My kitten wants desperately to groom my ears and face

12 years ago

Peachy is about 11 weeks old and shows no sign of outgrowing this. When we cuddle together she purrs and lies down on my lap or chest--for about three seconds. Then she makes a beeline for my face. If I let her, she would lick my nose, my mouth, and especially my ears. Before I realized what she was doing, she once put her tongue in my ear.

I assume this grooming (?) is a sign of affection, yes? She has a strong desire to perform this behavior; I constantly have to move her back to my lap or chest. Is there anything I can substitute that would satisfy her need to do this? I'm not crazy about being licked, and the fact that I'm somewhat allergic to her makes me even less enthusiastic about it.

Thanks!

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Comments (7)

glaserberl
12 years ago
We found Biggles when he was about 6 weeks or a little bit younger on death' door and from the very beginning he has tried to substitute my earlobe for his mom's nipples. That was last October he is now about 11 month and he still tries at times. All I can say keep putting her back on your lap and hopefully she'll outgrow it.
cocontom
12 years ago
Tanker used to do that- he did outgrow it, but he was probably 6 months old before he stopped. I thought it was cute, so I never really tried to stop him.
sephia
12 years ago
"Before I realized what she was doing, she once put her tongue in my ear"

I don't have any words of advice but this struck me as hysterical. I can imagine what a rough little tongue in my hear would feel like. LOL!
jomuir
12 years ago
We had a cat that we got quite young, and DH had a buzzcut at the time. Tawny used to come in our bed at night and he'd wake up with her furiously grooming his short hair. She rarely bothered me.

We were never sure if she just outgrew it or if it was because he grew his hair longer that she stopped doing it.

Too bad you're allergic, it's usually the saliva that triggers allergies, so hopefully this will pass quickly.
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
12 years ago
I have a jr dog that from day one, twelve years ago, wanted nothing more than to lick my face. I learned quickly to keep my lips tightly closed. Over the years, nothing has changed.

We do cuddle, with her splayed out on my lap and chest, but I am always alert to a sudden affectionate nose nip at any moment.
quasifish
12 years ago
Probably won't make you feel much better... I have a 17 year old tortoishell who has ALWAYS had this behavior.

All her life she would groom anything she could get her mouth on- tennis balls, her brother cat, our lab's stinky ears, and especially DH's short hair. She still digs into his hair from time to time, despite having many health problems. What's really funny is when MIL comes to visit and is sitting in front of the couch and Muddy decides MIL needs her short hair groomed- MIL is NOT a cat person.

Generally, her "victim" just gets up and walks away and that is the end of the grooming session. :^)
petaloid
12 years ago
Peachy loves you!

My Jazzpurr does this too, but if I very gently push his muzzle away from my face with the palm of my hand a couple of times, he settles down and starts grooming himself.