Why is my cat rubbing her face on a bowl of lemons?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I like to keep a bowl of lemons on my dining table. It’s a big, shallow bowl and right now it has about a dozen lemons in it. One day a couple of months ago, one of my cats jumped up and started rubbing her face ecstatically on the lemons-- the way cats do on catnip. She doesn’t do it every day, but when she does it goes on for about five minutes. No licking or biting, just face/head rubbing.

Google tells me that cats must not ingest any part of a lemon, but I can’t find anything about rubbing the outside of a lemon. Of course they rub their faces on lots of things. This cat loves for me to rub her face and head. I’ve had some cats that wouldn’t let you touch their faces.

Any ideas?

2

That’s definitely weird! Every cat I’ve ever known has absolutely hated citrus in all its forms and will act offended if you get it near them. Maybe your cat is trying to make the lemons smell better?

3

Maybe they’re treated with something she likes. Do you wash them?

ETa .I’m thinking a waxy substance to keep them shiny

4

Lemon skins are kinda rough, but not too much. Maybe it just feels good, the same way some of us enjoy a real claw-like backscratcher. If you think about the normal habitat in a human home, there’s not a lot of other surface textures like that available.

5

I had a cat that was mad for Rid-X. Couldn’t let him in the bathroom.

6

These aren’t washed. I usually only wash them if I’m going to zest them.

7

My cat has a brick he likes to lick. Go figure.

8

I have a cat that’s wild for licking plastic and cardboard. He’s a weirdo.

9

Both of my cats groom my head and face - by licking - for as long as I will let them. They are also giant weirdos.

10

My cat licks trash bags. Not food stuck to them - just the clean, untouched plastic.

11

They are quirky little units, aren’t they…

Just to clarify-- she doesn’t lick the lemons, just rubs her face on them.

12

Maybe they just smell nice. Maybe it’s a pheromone. Maybe just a zest for life?

13

Cat on the dining room table?
That’s a squirtin’.

14

Which of course makes it absolutely normal cat behavior. I’ve never met a cat that wasn’t definitely weird.

Seriously though cats rub their cheeks against things to spread their scent, so it probably something to do with that. Maybe she’s made sure that every other part of the house smells like her, but the lemons pungent smell has made it the last bit of unclaimed territory.

15

Your cat is looking for the salt and tequila.

16

Cute.

I think not.

Do both of us a favor and don’t come to my house.

17

Now now now, I doubt that jnglmassiv was actually issuing any warning of intent to discipline your cat for behavior that they apparently discourage in their own cat(s).

Personally, as a non-cat-owner and frequent visitor to cat-inhabited residences,* I am likewise secretly a tiny bit squicked at feline occupancy of food-service surfaces, but I have to admit that cats on tables are often extremely cute, and your lemon nuzzler sounds adorable.

* I originally phrased that as “cat-house visitor”, but decided that was a bad choice.

18

My sister’s late cat loved orange juice and once stole orange segments from me and had a snack. Lucky for him I was laughing too hard to grab them back.

19

Me, too. My sister is even worse. She doesn’t like to eat at people’s houses if cats are allowed on kitchen counters. Makes her want to barf.

20

As a cat owner, I do my damnedest to keep the critters off counters and tables.