face licking

Question
A few days ago I adopted a 3 month old half Siamese kitten, she is wonderful except one thing. When I am sleeping (sometimes when I'm holding her too) she licks my face (mostly my chin and nose) I think it is out of affection but it wakes me up and drives me crazy. Is there any way to stop it, or is will it pass as she gets older. Thanks  

Answer
You're right - it's probably out of affection.  Unfortunately, there's not too much you can do except to put her down when she starts the behavior if your holding her, and close her out of the bedroom at night.  If this will be the case, I really do recommend to adopt another cat, if possible.  Siamese cats are EXTREMELY social animals and they really, really need almost constant attention to be healthy emotionally.  If she isn't going to behave well enough to sleep with you, it would be ideal to find a pal she can snuggle with overnight.  

It's also possible it's a nervous behavior.  Grooming is a displacement behavior for cats in many circumstances, including stress.  Since moving to a new home is very stressful, it's extremely common to see cats begin to overgroom themselves, people, other animals, or even materials, to distract themselves from their feelings of anxiety.  It's very similar to pacing back and forth, or twiddling ones hair.

You may not be aware when a cat is stressed.  They're very good at hiding it, since their survival in the wild depends on it.  But she could be, nonetheless, even if eating and behavior are otherwise normal.  If this is the case, the behavior should die down over the next couple of weeks as she relaxes and feels more able to deal with her new surroundings.  

There's a product I always recommend for people bringing a new cat home.  It's called Feliway.  This is a synthetic facial pheromone, a hormone that causes cats to feel relaxed.  It comes in a spray bottle or a plug-in diffuser.  I prefer the diffuser because it's easier to use and fills the room with a constant supply of pheromones (which, by the way, or not detectable to you).  You can learn more and order at www.catcontrol.com.  Feliway may help resolve your issue if she's licking you due to anxiety.

Best wishes!