At 12:30, this morning, Madoc decided he wanted to wash my face

[Siwsan]

Now, I had washed it before going to bed AND I had taken something to help me sleep so I was deep in dozeville.

I can't complain, though. He did a very good job and it was just more confirmation that he loves me.

[hlthe2b]

1. He wants his mama to smell like him. Now you do.

[niyad]

3. awwwwww. What a sweet and thoghtful gesture.

[wnylib]

2. Since you took something to help you sleep and you were

in a very deep sleep state, maybe Madoc was trying to "revive" you.

[niyad]

4. A most interesting point.

[wnylib]

5. I once had a male ginger tabby, Leo, who

started to watch me as I fell asleep. As soon as I reached the transition from drowsy to actually sleeping, he tapped my face and nudged me awake.

He did that every night for a while, but eventually I would get so exhausted that I'd sleep through his wake-ups and he gave up trying.

I never knew why he tried to keep me awake. Once he stopped doing that, he switched to snuggling up very close under my chin, and going to sleep with me. When I shifted position during the night, I could feel him shifting to accommodate me and continue leaning against me.

I got Leo from a friend who found him alone and huddled under her car when he was about 2 months old. He was weak and distended from worms. She cared for him a few months before giving him to me when he was 5 or 6 months old (judging from the degree of testicle descent). I'm guessing that he had abandonment and anxiety issues from losing his mother and litter and then being transferred from my friend's home to mine.

[niyad]

6. He sounds likehe was a sweet baby, and you are quite right about his issues.

One of our members has said several times that their beloved cat has saved their life waking them up in a medical crisis.

Our beloved furry ones take good care of us.

[wnylib]

10. Fortunately for me, I did not have any health issues that would have

caused Leo to feel that he had to wake me. He seemed to have a very strong need to feel connected and that connection was "broken" for him when I went to sleep.

He was the most affectionate cat that I've ever known. When awake, he always had to have a physical connection with me. He either curled up on my lap, or lay down near me with one paw stretched out to physically touch me.

[Siwsan]

7. My first 2, Sophie and Boudicca, were rescued from a drug addicted teacher. It was a bad situation

She taught at the same school as my sister and was on the watch list for all hospital and walk in emergency clinics in the county. I believe Oxy was her main drug.

Anyway, when I first brought the girls home, almost every time I'd take a nap they'd jump on me. It happened at night, sometimes, but usually during the day.

It made me think that they maybe, since their previous human was out of it, most of the time, they connected humans sleeping in the daylight with them not getting fed. After a couple of weeks of living with a fully functioning human, they dropped that behavior.

Just to show how bad that situation was, she was a hoarder and NEVER cleaned litter boxes. When her friends, my sister among them, would come over to check on her, they'd take care of it. The cats basically tunneled into the piles of stuff and hid. She also had a dog that she never took outside. She figured he'd use the litter boxes, too. Fortunately the dog was rescued by one of my sister's friends.

[wnylib]

9. OMG. How awful for everyone, cats, dog, and addicted teacher.

My friend who took Leo in was devoted to caring for him. Like you, she rescues strays and finds homes for them. She lavished him with so much affection that he bonded strongly with her. I think he missed her attention and being away from her triggered some earlier anxiety that he had from being alone and abandoned when she found him. We guessed that his mother and litter mates had died, or that he'd been a pet who got lost or abandoned.

Each time that he woke me and I opened my eyes, he was sitting with his face directly over mine, staring at my face.

As a side point, my friend is a naturalized American citizen from Mexico. She spoke Spanish to Leo all the time. So I started using Spanish with him. When I said things to him in Spanish, like, "Such a good boy," and "Handsome kitty," he would roll onto his back and wiggle with joy, waiting for a belly rub. Eventually, he responded to both English and Spanish. Or maybe it was just the tone of voice.

[2naSalit]

11. That's what I thought too.

[iscooterliberally]

8. About 20 years ago my wife and I brought a baby kitten home from a pet store.

On that very first day she sat on my chest and gave my entire face a bath. One hasn't lived unit one has had their face bathed by a cat. Her little sandpaper tongue felt amazing. Talk about exfoliation!

There can be no doubt that Madoc truly loves you at this point.