AIBU to wonder why my cat always grooms himself beside me?

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Watching the episode of Amandaland with Fi's new dog who licks himself every time he sees Amanda, reminded me of this issue with my cat.
When he wants to give himself a bath, every single time wherever I am he will park himself close by and in my direct eyeline. Out of any location in the whole house. Why is this? Do other cats do the same thing? Is it some kind of hardwired behaviour that they groom themselves whilst with family?

I cannot stand the sound of it and have to keep moving, but he follows me!

As i've always understood it a cat grooming itself next to you is a sign that it really trusts you. It is a real compliment to how safe he feels with you.

Yes, I'd wonder if they groom while with someone they trust to keep guard, since it puts them in a more vulnerable position. I've seen people say something similar to explain why some dogs tend to look at you while they're defecating. 😅No idea if it's true, of course.

Our psychotic idiot, who is foul to me during the day, always wants to sleep on my pillow and have a good old wash and pamper before going to sleep.
It's actually, weirdly soothing as she rocks the pillow(apart form the sloppy licking noises.. )

It's the noises I can't stand. Feeling bad now for walking off

My cat likes to lock eyes with you when using her litter bin or if see’s you outside.

also when younger liked to come out the litter and sit in your eyeline to wash her bum.

now she is an old lady full body washing is a not a daily thing. But always makes sure it’s done as noisily as possible.

😆 it’s a compliment but it’s a cat compliment so it’s automatically weird. My girl has a slurpy wash followed by a snory nap but I figure it’s the price of being loved 😻

My cat always has a frantic wash after I’ve stroked her as if she’s removing all traces.

After you’ve befouled her pristine fur. 😆

My female cat sits in my bed every night doing her nails

My cat has a wash on my pillow at night and occasionally my eyebrows are included in his bath.

YABU for not appreciating your cat's trust sufficiently. (Yes, the noises are terrible, but I love them anyway.)

My cat spends her night grooming herself at the bottom of our bed. Complete with slurping noises🫣
I love that cat so much but I can’t even have a wee at night without her following me🤪
I have to sit on the loo and rub her head😻

My cat snuggles up to me to groom herself & if my hand’s near enough she’ll do me at the same time.

It's because he's vulnerable. When he's cleaning himself, he's not focused on his surroundings, so he needs you to keep an eye out for danger while he can't.

Me and my cat loathe each other. (Everyone else wanted a cat, I held out for over a decade before caving). She lives to glare at me, she thinks I'm thick as shit because I "don't know" how to open her food cupboard. I am almost entirely useless.

But she trusts me. When she's cleaning herself, if the people she actually likes aren't around, she'll come to me. If there's a loud noise, she'll come to me. If DP or DD isn't home at the allotted time, she wants me to fix it. I'm an idiot, but I'm her idiot.

Cats sometimes groom when they are feeling stressed. Its a calming mechanism apparently

My cat uses me as a leaning post while grooming. And I swear some nights both my cats have a competition on the bed as to who can groom the loudest.

He's wanting you to see that he's doing a good job! Both mine do this to me. Especially Suki, she lays on my side for cuddles on a night while I'm reading my Kindle, then starts having her nightly bath! Sabre, her brother, plonks himself on my folding table, directly in front of me and does the same! His back foot nearly blocks the TV out! Good job I love em! 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛♥️

@Doyouthinktheyknow mine used to sit at my feet while I was on the loo!!! Used to howl if the toilet door was was shut 🤣

Yes, ditto with the orange chonk. I have some under cabinet lights in the bed & bathroom so I am not stumbling half asleep over cat underfoot in the dark. I HAVE to leave my hands hanging between my knees on the loo so he can push his face in to get his ears pulled back hard (at his insistence). Then I am followed back to bed, hopefully to sleep, but the grooming will start up again...often including whatever bits of me are exposed....and I will get licked in the morning again with fresh floofy bum kisses 😝

Cat tax of orange chonk in action

I’m fairly sure it’s to do with trust. So it’s gross but flattering 🤣