Such a pretty kitty

[readsalot]

When I left the house this morning there was a very friendly fluffy grey cat on my porch. He? She? I'm going to say she. She was very happy to be petted, and she rubbed against my legs and even licked my hand a little when was petting her. (And sharpened her claws on my nice doormat, sigh.) After all the petting, I really needed to wash my hands, but she was prepared to follow me into the house, so I gave up. (I love cats, but I became horribly allergic to them in the mid-80s, which is why I absolutely cannot have one in the house.)

I can often pet a cat for a couple of minutes with no problem, but not today; I don't know if it was the fluff, or pollen in the air, or what, but my eyes were itching until I got into work and was able to wash my hands and put drops in my eyes. Still worth it, though.

Does anyone know what it means when a cat licks you? When a dog does it, I think it's a sign of submission and/or affection, but I'm not so sure about cats.

Comments

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

Cats are social groomers, so I tend to interpret it as affection. Except for one of my cats who licked my toes only to indicate that he felt it was past time he got fed breakfast (and he escalated to nipping if I didn't respond promptly).

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

Thanks, it's good to know that it was a sign of affection.

I don't know why this cat should be affectionate to me--I think I saw her once, previously, during the winter, when she tried to follow me into the house and it took me some little time to find a way of getting in without being followed (which did make me feel slightly guilty, because it was a cold day, but only slightly guilty, because I didn't want to make myself sick.)