# Licking my face?



## camerafreak (Oct 25, 2011)

Ever since I adopted Boots hes had this weird obsession with licking my face. He licks my face when I'm sleeping. He licks my face when I'm cuddling him. He licks my face when I'm on the computer. I'm not sure if my face is just tasty or he has a reason behind it. I don't use anything but face wash on my face. I also only wear eye make up. I don't think that he likes the taste of my face wash because, well soap just has a nasty taste. Does anyone have any ideas?


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

He's just being loving perhaps?! Milky licks us too. He licks our faces, our toes (yes he has a weird obsession with toes!), our fingers... lately he enjoys licking my husband's nose and my lips!! But the majority of the time, he licks my fingers. He licks us when we're asleep too. I think he just wants affection.


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

He is marking you with his scent. Its a display of his affection and that you are his.:love2


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## bkitty (Aug 17, 2009)

Bentley will lick the back of my head when he is settling in between the pillows at nite sometimes. Seems to be a goodnite type of thing. And PuddyWow likes to reach up and lick the end of my nose when he is settling in on the Momshelf for a nap. Both seem to use it as a sort of goodnite comfort cuddle gesture. Now if they could learn to use mouthwash...


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

LOL - Lumen licks me all. the. time. Yesterday, she jumped on my lap, licked my nose, and ran away. All within maybe two seconds. It was the most hilarious thing.


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

Some cats are lickers and some aren't, Samantha would just lick my hand but Chiquita is a big time licker and will lick any and all body parts withing reach.


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## kaworu (Nov 2, 2011)

Yeah, this sort of thing just seems to...happen, sometimes. My kitty Jackie has recently taken to licking my hands and fingers a lot. And once she gets into it, it's very tough to get her to stop, because she gets very intense and focused about it. It's a little hilarious, but not too unusual, clearly. She didn't do it at first - it took a few months after she moved in before she turned into a licker.

I think I figured it out, though - I realized that directly after I took a shower or washed my hands really thoroughly, she would have absolutely no interest in licking my hands. So I think it really is a grooming thing, because she grooms herself with the same sort fixed intensity - I think most cats do, once they start grooming you can't really make them stop without upsetting them, and why would you? So I just take the hand-licking as a gesture of love and companionship. She obviously views me as very close family, and since she mostly comes in contact with my hands via-petting, she thinks it's important that she help me keep them clean. Right?


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## camerafreak (Oct 25, 2011)

Everyones saying that its out of affection but that gets me thinking. Could Boots be so close to me after just a month of living here? I would think he'd still be kind of skeptical about me and his surroundings. Don't get me wrong the licking is ADORABLE but he's go the roughest tongue I've ever felt on a cat. I feel like after 2 or 3 licks in the same spot, that the spot is going to fall off or something. lol.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

Azalia is our licker. She is a very sweet cat and I have no doubts she does this out of affection. However, she does have a very rough tongue. All I can say is I am glad she is my daughter's cat and has bonded with her the most. I couldn't take the licking on a regular basis...ouch!


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

They all have rough tongues.

Here's a piece from wikipedia "The cat's tongue has backwards-facing spines about 500 micrometers long, which are called papillae. These are quite rigid, as they contain keratin. These spines allow cats to groom themselves by licking their fur, with the rows of papillae acting like a hairbrush." 

If Milky licks me too much in the same spot, it's sore too sometimes. But I've realised that when he's grooming himself, he seems to have more saliva than usual (wetter) and therefore it seems less painful when licked during these times.


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