Cat is grooming me

tea_lover

We've had our 8yr old male cat for about 5 months now. He's settled in great, is spoilt and happy . For the past week he's been licking my hair when I'm in bed, waking me up about 3-4 times a night. When I try and stop him he gently puts his paw on my head, as if he's saying "hold on, I'm not done yet"!

I'm sure it's a sign of affection from him, and tbh I find it pretty cute, but it's quite disruptive and I do worry that it's not doing him any good. There's no products on my hair, but it's shoulder-length and would probably make some hefty hairballs.

Is this just another phase he'll get tired of (like scratching the mirror all night and sprinting from all over the house to follow my OH to the bathroom :rotfl:)?? Or do I need an old-lady hairnet?

Gold_Dust_2

You need a hairnet . My cat grooms my brother's head whenever he lets her, as though he's a kitten who can't take care of himself. It's very cute! Your cat has accepted you as kin, aww.....try not to return the favour! :rotfl:

Buttonmoons

My male cat is near 4 now and grooms me everyday, not the hair, but my arms and pits if he can get to them :eek: He sits on my lap every day and grooms my arm before settling himself down to snooze.

fairy_lights

My cat grooms me too, he likes to wash my face and hands and I never know whether I should be touched or insulted...clearly he doesn't think I do a very good job of cleaning myself and need a bit of help!
I've also got a body-shop peppermint foot cream that he goes crazy for, when I put it on he immediately runs over and starts licking it off. I don't know whether he thinks it's disgusting and its trying to be helpful and wash it off, or if he thinks it's delicious and fancies a snack! It's probably not good for him in excess but it doesn't seem to have done him any harm so far.
It's lovely and affectionate really but he does get a bit slobbery sometimes

Macca83_2

What's with the mirror scratching? My cat used to do that too but I could never figure out why.

Gold_Dust_2

Buttonmoons wrote: »

My male cat is near 4 now and grooms me everyday, not the hair, but my arms and pits

Oh my God!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

meritaten

First cat Timmy loved both my sons feet! the cheesier and smellier the better! all the boys had to do was stretch out on settee and pull off Trainers and socks and Timmy would be THERE! give top of foot a thorough wash, special care between the toes, and finish with a sole lick which had both boys laughing hysterically!
my feet weren't smelly enough for him - he never groomed me!
current cat Barney used to like to sleep curled up on pillow above my head - but, I wear my hair in a high ponytail for sleep - and this annoyed him, so he used to tug the band out! had to spend a few nights removing him from MY pillow to HIS pillow at my feet before he 'got the message'.

Slinky

Our old cat Merlin used to give us a very good hand wash when we'd been swimming. Even if we'd showered he'd still love to have a good lick at the chlorine

Scrapaholic

That sounds sweet but can imagine it'd be annoying too . None of our cats have ever done that . At night ours have the run of the kitchen and utility room . Our older one has a litter tray and there's a cat flap . Comfy bedding, food and water for them . I just know if they were left to roam the whole house , they'd be jumping on the bed and crying to be let out even tho the doors would be open .

GwylimT

Ours likes grooming your hair, only problem is he tries to chew it off when he gets too much in his mouth.

tea_lover

I'm wondering if I can train him to do my whole head - I could save 10 mins in the morning if I didn't need to wash my hair