline' him please! The fact that he does this means he loves you and is extremely comfortable with you. Probably he considers you 'his human'. Cat's do not respond to discipline the way dogs and other animals do. Cat's do not have the ability to connect 'wrong doing' with 'person disciplined me' as a causal relation. They will not realize that you were mean to them *because* they displeased you, they will only see you as disciplining them arbitrarily. If you do this enough your cat will start to avoid you or even run from you and other humans. It is absolutely pointless to discipline a cat. If your cat scratches something you don't want them to scratch, pick them up, give them a hug and a pet, then put them down softly and then try to think of a way to make the object not appealing as a scratching post. If the cat knocks things off of counters for entertainment, pet the cat, tell them you love them, and then make sure breakable things are not perched on counters easily toppled. If a cat wants to sniff your food, let him! It is overwhelmingly likely he will just sniff, then leave. He is not trying to eat it, he just wants to explore it. If you push him away, first he will keep on trying until his curiosity is satisfied, or if you are stern enough in your push, he will equate you as mean and start to avoid you. It is so hard for people to understand this aspect of cat mentality. It is absolutely pointless to discipline a cat. They honestly do not understand that it is *their* action that caused you to be mean, only that you were mean. The undesired action will not stop, the only result will be a skiddish cat who avoids humans instead of a loverboy who thinks humans are amazing pleasure givers. Most cats are skiddish and wary of humans because their owners can't understand that 2nd degree causal relations are beyond cat understanding. Maybe after another 5000 years of domestication they will be able to do this (like dogs for example) but they can't do it now so don't even try.

A cat who is never disciplined or constrained (i.e. if you are holding them don't constrain but let them choose to leave your grasp any time. If you feel them wanting let go, let them go immediately) will be a friendly cat who loves all humans, will start coming when you call him, rubbing up against people, kneading people, purring at the slightest attention... and... some cats... will start sneezing on you :/

MoochNNoodles · May 31, 2017

Hello

Eratosthenes and welcome to TCS! :wave3:

You might not have noticed; this thread was started in 2009 but it has been resurrected several times recently. It looks like the original poster hasn't been on in a long time; so they may not see your reply.

Please come introduce yourself in our New Cats On the Block Forum.

Teke86 · Oct 26, 2017

Eratosthenes said:
The original poster is absolutely correct. The cat is sneezing on you on purpose. However, it is not for entertainment. It is likely he (I assume it is a 'he') is marking you with his scent. I am sure he does this to other people also, he will do it whenever he is trying to show you affection and get loving attention from you -- not just in a bed or a particular location. Also the cat *never* sneezes when you aren't right there. He is not alergic to anything since I am sure he sleeps comfortably on your bed all the time without sneezing. In fact, you will probably notice he only sneezes when you are right there and when he is sure it will get all over you -- most probably your face. Also, he is not alergic to you either, he can be held, carried around, played with, etc., and will not sneeze, it is only when he is in his loving, kneading mood that he will mark you like this.

So don't worry, you are not crazy, your cat is definitely doing this on purpose. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about it. Don't 'discipline' him please! The fact that he does this means he loves you and is extremely comfortable with you. Probably he considers you 'his human'. Cat's do not respond to discipline the way dogs and other animals do. Cat's do not have the ability to connect 'wrong doing' with 'person disciplined me' as a causal relation. They will not realize that you were mean to them *because* they displeased you, they will only see you as disciplining them arbitrarily. If you do this enough your cat will start to avoid you or even run from you and other humans. It is absolutely pointless to discipline a cat. If your cat scratches something you don't want them to scratch, pick them up, give them a hug and a pet, then put them down softly and then try to think of a way to make the object not appealing as a scratching post. If the cat knocks things off of counters for entertainment, pet the cat, tell them you love them, and then make sure breakable things are not perched on counters easily toppled. If a cat wants to sniff your food, let him! It is overwhelmingly likely he will just sniff, then leave. He is not trying to eat it, he just wants to explore it. If you push him away, first he will keep on trying until his curiosity is satisfied, or if you are stern enough in your push, he will equate you as mean and start to avoid you. It is so hard for people to understand this aspect of cat mentality. It is absolutely pointless to discipline a cat. They honestly do not understand that it is *their* action that caused you to be mean, only that you were mean. The undesired action will not stop, the only result will be a skiddish cat who avoids humans instead of a loverboy who thinks humans are amazing pleasure givers. Most cats are skiddish and wary of humans because their owners can't understand that 2nd degree causal relations are beyond cat understanding. Maybe after another 5000 years of domestication they will be able to do this (like dogs for example) but they can't do it now so don't even try.

A cat who is never disciplined or constrained (i.e. if you are holding them don't constrain but let them choose to leave your grasp any time. If you feel them wanting let go, let them go immediately) will be a friendly cat who loves all humans, will start coming when you call him, rubbing up against people, kneading people, purring at the slightest attention... and... some cats... will start sneezing on you :/

I agree as well. My cat sleeps and lays all over me all night with no sneezing. She doesn’t sneeze at all during the day either. But everyone morning at 3am, she’s had enough of my sleeping shenanigans, walks up to my face and sneezes once. I have buried my head and she still worms her way into my face to sneeze just one time. And she continues in her adorably intrusive way by walking all over me, kneading me or nibbling on my fingers to get my full attention. Love that crazy cat...just wish she’d wait a couple of hours. I’m pretty tired. Lol.

My cat is sneezing on me on purpose!

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