Licking And Biting

[Mother.of.Manx]

I have a 8 month old little female manx cat named rocket who is super affectionate and playful and very cuddly, and not at all aggressive. But starting at around 5 months i started to notice that when she sits in my lap as i pet her and get her purring she likes to just sit and lick the hell out of my finger, but then the licking turns into chewing. Then she will sit there and chew on my fingertips!! And she will wrap her paws around my hand to hold it still so she can keep chewing!! Even as i write this she is chewing on my thumb aha it cute as heck but im just curious as to why she does it. Is she teething still or what?

 

[Pixxelated]

Is she fixed? Female cats who are old enough to reproduce, will often be overly affectionate when in heat.

As for licking and biting... well cats lick for a variety of reasons. Most commonly it will be out of affection, light lovebites are common too. The cat’s basically showing you the kind of love and care his/her mam did.

Some cats do get a bit obsessive though, and if she is chewing on your hand, you might want to redirect that with positive reinforcement. You don’t want to punish her, just break her focus.

Of course could always be she sees your hand as a toy or a treat... in which case you really want to redirect.

 

[susanm9006]

To me it sounds like a variation of nursing or suckling behavior that she takes comfort from. You can discourage it of course by removing your hand.