Posted by:
spoonleg
at Thu May 13 00:23:00 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by spoonleg ]
My 5 month old tonkinese is also a very affectionate and communicative kitty. He does like to groom my eyebrows and at times my arms. I usually let him for as long as I can tolerate it because I was told by a cat enthusiast that this is his way of showing that he accepts me as his mommy and an honorary feline. She told me that only cats who have strongly bonded with their human parents will try to groom them. However, when Oscar tries to groom my face- enough! That tongue is much too rough. The real problem I have with him though is suckling- he tries to suckle my arms,legs, lips, chin, anything! When I (like you) cover up with a blanket, he also crawls under the covers to get to my skin. It is QUITE creepy. And when I reject his efforts, he tries to groom stuffed animals or even the textured bumps on the wall!
The best thing I have found that works is to kick him out of bed when he tries to do it. I feel bad for punishing him for his loving behavior, but that seems to be the only way of discouraging him. He is slowly learning that if he wakes mommy up (and scares her!) by suckling her legs or face, he is going to be sleeping under the bed, instead of curled up next to her. I try to gently remove him from the area he's suckling or turn him the other direction (so he's not tempted), but sometimes that just doesn't work. He quite aggressively persues his suckling/grooming. If your kitty knows "no", try gently talking to him and saying "no" while removing him from you. With enough repetition, he might catch on!
The suggestion of getting another kitty is also a good one, although not plausible for me. I was told by the breeder that he and his siblings often suckled/groomed one another. I wish she hadn't allowed them to do so, knowing that some of the kittens were going to single-cat households! But I suppose that she couldn't have done much to stop them, now could she? 
[ Hide Replies ]
|
RE: HELP!! My cat is trying to groom me .. - spoonleg, Thu May 13 00:23:00 2004