Weird Night Behavior

bananacat01

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My cat has slept with me since the first night I adopted him. Normally he sleeps either curled up next to me or on my pillow behind my head. Lately, he's taken to waking me up by poking me in the face. Then as soon as I'm awake, he then lays directly on top of my face and starts purring effectively smothering me. I know my cat isn't actually trying to kill me (I hope), but I really need to find out how to stop this behavior. If I push him off, he waits till I'm asleep then pokes me and lays on my face again. If I put him in his carrier or put him out of the room, he yowls. It isn't like he's trying to play, he's trying to sleep... on my face. But I need sleep! Please advise.
 

tamgirl99

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I sleep with my head under the covers and my kitty can't get to me that way. If this bothers you to sleep that way, you might want to at least try putting your head under the covers when the cat first pokes you. I think it gives them a sign to leave you alone. Then when the cat walks off you can take your head back out. At least it works that way with my cat.
 

catlover73

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I have two cats that occassionally try to sleep on my face. I usually just move the cat off my face and put him or her next to me. This usually happens when I am watching tv. I sleep on my side so it does not happen once I roll over. How old is your cat. My 1 year old female used to do this a lot when she was a baby but has pretty much outgrown the habbit. My other cat will sleep on my side once I roll over. I am lucky my third cat does not try to sleep on my face. My adult cat that tries to sleep on my face occassionly stops after he gets moved a few times.
 
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bananacat01

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George is a little over 2. If I turn on my side he snuggles right up to my face so I'm still smothered, and oddly if I hide under the covers, he follows.
 

buzbyjlc10

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Oliver does the paw in the face too haha, it's kinda cute (unless he's lost a soft paw and snags me with a talon) like "hey mama wake up!" - the one morning it was adorable, he pawed me squared on the nose, like "beep! got your nose!" - he doesn't try to sit on my face but his face lights up when I open my eyes, so I usually just scoop him up into a snuggle under my arm and he'll usually just lay there and fall back asleep... so maybe try the forced snuggle in your arms and see if he stays there instead
 

piccadilly

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Pippin sort of does this (he hasn't attempted to sleep on my face, but he will wake me by touching my face). I've learned that what he wants is to be let in under the covers. I lift up the covers, he crawls under and settles in essentially in my lap (I often lay on my side and he snuggles in as though he wants to spoon with me). He does some major kneading of my stomach and settles in to sleep. You could try something similar. It is obvious he wants to sleep as near to you as he can get.
 

mrblanche

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I once heard an expert say that as a rule of thumb, if a cat touches your face, it wants to go outside, and if it touches your hand, it wants food. Or maybe it was the other way around....

As I said before, who knows what goes on in these little peanut brains?
 

courtney_ou

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chloe used to sleep across my neck when she was small. as she got too big she quit doing it. she still sleeps on my chest occasionally but usually she sleeps with her butt under my arm pit and her head on my thigh (shes a LARGE kitty)
patchy likes to sleep on my face, though. she likes to put her butt right by my eye. a couple of nights ago i made her mad because it struck me that we were sleeping "brown eye to green eye" and i started laughing and shaking her, which disturbed her slumber. (shes very cranky ^.^) it really wouldnt bother me if she didnt have 5" long curly fur and a long bottle-brush bushy tail that she wraps around my face.
i tried the pillow on the head thing. it scares chloe and she cries. patchy, however, stuck her head under the pillow, realized i was awake and punched me in the face. i started laughing, which i assume made her mad because she then straddled my pilllow and tried to smother me. seriously. she ever stuck her her back under and checked on my 2 or 3 times while trying to suffocate me.
did i mention my kitties were VERY spoiled?
 

buzbyjlc10

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Originally Posted by courtney_ou

patchy, however, stuck her head under the pillow, realized i was awake and punched me in the face. i started laughing, which i assume made her mad because she then straddled my pilllow and tried to smother me. seriously. she ever stuck her her back under and checked on my 2 or 3 times while trying to suffocate me.
did i mention my kitties were VERY spoiled?
OMG that had me rolling! I can just see your kitty punching you in the face! Oliver would soooo do that too!
 

cococat

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I am really sorry to say this but your cat sounds very normal, not weird at all
 

courtney_ou

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Originally Posted by BuzbyJLC10

OMG that had me rolling! I can just see your kitty punching you in the face! Oliver would soooo do that too!
patchy is known for punching ppl. one night my mom was standing in the kitchen with ehr hands on her hips griping at me (you know how moms are lol) and patchy kept yowling at her for food. mom stopped midsentence and said "was i talking to you?" and patches got all bristled up and punched her in the ankle. i almost lost it. it wasnt a swipe with the paw, mind you. it was a straight out jab! mom couldnt stay mad any more and of course patchy got food.
 
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