Head bonks

danteshuman

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I had one kitty that gave me kisses by touching his nose to mine. My question is what can I do to foster head bonks with Jackie? Should I even bother? Every time my face gets near him he squirms away. Should I just give him silent kisses so he gets used to my head near him? He is affectionate and uses me as furniture all the time.

I could just let it be. I know cats express affection with head bonks and I don’t want him to feel unloved.

This is Jackie using my lap for a couple hours each day, where he sleeps. At night he sleeps in his kitty bed next to my pillow. He nurses on his binkie on my lap to.
 

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Maria Bayote

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My Graham loves to press her head to my nose, my cheek, my hand, anything she can reach with her cute little head. But my other cats seem to hate doing that. When I also try to kiss them, they squirm away like a bacteria has just hovered on them.

But they do like to be scratched on the head, or stroke on the paw. I guess it is one way of letting them know I love them. Or I also blink my eyes when they stare at me. Just see which one your Jackie likes most, depending on which method he purrs the loudest. :)

I am sure he knows that you love him, with or without the head bonks. :)
 

FeebysOwner

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Gracie (RIP) used to love nose-to-nose - her 'kisses', I think. Feeby does not want any such thing, and mostly just wants me to 'get out of her face'. However, she is more than happy with 'head bonks' - that is, she can head bonk me, but it's against my leg, never my face. Feeby likes chin scratches too. And, as a daily routine, she backs up to me for 'butt pats'. So, it is just a matter of what each cat likes, and you just need to take your cues from Jackie! I will occasionally give kisses to Feeby on her neck - she tolerates it but I am sure she is glad I only do it for a second or two!
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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I had one kitty that gave me kisses by touching his nose to mine. My question is what can I do to foster head bonks with Jackie? Should I even bother? Every time my face gets near him he squirms away. Should I just give him silent kisses so he gets used to my head near him? He is affectionate and uses me as furniture all the time.

I could just let it be. I know cats express affection with head bonks and I don’t want him to feel unloved.

This is Jackie using my lap for a couple hours each day, where he sleeps. At night he sleeps in his kitty bed next to my pillow. He nurses on his binkie on my lap to.
Some cats don't "do" nose kisses. But you could try some other form of head bonking. My cat Milly didn't used to do any greetings in this way, but we did start to develop one sort of greeting by accident. When I'm sitting at my computer and she comes right up next to the keyboard and sits by me, she'll lower her head and I'll either lean over to kiss her forehead or bonk her forehead with my own forehead. (She's pretty much telling me she wants some Dinner, but it's an acceptable forehead bonking moment nonetheless!)
 

Azazel

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I think you can't force it. If he doesn't like to do it then let it be. It's like humans who don't like to hug or be affectionate. I'm sure he will show his love for you in other ways.
 

She's a witch

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My girl seems genuinely uneasy when we move face too close to her; I don’t know her history so not sure if she was feral or stray when we found her, but it’s so unlike her character, that I have a theory that it’s ingrained in her dna that humans are predators after all and it’s not impossible that I will bite her head off... I keep telling her that I’m vegetarian and it seems to be working, as recently she head bumped me on my face twice, 2.5 years after being with us. I’d never forced this, as I don’t believe that forcing a cat to do anything will ever work, usually it’s quite the opposite that works, as it was in my case. Will she keep doing it regularly, I don’t know, I hope so, I love it too. Luckily my other cat gives me lots of kisses :)
 

rubysmama

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I could just let it be. I know cats express affection with head bonks and I don’t want him to feel unloved.
I'll just say, be careful what you wish for. ;) Ruby's a head bonker, which I do generally adore, however, I'm not so fond of it when she head bonks me in the middle of the night waking me from a deep sleep. :sleep2:
 
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danteshuman

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Jackie was a feral for the first month of his life. I know he loves me and he knows I love him ... I just wish I could express love in cat speak to him.
 

She's a witch

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I'll just say, be careful what you wish for. ;) Ruby's a head bonker, which I do generally adore, however, I'm not so fond of it when she head bonks me in the middle of the night waking me from a deep sleep. :sleep2:
I’ll add to this my boy, who is a head bonker, but also he has watery eyes and wet nose occasionally; needles to say where these liquids often end up..
 

rubysmama

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I know he loves me and he knows I love him ... I just wish I could express love in cat speak to him.
I think you must be expressing that love in a "speak" he understands, if those precious pics of him on your lap are any indication. :redheartpump: Does he let you brush him, or pet his fur, or scratch his neck?
 
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danteshuman

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Oh yeah he loves attention & petting from me!!! He loves to be on my lap for hours every day. Plus he demands I pet him as he nurses his binkie/blanket in his bed next to my pillows, every night before bed. ( Or as he nurses on his binkie on my lap.) Plus when he demands play, he is super gentle. When he attacks my legs while I’m trying to pee, sitting on the toilet. (For which I gently pull him off and usually pick him up.) Yes he even demands I pet him in the bathroom. He is a very cuddly kitty!
 
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