Help...Ffion's obsessed with licking me!!

[Bethy_boo]

Is this a common problem with MCs?? Ffion licks me all the time and just won't give in.

I think it's an affectionate thing, if you stroke her, if she sits on you or when I'm asleep at night. She licks my hands and literally will follow and find out my hands when she wants to lick them. Sometimes she wants to lick my face and will grab me closer with her paw, and frequently at night she wakes me up with a good face-licking.

It's kind of funny and I know she's doing it out of love but really, it is just a bit gross...

Any suggestions on how to curb this behaviour? I wouldn't even mind if she gave me one lick and stopped but she just loves to lick...

[cooncatbob]

It's not a Maine Coon thing, Samantha wasn't a big licker but late in life she would nibble on my fingers and lick them.
Little Chiquita my Moggy is a licker and nothing I could do would change her behavior and she now 12 years old.
I suggest you just learn to enjoy it, it's a sign of bonding on your cat part, you might want return the favor and schedule some brushing sessions with kitty

[Howlinbob]

Monty is the same. When he comes for a cuddle he puts his paws around my neck and licks me all over the face. It is kind of gross as he'll cover me in slobber, yeuch! and I have to hold on to his great big kneading paws or I get clawmarks which are tricky to explain....hmmm, lovebites from the cat??? hehehe!

I've been told he'll grow out of it, but no sign of that yet. I'm taking it as affection, as Monty likes to do things to the extreme, it's all part of his character.

[MoshisMum]

Moto is a major licker! That's one of the reasons I picked him, or perhaps he picked me! When I first went to see him at the breeders, he sat next to me and licked my hand for an hour :-) He's 9 months old now and not a day goes by when I don't get loads of kisses. He will even grab my hand when I try and move it away to bring it back and continue licking. He also very gently nibbles me too.

The worst is the face licking, coz let's face it, kitten breath is soooo not the same as puppy breath!!

Moshi isn't a licker at all, maybe just the odd time and that's usually coz I've been handling something tasty :-)

Moto only does it with me and I see that as a sign of love and therefore just let him get on with it :-)

Sian
X

[Antonia]

Little Minnie did that a lot when she was younger. The worst thing was when she licked my face because she has a very rough little tongue, much rougher than my other Coonies. It felt like a very course facial scrub treatment, lol.
She does it less now she’s a bit older. But she still has her moments… first she gently nips my hand or arm and then starts licking that spot.

[Howlinbob]

Yes the rough tongue can be a bit much, but I just think of it as my own personal exfoliation service.
My OH finds the face-licking a bit weird, bordering on the pervy, but I think he's just jealous.

[RoxyKitten]

Roxy is a major licker, preferrably when I am enjoying a videogaming session. It's almost like an added level of difficulty - here comes the little raspy tongue, licking like mad on the finger operating the joystick! She also likes licking my nose and hands after I have eaten something tasty..

[claudel]

Bubba (RIP) used to lick my eyelids in the morning to wake me up if his food bowl was empty.

Can't be late for breakfast, and can't ignore a 25 lb cat licking your eyes...

[MoshisMum]

Bubba (RIP) used to lick my eyelids in the morning to wake me up if his food bowl was empty.

Can't be late for breakfast, and can't ignore a 25 lb cat licking your eyes...

Ahh now waking up techniques are fabulous! Never ceases to amaze me the different ways they find! Due to their love of water (and playing in their water bowls!), I bought a litter tray and I fill it with water, which they play in - Moto physically gets in it and Moshi puts things in it and then plays fish.

Moshi's latest technique to wake me up at the weekend is to plonk both very furry front paws into the water, get them soaking wet, hop onto the bed and then shake her paws really fast, so I get showered with water!! Completely confused me as to what was happening the first couple of times, until I realised what she was doing!

Gotta love a smarty pants MC! :-)