How do I stop my cat from kneading on my face?!

[mockera]

My 5 year old kitty, Chica, constantly kneads on things. It used to be that she only kneaded on my stomach or legs when laying on my lap, but lately (within the last month) she's started kneading on my face when I'm sleeping or trying to go to sleep. She will climb up onto my chest or the pillow and just knead, which usually wakes me up or prevents me from sleeping.

I realize that kneading is considered an affectionate behavior in cats, as it is what they would do as kittens to stimulate the mother's milk, but it is REALLY painful and annoying when she does it on my face, especially when I'm sleeping. More times than once, I've accidentally smacked her because she startled my awake by kneading on me and I didn't process what was causing the pain at first. It's not just at night either, anytime I lay down anywhere, she will come to me and try to knead on my face.

I can't think of anything that has changed that would cause her to start doing it. I spend the same amount of time with her as I used to and she is free fed, so she always has food in her bowl. I've tried trimming her nails, and it is still painful even with them shorter (especially when she hooks my eyelid - ouch!), I've tried locking her out of my room at night but she just scratches at the door, and I've tried gently disciplining her and redirecting her behavior (trying to get her to knead somewhere else instead), but nothing seems to work!

I love my cat a lot, but I really want her to stop this behavior and I'm not sure how to get her to stop. Does anyone have any suggestions? 

 

[raquelmaria15]

Wow this sounds like a difficult situation. Maybe try getting up and avoiding her each time she starts kneading so this will train her to not associate kneading with attention. That's probably what she's doing, looking for attention. Getting up and leaving would get the message across that what she's doing doesn't interest you at all, negatively nor positively. Hopefully she might stop the behavior once she sees she doesn't get the attention she wants.
Of course, this would take time, patience, and consistency. Good luck!

 

[rubysmama]

I wonder if screaming "ooowww" really loud would let her know she's hurting you.   I had read about trying that when a cat bites or scratches and I actually tried it a couple months ago.  Ruby tends to paw at me and gently bite when she wants me to get up and feed her in the morning.  One morning she bit too hard and a tooth punctured my skin and actually drew a drop of blood.   It hurt and I literally screamed "ooowww".    My scream really freaked her out and she crawled back under the covers and left me alone for a while.  She still paws at me in the morning, but if she bites it's back to the friendly gentle type.

Not sure if it would work in your case, but it's worth a try.

 

[desmoto]

Hi there!  My cat does the exact same thing!  Only at night (usually around 1, and again around 4 or 5 in the morning).  He head butts me pretty hard a couple times, then kneads my face.  Even if I put my blankets or pillows between us, he still manages to get to my face with his paws!

I really don't know what to do -- I don't want to do something that would cool his affection towards me (we are very close, and he is very affectionate), but this behavior is really disrupting my sleep and is painful.  

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!