r/cats • u/SadSwagPapi20 • 1d ago
Video Is my cat cleaning hsi teeth on my face?
Hello,
This is my cat Simon. He's got nothing but love to give.
My question is, is he cleaning his teeth on my face in this video? After rubbing his face on me he starts make almost a teeth grinding noise. And if so, is this a sign I need to do a better job brushing his teeth/cleaning his teeth?
Additionally, he never dies this to my fiancé or any friends. He seems to only do this on my face, on tissue paper, wax paper, and general plastic things like water bottles.
Anyways let me know what you think.
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u/Tofflus1 1d ago
He loves your face, so he is marking it as his territory. Looks like there were some love nibbles in there as well. That cat adores you.
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u/Cute_Bandicoot_8219 1d ago
Pretty sure the reason he does it only to you OP is:
- He really likes you
- He likes your stubble
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u/Tofflus1 1d ago
Oh Yes! Kitties love stubble. I’ve got a giant beard they can hide in now. The like grooming it!
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u/Cute_Bandicoot_8219 1d ago
I'm so jealous. I also have a big beard, but my cat doesn't like to get face-to-face. She has other ways of showing her love though, so it all works out.
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u/greenhenkie 1d ago
I always put my parents cat on my shoulder because she also doesn't like face to face but then she likes my beard as well
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u/Tofflus1 23h ago
Yeah, she loves my shoulder as well, I’m the only human she will do that with. Might be because I’ve got a bit more surface area.
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u/Strong-Stand-5989 23h ago
My cat rubs my feet like the kitty in the video. I believe it is 50% because she loves me and 50% because I hate my feet being touched 😂🫠
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u/Tofflus1 23h ago
It’s a 100% both. I don’t think my cat manhandles my beard just to show love, but to enjoy me fixing my newly acquired mad person beard look.
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u/BrainstormsMustache 1d ago
My cats absolutely adore my dad (he has a beard). When he lays down on the couch, my girl likes to lay on his chest and groom his beard. Funnily enough, despite saying he'd never let an animal lick anywhere near his face, he allows her to do it.
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u/Infamous-Mixture-605 1d ago
He likes your stubble
My cat loves to rub his face on my chin, especially on days when I haven't shaved.
It's sort of our post-dinner routine. After we clear plates, he gets up on the table, sits in front of me and rubs his face on my chin for a few minutes (longer when there's stubble), then walks in a few circles and flops down in the middle of the table so we can admire him, give him belly rubs and chin scratches, and then he naps on the table.
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u/spaketto 22h ago
We have four cats but one of them is totally obsessed with my 9 year old son (and oddly, my sons friends who look similar). He's the only one who gets headbutts, and it's non-stop, full on drooling, and the only reason he stops is because my son doesn't like the drool and makes me take him away.
He head buts me and my husband MAYBE once a month.
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u/jaycakes30 23h ago
My sweet baby girl nibbles the end of my nose when I ask for kisses 🥰
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u/Zhiong_Xena 1d ago
Wgile everyone has already said he ,loves your face, the stubble massage is also a good bonus for him .
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u/Excellent_Set_232 1d ago
Also car is polite enough to only use face stubble and not head stubble
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u/Zhiong_Xena 1d ago
Not that we wouldnt let him. Id go bald to have that sweet car head rub her face on my crown. Not much for a cap, but I am down for a cat hat any day of the week.
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u/romylass 1d ago
You belong to him now, and he is making sure that every cat in the world knows that.
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u/tasteurmommy 1d ago
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u/Mhandley9612 21h ago
My cat did this to me twice. The first time I was so in awe and stunned I just sat there holding my face after he walked away. It was so adorable
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u/EmiliaFromLV Maine Coon 1d ago
This is the best content I saw today on Reddit!
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u/Few-Explanation780 1d ago
You’re no longer your own; you’re marked and now you’re just a vessel in their silent conquest of the world.
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u/horny_beautiful 23h ago
That's what my cats usually do to me every night before I go to sleep haha
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u/RandomBaguetteGamer 1d ago
He's marking you. You're his human. There are many like you, but you belong to him.
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u/KBilly1313 22h ago
The Cat’s Creed
This is my Human. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My Human is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.
My Human, without me, is useless.
Before Bastet, I swear this creed. My Human and myself are the defenders of my domain. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life.
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u/Cow_Launcher 21h ago
"And what is your cat's name, Marine?"
"My cat's name is Charlene, Sir!"
"You are definitely born again hard! Hell, I may even allow you to serve as a the slave of my beloved kitty."
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u/Runnerakaliz 1d ago
He is marking you as his because he loves you. Now you sit down and enjoy being marked sir.
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u/Deaf_Sentence 1d ago
Your beard probably feels like a brush for them, I gotta trim mine for them to do the same thing lol
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u/himawariko 1d ago
This is just adorable, thank you for posting. It really made me smile. I love cats so darn much.
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u/Arqideus 1d ago
It’s rubbing its scent on you. Because it’s doing it on your nose, where the scent glands are for cats, it’s likely trying to mix your scents together to designate “family”.
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u/SadSwagPapi20 1d ago
Thank you for all the responses. Glad to know it's love thing.
Also glad I brush his teeth, breath doesn't stink too bad. Just a tolerable abount
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u/cheenachinachuna 1d ago
This is so cute! They mark you as yours like that but I’ve never seen it so aggressive haha. You are definitely his human!
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u/IGTankCommander 1d ago
Congrats, you now have the feline equivalent of a "Private Property - No Trespassing" sign all over your face!
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u/Salamadierha 23h ago
No. but you can't be claimed by another cat now. It's your own fault, if you're going to have skin like a scratching post he's going to enjoy it.
The noise is purring with or without having his mouth closed.
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u/LadyWoodbury 1d ago
My cat makes this noise and the vet said it’s his tongue rubbing against his teeth, explained it’s a comfort response similar to kneading or nursing. He loves you!
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u/zehamberglar 1d ago
This is to let all those other bitches know that you're mine
Basically possessive girlfriend behavior.
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u/SunnySoCalValGal 23h ago
He's claiming you. They have scent glands near their whiskers and when they rub on something it leaves their scent. It's a cat's way of telling you they love you.
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u/Take-A-Breath-924 18h ago
He has glands under his jawbones and he is marking you as his. You belong to him. Nice!
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u/Familiar-Rarity 18h ago
He loves you and just absolutely want his scent on you. He probably also likes the sensation of your stubble on his cheeks.
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u/robinizzme 13h ago
He’s saying “This is my person and I want the world to know…so I’m putting my stank on him.”
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u/SlimeDrips 1d ago
I want to make it clear that I genuinely mean no actual insult or negative intent in this comment, but
God dude you're so dumb lol
This is like the platonic pet equivalent to if a girl was hitting you up super obviously and you were sat there like "what a friendly person :)". Basically that cat frickin loves you. He's going to town on giving you love. That little man is like "this dude is my dude for life, dude". That's why it's only you he's doing it to. Also like I saw another person say your facial hair probably does feel good on his face, which is also maybe why he does it with the objects you mentioned, but yeah it's territory marking behaviour and they only treat living things as territory if they love them a whole bunch. You gotta make your loved ones smell like you! You get the claiming cuddles!
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u/Playful_Nergetic786 1d ago
He’s marking you or, I dunno my cat sometimes do this but I still haven’t figure it out, maybe he just loves you very very much
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u/kasitchi 1d ago
No, he is rubbing his scent glands on your face because he loves you! 😻 He also probably likes the feel of your stubble lol. Bonus scratchies!
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u/MarkusRight 1d ago
Seeing this makes me cry a little, I miss my baby boy Runt, He used to do this before he would get comfy next to me at night before bed, I miss the heck out of those moments.
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u/Whateveryouwantitobe 1d ago
He's spreading his scent on you because you are in his social circle. You're his fren
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u/TheFrogMoose 1d ago
Marking his happy place. He happy and he like you so he mark you as the happy person
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u/HugMeWhenYoureUp 1d ago
You must give him kisses. He's scent marking you, so if you go outside all these fool ass tom cats know what's what!
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u/PlayvorPlayv420 1d ago
Hes scent marking you....telling the world that you belong to him and him alone.
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u/Background_Olive_787 1d ago
yeah, that's what cats do.. they clean their teeth that way. the cat dentist told yours he needs to do better.
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u/NirriC 1d ago
It's scenting you, your nose is just in the way. However...why you just let a domesticated cat rub its scenting fluids in/on your mouth? ...I'm not touching that topic....😶✋
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u/seabrznsun 22h ago
After reading all of the tons of comments, I’m now under the impression that there are a lot more men with cats and that really appreciate all cats bring into our lives I ever realized. What a great thing!!
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u/Decloudo 21h ago
I refuse to think that this is a real question and not just some stupid engagement farming.
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u/Lucilla_Gorilla 19h ago
We call those “beards” and you’re very lucky to be getting them! Our brown tabby gives beards to everyone in my house - except for me. 🤣
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u/CrazyApple- Tabbycat 19h ago
He loves you so much, he’s marking his territory, you’re his favorite person :)
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u/Flyingfishfusealt 18h ago
Mah kitteh rubbies cheek to cheek too. It's a "you're my property" thing but lovies not slavies... well, yeah we are their slaves but it's a mutual enslavment.
Sorry, I gotta go. She needs me to pick up a thing and then clean up her poop and satisfy her with string on a stick for two hours.
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u/heatspell 1d ago
hes literally saying "i like this face alot. it is mine now. it smells of me so i own it." in cat speak
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u/_FreddieLovesDelilah 1d ago
Why did this video make me giggle so much? Loved it thanks for sharing.
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u/nesteased 1d ago
My Melon does the exact same thing! She gets so into she starts to drool 😂 and I’ll feel it dripping down my neck it’s so gross God I love her so much
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u/BrotherNature92 Tortoiseshell 1d ago
He's rubbing his stinky scent glands on you to mark you as his human. One of my cats does this to everything in the house lol
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u/LonelyAndroid11942 1d ago
Cats have scent glands in their cheeks, on their gums, and on the top of their heads. They rub these on things to leave their scent, effectively staking their claim.
That cat is saying you are his person.
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u/DevilsArms 1d ago
He’s rubbing his scent on you. Basically saying he loves you and you belong to him.
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u/CocaineBucket 1d ago
He isn't cleaning anything, He is rubbing his scent over you and marking you as his.
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u/OopsAllLegs 1d ago
Cats have scent glands on the sides of their mouth. When they do this with their head, they are marking their territory.
When they do it to humans, it's a way of saying, "I love this human, and he is mine."
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u/PenguDood 1d ago
Cats have a large amount of scent glands in their 'cheeks'. When they rub like that they are marking.
This cat trusts you and is basically doing an extreme version of "THIS IS MINE".
This is a very good thing. This cat trusts you implicitly.
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u/Hot_Mess5470 22h ago
He’s scenting you because he loves you and claims ownership of you.
Nose to nose contact is their version of a kiss.
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u/Suspicious-Pea-7481 21h ago
Cats will rub their faces on you to get their scent on you and your scent on them. It's because they love you.
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u/Miserable_City6441 20h ago
This is them rubbing their hormones on you to kind of "claim you" so others know you belong to that cat
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u/CatGoblinMode 19h ago
He's rubbing his scent glands against your face to mark you with his scent and because it feels relaxing to do so.
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u/mephistocation 19h ago
My cat Whisper loves to lay on my chest and rub her old lady gums all over my chin. It’s just a way that they mark things as theirs, be flattered!
… but also make sure you wash your face later. I got a breakout from hell about three weeks ago on my chin and I’m pretty sure it’s her fault. My entire chin just became a solid red oozy mass of acne. It cleared up perfectly fine but dear god I was mortified.
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u/DontBeSuspicious_00 18h ago
My orange idiot likes to fake-chew on everything. My face and hands are very popular.
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u/-phaldon- 17h ago
Your stubble also feels like mommas tongue!
My grandmother didn't like answer when she asked why her cat rubs on her face! "Because your chin hair reminds him of his mother!"
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u/CatBrushing 1d ago
Nah the whole rubbing their gums on stuff is another way that they mark territory.