Why do my cats lick my fingers?

[mollyblue]

I have had many cats, and have never had a cat lick me like this before... and its not just one of my cats that does it, its 3 out of of the 4.  They lick my hands whenever the opportunity presents itself.  Sometimes they wake me up at night laying there chewing on my fingers.  One of them insists on biting my nose when she wants to wake me up, and another of them licks my face when I am petting her, and at times they "groom me" because I am brushing them... but this licking is not like those times.  For example, I can be playing on my laptop and at first they just sneak up close, and I think okay, they want to watch the screen... but soon the licking starts... gentle at first, just like on the back of my hand, but it just keeps getting more intense until the back of my hand has been licked, the palm of my hand has been licked, each finger has been licked, suckled, and nibbled and eventually it often gets into some harder biting and I have to put a stop to it... which is always met with resistance.  I sometimes feel like they are almost ready to get in a serious fight with me for the right to lick my fingers.  It is getting to the point where I have even had a couple very bad dreams about them eating my fingers while I sleep, or that I have died in my sleep and the cats are eating on me before anyone finds me.

I am a semi-new type 2 diabetic and my blood sugar is not always under the best control. I wonder if this has anything to do with it?  At first I thought perhaps I had been cooking and maybe forgot to wash my hands, but I am an avid hand washer... when I go in the kitchen to do something I wash before doing anything, and wash again before exiting...

 

[kissthisangel]

hiya, I've noticed loads of your posts around. It could be due to the salt that secretes from our skin. Some animals, particularly rodents, need salt licks as the domestic diet does not cater to the needs of the animal properly and so supplements are sold as treats. I used to Keep Mice and between 3 of them a large salt lick would last them a long time, but you could notice them licking it.

what do you feed?

 

[DreamerRose]

My cat licks my hands, too, especially after I've given him treats. In that case, he's doing it to get the residual taste from my fingers. He also licks my hands when I pet him too much (in his opinion) as a warning. He used to bite to get me to stop, now he licks instead. He also licks for affection, like grooming. Sometimes he suckles my thumb when I hold him. His eyes are half-closed and glazed. I think that must be a substitute for nursing as he loves it.

 

[mollyblue]

Our cats are fed 1/2 can each of max cat twice daily, with dry food available 24/7 (most of the time, on the rare occassion they will run out of dry food between feedings).  On occassion they also get temptations treats in the treat mouse, and a variety of other treats in this little ring toy we have that discs that slide around and cover little openings where you put the treats, so they have to manuver the little discs to get to the treats.  They have a variety of toys at their disposal, but I rotate them and when they are not in use, they are in a bag of cat nip "steeping" and they get a freshly scented cat nip toy once or twice a week.  Theo, the baby, is pretty skinny, but he is still growing and I am sure he is eating plenty, he is just getting taller than fatter.  Buttercup is fat.  She was a semi feral/stray prior to coming to live with us and she still hasn't quite gotten over her food insecurity, though we are finally past the food aggression.  The other problem with her is that she is still learning how to play and the other cats don't quite trust her to play with her very much yet so she doesn't get quite as much exercise as the others.  the other two are healthy weight.

 

[kissthisangel]

wow they sound like lucky kitties

I doubt it's the salt thing then. There's plenty in meat and dry food.

could it be learned behaviour or did they all start doing it at the same time

 

[mollyblue]

Well Tati started it first, then a few weeks later, Buttercup started, and now Theo is doing it.  Snowy doesn't lick my fingers like the others, but she does lick my face sometimes.  But I wash her face everyday (she has respiratory issues so her eyes gunk up alot and her nose is always crusty, plus she has acne - so thats why she licks my face)  Buttecup is the stray/feral, so I think maybe she is trying to get rid of the other cats scent on my hands... Not sure why Tati does it... Tati's just a freak.  Theo is Buttercup's baby, and he idolizes Tati, so he could be copying what he sees either of them doing

 

[kissthisangel]

It makes me giggle to think of you sat typing that post with all of them licking some part of you. maybe they held a meeting and decided that would be the most appropriate way to show affection

 

[mollyblue]

Oh, you would giggle if you could see me and the cats when I try to be on my laptop... Theo always tries to get everything he sees on the screen, Tati tries to get the laser light from the mouse, Buttercup just wants to play with my hands because they are moving.  Its a free for all!  I could never work from home unless I had an office and could shut them out

 

[cinqchats]

We say at the humane society, "You haz a flavor." 

(We get cats who do this pretty frequently. )