I have a 2 year old orange tabby named Mister Buddy. He was rescued by a friend from an apartment complex where his tail had been slammed in a door and it had to be amputated. After he came out of the vet's office he ended up with me and my DH. He was about 4 months old and the vet thinks he never lived inside in his lifetime.

We keep him indoors and he is a real sweet boy. Loves to play with toys, and sit in your lap. When he gets in my lap, especially when I am on the computer, he curls up and starts kneading. Then he sits up and stares at me, pupils very big, and will reach up to my face with his paw to touch me. He gets his mouth very close to my face and my mouth. At this point I am usually petting his head or stroking his neck. Then he lays back down and if my arm is near him, which it is, he nips me. First he will smell my arm, then touch it with his mouth and then he nips. He has been doing this for quite awhile, but I thought he would outgrow it. I say STOP, and move his mouth away, but that doesn't work for more than a minute. To stop him I have to put him back on the floor, and not let him back up. He does not nip the hubby.

I don't want to hit him, or hurt him, but I want this to stop. What should I do? I actually had thought about putting some Bitter Apple on my skin, but I don't want him to be repelled by me.

He is wanting all of your attention I don't think they ever grow out of what I call mushing.
My cat use to wake me up in the middle of the night by biting my upper arm I asked the vet for a suggestion and he said to play with the cat for about 20 minutes before bed and it worked. Maybe playing with him before you get on the computer may work

Cats do this when they are happy.My cat is 14 years old and weighs about 15 lbs. and kneeds my leg when he lays in my lap.He digs his claws in and literally leaves holes in my leg.I love him,but this is to painful to tolerate.I'd say yes in a way he is courting you,this is his way of showing you that you are special to him.:p

Okay - since I originally posted this the situation has gotten worse. He will rub up against my legs and then give me a chomp on the shin. One day I was petting him and he bit, so I said NO and pushed him away. He, in turn, lashed out at me with claws out, got a claw stuck in my arm and scratched me pretty good. I had a big bruise for a week!

We did get a puppy a few months ago, but she is restricted to certain areas of the house, while he is not, so it's not like he has to deal with her all the time. I try to spend more time with him to compensate, and he sleeps with me every night, but it may have something to do with jealousy.

Another thing about Mister is that since his tail had to be amputated, I wonder if he has "phantom" pain? Any opinions. I try to keep the petting around his head, ears and neck, but do you think this could have something to do with it?

No, he just wants to play

My cat used to do that to me a lot.. less now.. but he used to really get into it and stare at me as he was doing it, like he was in love with me... and do this heavy low purr... and never break eye contact. At first I thought it was really sweet and cute... then he started humping me... and I said That's ENOUGH. My husband and I got him fixed soon after that, and he has really calmed down. Now when he does it its usually when he is really relaxed or sleepy.
so if he isn't fixed, I would suggest doing so. Its super cheap... like $50 if you get it done at the Humane Society. And just keep his nails trimmed and it won't hurt so much.

=)

Mister was fixed as a baby. So that's not it. But thanks anyway.