Hello Didi - welcome to purrs to you and little Dory.
How wonderful that you're sharing your home with this lovely little furkid - her antics spending her day helping you is just wonderful, and she's really committed herself heart and soul to you and your OH, hasn't she?
Speaking first hand, our previous cat, Ross (one of my gorgeous Bridge Babies) used to suckle on my earlobe, or my shoulder and wrist (I have bony wrists), but it was mainly my right earlobe.
We got him when he was 8 weeks old, and he also did it from about the third day of being with us. He only ever did it to me, and never to my OH, even though he clearly loved us both very much. He did it into adulthood, until we lost him to a road traffic accident.
I read quite a bit about the activity, and watched Youtube clips of other cats who also exhibited this form of behaviour. I saw a number of remedies suggested, like blankets, soft toys etc, but he was never willing to compromise when faced with the choice of an alternative or Ma's tender flesh
Ultimately, I decided to nothing whatsoever about it.
It's purely a personal thing, but I figured that if Ross chose to express his love in a way that was somewhat unusual, and his actions comforted him to sleep, then that was just fine with me. I felt to reject that would've in some way diminished the joy of giving, and there was no way I was prepared to do that. I wont say that at times it wasn't uncomfortable or inconvenient, as it could be both!
Sometimes I ended up with a sore earlobe or a chomped on shoulder raked with love bites, but in the general scheme of things it was something I found I could personally live with.
It also made me feel incredibly humble, that I was actually such a special part of his existence, and inspired such trust.
I appreciate that not everyone feels the same about this - some find it gross or unnatural, some will tell you its an insecurity thing, and I'm not going to second-guess any of the motives, or say that "this is worng" and "that is right"
You have to find a solutions that works for you - I totally get that suckling your eyes and face are obviously actions you'd want to discourage from a safety point of view. Continuing to gently remove her and turning her head when you do so may help, and replacing yourself with a substitute may have varying degrees of success, as you've already found.
I know sometimes people suggest blowing into a cat's face, gently, but I harbour the thought that from a cat's point of view, this is the height of rude behaviour, and it's not something I ever wanted to chance with my own cats.
Have you tried wearing an eye mask while you sleep, to see if that will discourage the worst of the eye kissing, and maybe a light scarf round your neck to divert her activities to a more comfortable object, like a finger or bent knuckle?
I'm not suggesting you do this permanently, but just until you can find a happy compromise with her activities? Alternatively, you may want to consider leaving her out of the bedroom at night at least, although there's a risk she could become anxious at being separated from you, and she may begin clawing at the door or floor coverings.
I dont think it's anything to worry about, although it may seem a bit excessive the degree to which she exhibits this behaviour.
Do you have any piccies of your gorgeous girl?
Sue
