Does anyone else's cat bite your nose or chin?

by Heather M
(Pennsylvania)

My sweet Dexter

My sweet Dexter

My Dexter is a snuggler, unlike his three siblings. He likes to lay on my chest when I am reclined and watching TV. I scratch his ears and head as he wishes, and he grazes my face with his. But then he bites my nose. It isn't a hard, malicious bite, but more of a honk. He recently started to do the same to my chin. I thought maybe it was just his way of showing affection, but he doesn't do this to either of my parents. I've tried to research if this is a typical Siamese behavior, but I've hit a dead end. Does anyone else's cat do this? Any advice or explanation would be greatly appreciated!

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Feb 09, 2015
 Kitten nips on chin nose and neck NEW
by: DancingDelilah

Hey~~the new kitty I rescued last summer from a locked up tight abandoned apt. does the same thing! She is about 8 months now. And I've owned many, many cats through the years, all with different personalities.

But never ever had one very gently bite and sorta gently tug my nose neck and chin! It's really cute actually because I can tell it's not out of aggression. It's very gentle. A nip!!

I named her Iris and she does this to me everyday when in my lap purring. And always she starts at my neck and nips then moves to my chin and finally my nose!

I was perplexed by this behaviorand I'm so happy to she others with cats that do the same. Awww~~it means she loves me and I'm all hers!!
Jan 17, 2015
 cleaning, marking, and affection NEW
by: Anonymous

Cats will gently nibble on your chin for a couple of reasons. One is clean your face from the meal you just ate, another is to show affection, and probably the biggest reason is to mark you. Your cat marks you so that she and other cats know that you belong to her. Its an important bonding ritual for them.
Jan 04, 2015
 weird cats NEW
by: Anonymous

My cat bites my chin evertime he's on my lap.once he caught my lip and I have no idea what it means.I heard if a cat bites your lips you probably have big bubbly lips.
Jan 04, 2015
 weird cats NEW
by: Anonymous

My cat bites my chin evertime he's on my lap.once he caught my lip and I have no idea what it means.I heard if a cat bites your lips you probably have big bubbly lips.
Dec 06, 2014
 Biting nose NEW
by: Anonymous

Me and my cat have a very close relationship. My thoughts on it were, and maybe it would make more sense if I'm not the only one lol, but I kiss my cat in the face all the time. Like a lot. I mean he is my fur baby I'm sure you all understand :) I wonder if he thinks I'm putting my mouth over his nose/front face since he dosnt know what a kiss is and so does it back to me what he thinks I'm doing to him. And of course you can tell if he views your kisses or his form of kisses as affectionate. I hope this helps!!
Nov 08, 2014
 my cat bites too NEW
by: Suzanne

I have a cat I adopted from the shelter two years ago. The meanest cat in the shelter at the time. Gracie Lou lets you pet her on her own terms and if she wants to be pet, or she will nip at you and swat you and run away. She never wants to be held, so I don't annoy her and try to make a lap cat out of her. Her best friend that she generally sleeps with is a St. Bernard. They play and get along great. About a year ago Gracie took to sleeping on my chest. Sometimes she curls under the covers with me. As of about three months ago, she gets on my chest when I'm sleeping and she bites my chin. Ouch, it hurts sometimes. I push her down to my stomach and as I close my eyes she reaches and bites my chin again. This is annoying and I don't understand why it has only just started. She is 14 years old and not a kitten, so not suckling. She is fed well. We spends quality time with petting, until she hits me, so not neglected. I just can't figure it out.
Oct 08, 2014
 Listen, don't just hear... NEW
by: Mark

Ok,I currently have 10 cats, most were strays or my wife brought them home from work that someone else didn't want or couldn't keep. It does not matter what breed, Siamese, Tabby, color, nothing, treat them with love, they will give you love bites. Get over it. Hey!!! They can't say ,"I LOVE YOU!!!" Sssoooo...the give love bites. One bites my leg, several bite my fingers,a couple bite my face, those are the closest ones. Cats smell through their tongue, not their nose, ever watched one taste something, open it's mouth and breathe? It's smelling! They need to know the smell of you. They are still saying they love you. I hope this helped the ones who were curious.
Oct 08, 2014
 Listen, don't just hear... NEW
by: Mark

Ok,I currently have 10 cats, most were strays or my wife brought them home from work that someone else didn't want or couldn't keep. It does not matter what breed, Siamese, Tabby, color, nothing, treat them with love, they will give you love bites. Get over it. Hey!!! They can't say ,"I LOVE YOU!!!" Sssoooo...the give love bites. One bites my leg, several bite my fingers,a couple bite my face, those are the closest ones. Cats smell through their tongue, not their nose, ever watched one taste something, open it's mouth and breathe? It's smelling! They need to know the smell of you. They are still saying they love you. I hope this helped the ones who were curious.
Oct 02, 2014
 Kitten biting nose and chin NEW
by: Anonymous

I have a 8 month old kitten, and he does the same. He usually only does it when were laying in bed cuddling, it's only a gentle little bite on the nose, but I just wanted to know what it meant that's how I found this page. He only really does it when I stop giving him attention, or when his waking me up though.
Oct 02, 2014
 Kitten biting nose and chin NEW
by: Anonymous

I have a 8 month old kitten, and he does the same. He usually only does it when were laying in bed cuddling, it's only a gentle little bite on the nose, but I just wanted to know what it meant that's how I found this page. He only really does it when I stop giving him attention, or when his waking me up though.
Jun 11, 2014
 Expression of affection NEW
by: Anonymous

My Siamese cat, who is 4 yrs. old, only gently nips my nose and chin during the night while laying in my arm as I pet him. It is always gentle and loving and it's either because he is so content and comfortable, or he just wants to reciprocate with love and affection in the only way he can...which is with his mouth. He does also reach up to my face with his paw but usually (not always) when I've stopped stroking him. It's all good. It's all just their remarkable communication style.
Feb 23, 2014
 It's a kitty thing NEW
by: Anonymous

It doesn't seem to be a breed based action- I have a little tabby and she "love bites" my chin several times a night and also reaches up to touch my face. I actually found this post bc I was trying to figure our why she does it! It seems to be affectionate as she purrs and wants petting and love but it sure can get annoying when I'm trying to sleep!
Dec 29, 2013
 nibbler NEW
by: Anonymous

My half siamese Ravi nibbles the tip of my nose, and chin as well. I found this post looking for a reason why. I think it must be a sign of affection. He is really the sweetest doll of a cat ever, he never even puts out his claws. It's when I'm petting him, or not... He'll jump up rub his face on yours, and while purring full force and give the lightest nibble to your chin, if you will sit long enough, he will move and do the same to the tip of my nose. I think its funny, nothing sounds sweeter, and funny than him purring with his mouth open lol I just call them cat kisses, because I think he's giving me a little face kiss back for the good home, love and attention he gets. He's a very happy cat :)
Sep 09, 2013
 Biting and Licking NEW
by: Linda

My Siamese female licks my entire face and neck sometimes. The whole time she is purring. Occasionally she starts to bite my chin so I just move her face away and she stops.
Aug 21, 2013
 Cat biting my nose NEW
by: Anonymous

My cat does this to wake me up and tell me he is hungry. I feed him and he stops.
Aug 21, 2013
 Cat biting my nose NEW
by: Anonymous

My cat does this to wake me up and tell me he is hungry. I feed him and he stops.
Jun 14, 2013
 siamese symptons NEW
by: Anonymous

My siamese cat is two years old and bites my nose and chin very bizzar! It does also hert a little too I have no idea why he does this and would like to know more if any body knows????
Apr 18, 2013
 Chin nibbles NEW
by: Anonymous

I have a sweet 6 month old kitten. He is an extreme cuddler. Especially at nighttime. He is notorious for "petting" my face, and then nibbling on my chin. It doesn't hurt, and he doesn't do it with mean intentions. I think it's simply a way some kittens show affection to their human :)
Apr 11, 2013
 Chin nibbling NEW
by: Anonymous

My Siamese cat Turbo does this to me while I'm sleeping. I wake up to him nipping at my chin. Turbo only does it when I'm sleeping, so I feel he is looking for attention seeing he is purring.
Apr 02, 2013
 Kitty NEW
by: Alicia

I have wondered the same thing. Ever since ive had my cat, she has always bitten my nose on a daily bases. I don't understand why she does this, its not hard or mean. Maybe cats bite the nose of its owner to show affection. Ceicily is a very loving cat so i woud like to believe she is loving me back.
Mar 23, 2013
 confused NEW
by: michelle

Hi everyone I have an all white cat and his name is whitty and I picked him up the first time he bit my are and I was like owww why did you bite me lol then I tryed it again and he bit my chin its kind of creepy to me because some cats could be giving you a sign but I don't no how true this is eather but I love him I just really need answers I'm confused if had a lot of cats in my life and this never happened not that I can recall thanks :-)
Jan 26, 2013
 OMG my guy is not siamese but yes... NEW
by: Deanna

I recently rescued a beautiful and loving cat at my property i work at i have been kitty less for about 7 years and loved that my dog loving boyfriend fell in like lol with him too. it happens alot when i am sleeping or we are cuddling which he loves to do he will lay upside down and will purr and knead so hard i have never had a cat work his paws so hard his nails are like killer needles he will rub his mouth and face against my mouth and up the side of my face then nip at my nose or chin has even caught my lip a few times he does not seem to be doing it to hurt me but he is very persistant .. interesting so wish i knew what it meant.
Apr 15, 2012
 2 reasons NEW
by: Martin (Canada)

2 things can provoke that

1st : it is a way to express that he likes you but not that much. Not in a bad way, but in a way he keep some distance in his closeness. It usually happens when cats are in vulnerable situation like laying on the back on our belly or in our arms. He's just saying he's not the easy girl in town =)

Second: Some cats or hypensensitive. You pet them and they just purr and looks like they love it and suddenly they turn around and bite you. It happens because there's just too much sensation for them to handle and they bite you to stop. Just stroke him gently and he should be able to handle it and appreciate it.

But in your case, i believe it is first choice
Apr 13, 2012
 Thank you NEW
by: Heather

His father is half Siamese, his mother is full Siamese. It sure made for an interesting combination of kittens, which is why we ended up with four of the five!

Thank you for your responses. I'm glad to be reassured that this is a common behavior.
Apr 11, 2012
 My Lilac Point, China, is a face nipper also. NEW
by: Doris Arnold

China started doing this early on because I made the mistake of giving him a treat in the middle of the night when I'd get up to use the bathroom. I imagine he though that if he made his presence known he would get another treat....so, he either nips my nose or my lip. It doesn't really hurt but certainly wakes me up and gets my attention, for sure. I always worry about my eyes. I really think of it as love bites at this point because he hasn't ever hurt me....he's my sweet little man.
Apr 11, 2012
 Bite your nose or chin NEW
by: Beatrice

Hi Heather,

Dexter looks more like a tabby with his striated marks, are you sure he is a Siamese?

I don't know what to say, maybe he is playing with you or at least this is his form of play or maybe he wants to attract your attention.

Beatrice from Ireland.
Apr 11, 2012
 Dexter is so cute. NEW
by: Anonymous

When my Siamese female was a kitten she used to look into my eyes when I talked to her. One day I was talking to her and my husband came in. I turned to talk to my husband and my kitten bite my nose with her sharp little fangs and pulled my face back around to look at my face. She just held on to stop me turning back.
No way was she going to share her mum. I think Dexter just loves you. Dextur is such a lovley coulor.

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