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Can Kitties Kiss? Just Look into Their Eyes ...

Posted Tue, May 29, 2007, 10:00 am PDT

You may or may not be aware of cat kisses, but they're something cat lovers have talked about for years. Some believe in them and some don't. I happen to be a believer in the ever-subtle -- but extremely endearing -- cat kiss.

If you're envisioning your favorite feline puckering up and planting a whisker-tickling smooch on your cheek, you're on the wrong track. A cat kiss is actually a very slow blink of the cat's eyelids.

Cat kisses are given to other cats, and to some lucky humans. It's usually reserved for a companion with whom the cat is familiar and friendly. You can even return a cat kiss with your own slow blink.

The next time you're sitting on the couch and your kitty is relaxed on the chair across the room, pay close attention -- because she may be offering a cat kiss. Her posture will be relaxed with her facial muscles also relaxed. Her eyelids will ever-so-gently close and reopen. You've just been kissed!

Don't attempt cat kisses with unfamiliar cats or ones who are stressed and anxious. You don't want to offer a direct stare to an unhappy or conflicted kitty. Reserve cat kisses for those relaxed and happy moments with the cats in your life.

When my first child was a baby, I would exchange cat kisses with my cats while I was busy bottle-feeding my daughter. I believe it helped my cats feel connected to me while I was occupied doing things in which they couldn't participate.

Have you been kissed today?

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468 Comments

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1. dbbgood - 2:46AM on 05/30/07

My 2 Kitties always give me kitty kisses but my orange tabby loves it when I lie down to sleep... he comes up to me and gives my nose 3 licks then throws his body next to mine. I just love them! db
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2. Kristina - 6:21AM on 05/30/07

I can't honestly say that i've ever been kitty-kissed. Most likely I have, because I have 8 cats, but i've never noticed. This is my first time hearing of a "cat-kiss". My kitties are boldy affectionate and demand attention. Usually I just get little bodies wraped around my ankles while i'm standing, or head butted while i'm laying down or sitting! I'll have to try and give kitty-kisses with my babies, and notice if I ever get them myself!
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3. jan y. - 6:23AM on 05/30/07

Instead of kisses, my girl likes to lick my fingers. She also loves talking to me when she comes up on the bed at night before she lays down next to my head to sleep
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4. tlrflash - 8:41AM on 05/30/07

get kittykisses all the time and if she likes you shell kiss you,vey loving cat she growles if she dont like you
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5. - 10:26AM on 05/30/07

I leaerned about kitty kisses when I got my newest buddy of 8 years now. He also will lick my nose, my eyes, and my hairline! especially. He too likes to sleep, but on top of my face and head. We move around a lot to get ready for sleep that satisfies us both!
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6. tojamessmailbox - 10:57AM on 05/30/07

my girls try to give me a bath yes before we crawl into bed
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7. tojamessmailbox - 10:58AM on 05/30/07

my girls try to give me a bath yes before we crawl into bed
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8. Vyrien - 10:58AM on 05/30/07

I get lots of slow blinks, sure, but I have one feline baby who loves to rub his lips against me like he's shooting for the human kiss! He'll do it when I kiss at him, or ask for a kiss...it's usually only when he's hanging out across the room he'll "kiss" me by his eyes.
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9. - 11:01AM on 05/30/07

My sweet kitty gives me kisses all the time, little light licks on the tip of my nose or earlobe, she rubs against me and will plop down next to me and put her paw on my cheek. She also talks to me and chirps - I can tell when she's happy, agitated, hungry, needs love......... I love my cat so much.
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10. harleycat2106 - 11:04AM on 05/30/07

My cat does more than kitty kisses. I pucker my lips and he licks them with his tounge and he only does it to me! It's so cute! I know he thinks as me as his mommy because I saved him as a kitten with his eyes barely open and now he is spoilded! So he give me the kisses in return!
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11. heth365 - 11:11AM on 05/30/07

My cats do this all the time, but I didn't realize it was a kitty kiss. One also gives me love bites. She'll place her teeth ever so gently on my hand to hold it, then she licks my hand and arm purring all the way.
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12. Karen L - 11:14AM on 05/30/07

My cat and I rub noses and she actually touches me with her musle as a kiss also.
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13. mimi - 11:23AM on 05/30/07

my kitty gives me kisses by slamming her forehead on my mouth. I used to kiss her head when she was a baby so now when she hears the "kissy sound" she literally slams her head onto to my chin and gets her kisses. lol! she's definitely still my little baby. They do understand kisses and definitely want them and give them back.
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14. scaldwell364 - 11:24AM on 05/30/07

I don't know if what my cat does is out of love or just honery. When it's time for me to wake up, she will come nibble on my nose, or start digging in my hair, like she's grooming me. It doesn't hurt, so I like to think she's telling me she loves me.
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15. Christina W - 11:24AM on 05/30/07

Oh. I just thought my cats were giving me the "oh mom, whatever" look. My big kitty Zoe gives me cat kisses all the time then. Sometimes I would mock her and do the slow blink so I was kissing back. That is so cool. With my little kitty Max we butt heads-gently and then I'll rub his forhead with mine. He starts purring and kneeding right away. Their so good.
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16. Sharon R - 11:33AM on 05/30/07

My cats do this sometimes, but more often they prefer air kisses. Either I'll initiate a pucker and they (with mouth closed) bring it just a hair away from my lips, hold for a few seconds and then back up. One even will do it a few times right in a row. Other times they'll initiate by stretching towards my face or getting right in my face until I do the pucker. They won't leave until I do.
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17. Nini - 11:38AM on 05/30/07

I have had many cats in my lifetime and I always thought this was just a game that we played. Now I know and feel so special that we shared these moments. We would literally play for hours going back and forth with the slow blinking. I just thought it was so cute. Thank for the info!
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18. mandytiger66 - 11:39AM on 05/30/07

Yes. My 14 year-old boy Tiger does it fairly often. I'll look up and he'll be staring at me and then slowly blink!
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19. dewsomething - 11:52AM on 05/30/07

my love of ten years Disney does this to me all the time...I had heard of kitty kisses....but nothing beats getting one when things are not going right and he just looks at me and blinks ever so slowly then comes to me so i can pet him....that's when I know all is right with the world again
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20. amongthevines - 11:56AM on 05/30/07

What a wonderful thing to find out. I have noticed that when I lay down or if I stare at my kitty from across the room, she'll slowly blink. I always thought it meant she was bored or uninterested. I have on the other hand trained her to do quasi human kisses. I pucker my lips and she sniffs them, it's so cute.
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21. andrea e - 12:01PM on 05/30/07

My kitty does this all of the time and I never knew what it meant. Usually he gives me kisses by putting his nose on my lips whenever I make a kissing sound. He's so sweet!
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22. Chelsie S - 12:03PM on 05/30/07

My Sylvie is awesome she does this all the time. I am the only one though. Alsoi I pucker up for her making kisses noises and she comes and kisses my lips then does the whole eye thing the goes on her way. She is also one of those that loves to sleep right next to my head. She is such a joy to have in my life I love her very much.
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23. mordieth666 - 12:03PM on 05/30/07

from what i reserched into cat behavior, this has been described as a form of dominance. I read that when you look a cat that you own, or that is running around the street, and look into its eyes that you are challenging its dominance. Additionally when you close your eyes slowly it means that you are showing your dominance with said cat. being that i have done this with many cats, not just my own, i tend to agree. Cats that you do this to will be more friendly, or will avoid you if they are strays. i do this to every cat that i bring home, and so far i have never had a problem with it. As for this beeing "cat kisses" i highly doubt it. I think some cat owners are just interperating their cats body language wrong, making things up to seem cuter than they are, not that cats arent the most adorable creature out there(besides Puppys). Remeber just cause humans kiss, doesnt mean any other animals do. Forms of affection from cats fall in the form of rubbing, being rubbed, kneeding, grooming(licking)and a few other things, that might differ from cat to cat.
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24. Amy T. - 12:08PM on 05/30/07

My kitties do this all the time but I didn't know that's what it "meant"! cute :) my female kitty will also give little licks when she's happy and purring or being "flirty." Is that similar to a human kiss too?
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25. Sally Di - 12:10PM on 05/30/07

I have 4 cats, and I love them all! My Charlie cat often "kisses" me from across the room, (I call it flirting!), but the others, Chaz, Cady and Clarisse, prefer the up-close-and-personal type kisses! I consider myself blessed that they are a part of my life.
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26. stony1111 - 12:26PM on 05/30/07

mordieth666, I think you're wrong about the dominance-thing. My cat is VERY dominant over me and I know when he wants it acknowledged. At those times I lower my eyes and look away and this calms him and satisfies him. He does do the "cat-kiss" blink with me and with my husband, who is definitely the leader of the pack and my cat knows it. He only does the blink to me when he is in a calm, good mood so I know it's not because he feels a need to be the dominant one. When he wants to feel dominant he stares me down...no blinks whatsoever...and if I fail to look away and continue to stare at him, he charges me and bites me. He's my little prince and he owns me and I know it and love it!
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27. William T - 12:27PM on 05/30/07

SCARY, BUT INTERESTING
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28. Danielle - 12:32PM on 05/30/07

My baby does the head butting too. I think I have recieved these "kitty kisses" but I am not sure. It's amazing too me the way cats communicate with us. One of ours licks you to death, the other talks, and then mine head butts. It's so fun.
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29. mcg0722 - 12:35PM on 05/30/07

My 18 yr old Sylvester does a range of things including the eyes. He rams me in the face with his head, nibbles me when I stop petting him for a moment, croaks to get my attention and swats my leg, sometimes sitting back on his hind legs and stretching up to hit my hand when I'm at the computer, then starts his LOUD purring in my ear and nibbling my nose when I sleep. funny little cat...
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30. Maya - 12:38PM on 05/30/07

My big baby likes to rub the side of his face on my chin, first one side and then the other. He gets so into it he even drools on my, but I'm not sure I want to know what that means, lol! I'll have to notice if he does the slow-blink thing when he's in the same room but not sitting on me.
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