Hrm...

Okay, I can't decide if this works or if I needed to be just a smidge of an angle for it to work.

I like this shot
How about cropping it a bit.
On my screen it's 6X9 how about making it 6X6

Use the extreme side AF point, or focus manually, and recompose to put more space in front of kitty's nose.
Oh and I'd wipe kitty over first first to make sure the face is clean.
This kind of extreme close-up photo can reveal dust and grot you'd rather not have to photoshop out !

I'll try the crop when I get home tonight.

Paul, I was using the center af point to focus on his eye, do you think it should have been more towards the nose?

Yeah, he's got some schmutz from his eye... been having that eye be a bit runny the last few days. Gotta keep an eye on it. He's FIV positive so we've been warned to be vigilant for respiratory infections. He's a big baby about having his eyes wiped (and turns into a vicious wild cat when we do his claws).

Focus belongs on his eye, and his eye more towards the right, I think.

Either centre AF on the eye, then recompose with the button still pressed.
Or use a side AF point.