# Why is my mainecoon ALWAYS licking me?



## princessjayne (Jan 31, 2010)

Hi guys,

My husband and I have an extremely affectionate 5 month old mainecoon. He jumps up to us and sits right up on my chest so he can nuzzle into my neck- so sweet! He loves to lick and nibble my chin and nose, and basically washes and groomes me for hours! 
He is not like it so much with my husband, just nibbling his fingers occasionally. Also, he only sits on my husbands lap whereas he tries to get as close as possible to my face. I think he's a mommys boy which is lovely, however my husband thinks he may be trying to be dominant over me in the way a dog might?

What are peoples thoughts?

Thanks


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

Out of a litter of 4 kittens 2 of them are 'lickers'  I don't think it's anything to worry about, like you say he's 'grooming' you so definately a sign of affection.

Even now my 2 year old licks me occasionally, I think it's adorable 

If the licking does bother you in any way ... have you considered another cat? Then they can groom each other to their hearts content. He might still groom you though


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I think, that...as always.....some pictures of the said cat in action may help the learned members of this forum in providing the answer you require.


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## Philski (May 28, 2010)

It's because he thinks you're a dirty, smelly girl and is trying to clean you up

Seriously though, I don't know - but it does sound like he's doing it out of affection!


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

Paddypaws said:


> I think, that...as always.....some pictures of the said cat in action may help the learned members of this forum in providing the answer you require.


This I agree with 100%


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## ebonymagic (Jun 18, 2010)

I currently have a licky cat, he licks everybody but will lick my hands for hours. He will also lick the kittens and his brother so as far as I am concerned it is affection.


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## luisa (Jul 14, 2010)

my ollie does exactly the same hes 10 weeks old 

i see it as him making it known that im his mommy an he loves me 

he will sleep on my lap in a wierd position too ( holds his head under my chin 2 front paws on my chest and the rest on him in my lap.

its partly self comfort for him, re-creating what he used to do with his mom n litter mates.

if its not bothering you dont worry hes showing you love. your OH should be jelous haha


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## princessjayne (Jan 31, 2010)

Thank guys,

I do love him doing it so would never try to stop it - my OH probably is jealous!

i give the cat more attention than I give him at times 

xxxxx


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

I have no idea what you mean o) fancy giving a blimmin cat more attention than your hubby ... :lol:


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## 53ChevyGuy (Sep 8, 2011)

As I write there is a large maine coon attached to my left leg. His name is Digger and he is three years old. He loves me and follows me . My wife and son care for him as well but he is my cat. He waits in the driveway for me. After being fed, he follows me to my recliner where he sits and watches tv. A cat nap might be neccessary so he will clean himself and my left leg. While serving active duty in the Marines the left leg had nerve damage resulting in medical discharge from service. I normally wear shorts which gives Digger the opportunity to clean my knee. Then he will sleep using my knee for a pillow. It something that happens everyday and I don't think I could have been able to teach a cat to do this. My wife says he knows where I hurt and he is taking care of me. Who knew angels were furry and had a rough tongue?


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## Dally Banjo (Oct 22, 2009)

53ChevyGuy said:


> As I write there is a large maine coon attached to my left leg. His name is Digger and he is three years old. He loves me and follows me . My wife and son care for him as well but he is my cat. He waits in the driveway for me. After being fed, he follows me to my recliner where he sits and watches tv. A cat nap might be neccessary so he will clean himself and my left leg. While serving active duty in the Marines the left leg had nerve damage resulting in medical discharge from service. I normally wear shorts which gives Digger the opportunity to clean my knee. Then he will sleep using my knee for a pillow. It something that happens everyday and I don't think I could have been able to teach a cat to do this. My wife says he knows where I hurt and he is taking care of me. Who knew angels were furry and had a rough tongue?


Our youngest MC always rushes off to meet my OH when he comes in from work  can be a bit of a comotion with two dogs as well :crazy: but he's the only one who sits chirping a welcome when he finishes at 12am  me & the rest are Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz :lol:


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## Cloudygirl (Jan 9, 2011)

My boys are both lickers. I read Marley and me last weekend and it made me cry and one of my boys jumped up and tried to lick my tears away. It was sooo cute.


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## gemcml (Aug 15, 2011)

I have a 5 month old kitten quite like this, she follows me everywhere! Every time i sit down shes straight on my lap! Even though most the time when i do sit down its never for long!! Except at night when the kids are all in bed and i guarantee she'll be there straight away 

The only thing i find strange is that when I'm wearing certain material - like fleece, she'll lay on my lap and start digging her claws in to get comfy, and then she starts biting and sucking at my clothes as if shes trying to get milk from me!... Very strange, bless her! ...She has always done this, not sure why? I'd understand if she was taken from her mum too soon but she was 10 weeks when we got her.


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## Sacrechat (Feb 27, 2011)

I have Birmans who like to lick me and one who also sucks and nibbles my nose and chin. He used to suck on the fleshy bit at the tips of my fingers as well. The sucking and nibbling is kitten behaviour. Puss knows you are his mummy.


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## jenny armour (Feb 28, 2010)

funnily enough my wegies or at least two of them like to nibble and lick the tips of my fingers and lick my legs. to me it says that they love me and its their way of being affection.
its ironic really that coonies and wegies are very similar in their natures


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## Cazzer (Feb 1, 2010)

my wegie Kalle is a licker. Usually it is arms or face. however I have been woken up at night before and found him licking my eye lids or the insides of my ears!


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## sharonchilds (Jul 7, 2011)

princessjayne said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> My husband and I have an extremely affectionate 5 month old mainecoon. He jumps up to us and sits right up on my chest so he can nuzzle into my neck- so sweet! He loves to lick and nibble my chin and nose, and basically washes and groomes me for hours!
> He is not like it so much with my husband, just nibbling his fingers occasionally. Also, he only sits on my husbands lap whereas he tries to get as close as possible to my face. I think he's a mommys boy which is lovely, however my husband thinks he may be trying to be dominant over me in the way a dog might?
> ...


Wow what a lovely cat
Maybe your husband is secretly jealous
My husband is, but i do love my cats more than him


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## MCWillow (Aug 26, 2011)

Willow is a licker too she will grab my hand, no claws, close her teeth on me (not biting, really gentle) then lick my hand - or any other part of me she can reach!
She will also come to bed with me and snuggle by my side all night - OH does shifts and if I am at work and he has been on nights so going to bed as I get up she doesnt go near the bed 

Definitely a mummys girl - but she does sit on daddys lap too - I think she is trying to make sure he doesnt get jealous :lol:


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## sharonchilds (Jul 7, 2011)

Does anyone wanna swap one of their affectionate cats for 4 miserable ones..lol. None of mine are like that, not even the ragdoll.....where have i gone wrong
Only kidding, i love them no matter what


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## Forget-me-not (May 5, 2010)

My Maine Coon Leo was a licker too. I was his "special" person as he saw it as his duty to keep me clean. It is definitely not dominance behaviour. My OH was a little jealous too and accused us of having an "unhealthy" relationship LOL. My other Maine Coon Oscar, who *is* dominant is not a licker but he loves to knead on a fleecy dressing gown and bury his head right into you till he overheats! Thankfully he has grown out of the nose biting!


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## jenny armour (Feb 28, 2010)

arent men funny like that, years ago my ex took my dog back home to my parents after i first got married because the dog quite rightly got more attention.
have seen the errors of my ways since


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## memmarmite (May 28, 2010)

My little moggie boy is a real licker. He also seeks out eskimo kisses at every available opportunity. He doesn't really have a favourite out of myself and my husband (though he does have a real fondness for grooming Dan's beard), he's just a very affectionate boy!


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## raggs (Aug 3, 2008)

This must be a trait of the MC's as our Ozzy does this with Sue, , he really is a mommy's boy, one of his habits is to try to nibble my fingernails.


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## semiferal (Jul 22, 2011)

My little streetcat with zero MC blood is a licker. She was taken from the mother far too early, and had trouble developing her self-grooming skills. So whenever she started licking me, I tried to distract her back to grooming herself. 

Slowly her self-grooming has gotten better, but she seems to lick - even strangers - for comfort and connection.


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## Bonnie82 (May 4, 2011)

Monty is a licker too... and Dinah isn't! He always licks my hands, cheeks, forehead, sometimes my nose.  I don't mind him doing it unless he's just been eating fish.


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## Howlinbob (Jul 25, 2011)

Sounds familiar...my Maine Coon Monty does exactly the same. He reaches up and puts his paws around my neck, and starts licking and suckling (yuck!) on my chin and face, with his paws frantically kneading away. I have to hold on to his paws or I get clawmarks (how can I explain away lovebites from the cat???) He has done this ever since we got him at 14 weeks, and now at 18 months there's no let-up. I have also wondered if it's dominant behaviour, but it isn't. He's just showing affection and getting comfort. OH thinks it's a bit weird, he's even jokingly suggested that I get some kind of pervy kick out of it, haha! Just jealous.....:001_tt1:


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## Waterlily (Apr 18, 2010)

Glad its normal cos cindy does it, I wasnt sure if it was to do with lack of salt lol.


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## catlover0581 (Jan 14, 2012)

first of all- you lucky thing to have a MC!! i think they are lovely 

all my cats i've had in life have licked me lol. in fact i had a gorgeous boy called Oscar who would lick me when i asked for a 'kiss'.

at the moment i am typing one handed while holding my latest addition to the family, Tilly (6 weeks), and she is cleaning my hand so much it's starting to hurt a bit now!! lol

then there's Freddy (15 weeks) who will snuggle up with me tonight and give me a 'wash' before sleeping on my pillow - i think it's really cute, and if the OH gets jealous, he can always sleep somewhere else!!


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## Waterlily (Apr 18, 2010)

catlover0581 said:


> first of all- you lucky thing to have a MC!! i think they are lovely
> 
> all my cats i've had in life have licked me lol. in fact i had a gorgeous boy called Oscar who would lick me when i asked for a 'kiss'.
> 
> ...


aww Oscar sounds like my gypsy lol, if I tell her go give georgia, sarah whatever etc a kiss she goes and washes them a sec then wonders off lol. She's always mummied the other pets.


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## catlover0581 (Jan 14, 2012)

my mum always thought it was weird lol. he was 16 when he dies, and i can honestly say having him put to sleep was the hardest things i have ever done 

Tilly is now cleaning my chest.....my god her tongue is rough lol


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## Waterlily (Apr 18, 2010)

catlover0581 said:


> my mum always thought it was weird lol. he was 16 when he dies, and i can honestly say having him put to sleep was the hardest things i have ever done
> 
> Tilly is now cleaning my chest.....my god her tongue is rough lol


lol it feels gross aye, cindy goes for the armpit if she cant get my face and in this heat its really uncomfortable, so she gets her head pinned to stop her loving for a sec cos it tickles lol till she gets the hint to get out of it. 

awaits the flaming for pinning her head lovingly :Yawn: :Yawn:


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## catlover0581 (Jan 14, 2012)

Waterlily said:


> lol it feels gross aye, cindy goes for the armpit if she cant get my face and in this heat its really uncomfortable, so she gets her head pinned to stop her loving for a sec cos it tickles lol till she gets the hint to get out of it.
> 
> awaits the flaming for pinning her head lovingly :Yawn: :Yawn:


hahahaha - you won't be getting any flaming from me - i nearly trapped freddy's head in the fridge the other day - nosey boy nearly didn't have a nose!! lol


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## Waterlily (Apr 18, 2010)

catlover0581 said:


> hahahaha - you won't be getting any flaming from me - i nearly trapped freddy's head in the fridge the other day - nosey boy nearly didn't have a nose!! lol


Lmfao, you do know its like cyber suicide here to admit we eff up


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## catlover0581 (Jan 14, 2012)

are you kidding me?! 

oh how i learnt my lesson when posting i had a 5 week old kitten- it wasn't my bloody fault!! i was duped!! lol

anyway - she's gorgeous and she's putting weight on. she's loved and she's MINE 

and i am a hooman - so shoot me! lol xxx


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## Waterlily (Apr 18, 2010)

catlover0581 said:


> a
> and i am a hooman - so shoot me! lol xxx


Thats the only species thats allowed to be shot here :devil:


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## catlover0581 (Jan 14, 2012)

i am actually LOL'ing!!!

got to go and do something housewifey - like hoovering, so i'll be back later 

enjoy your day  x


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