How to stop the kitty from trying to suckle me!

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

My Dooey suckles on my neck through my hair, I actually find it quite sweet 

[purrdy1]

  aww all these poor babies form horrid homes..its a small price to pay to give them some comfort....fleece is great, my girls love to puddin and suckle on fleecey things. I went into fabricland and got a meter of that chunky fleece it was only a couple of quid and better than the stuff in pet shops

[Kally]

salem tends to do it aswel but again thinkl its mainly for comfort as when we got him he was just skin and bones he didnt get enough food and think he may of been the runt but he used to do it to my mum and now cause of mums death he does it to me and even if it annoys me dont think i can stop him doing it its only time he gets a thorough cuddle

[koscha (Ruth M)]

Z does this to me every time I sit down! ...and yes its my *ahem* 'chest' that takes the battering! 

RW will do it to my unwashed clothes and my dressing gown, but very rarely to me while i'm in them!

I put it down to the fact that the boys are very attached to me and came from a home where they were ignored and stressed on a regular basis, its still irritating though as I look like a self harmer if I don't clip Z's claws!

I may have to try the blanky trick on him 

The little one is still so young, so I would take the others advice as its good, I like the hot water bottle snuggle one, though it wouldn't work for me as Z's 6Kg! 

Good luck 

[purrdy1]

aww the poor little mite!

yes they need mummy! and whoever is feeding them is mummy!


Twiggy seems to prefer the attention of the boys in the house and wll purr and snuggle with them..but Fern is very much a snuggler and suckler!..she tries to bite my chin and suckle! and at night tends to try and sleep on top of my face!!!

She loves being carried around as well!

7 weeks is so tiny so vulnerable and so precious...they do grow ever so quickly....so keep a noo noo handy and cuddle and snuggle her right back! (i used to give mine a hot water bottle at night before they were old enough to go in the rest of the house...but obviously be careful, keep it insulated etc to avoid burns...)

hope that helps and good luck! xx

[Feline Costumier]

My Dave still does this but no longer does it to me. He now does it to anything that is made from that supersoft fleecey stuff, usually blankets and dressing gowns are made from it? H epurrs like a tractor, pads, sucks and um, the pink lipstick comes out He's a spayed 2 year old bruiser of a cat who was fully weaned before coming to me,

I'm with the others, it's just a comfort thing more than anything else. Little thing has had a huge upheaval recently and is looking for comfort from her new mother When Dave was still trying to do it to me, earlobes mostly when I was asleep, I'd just cover my head. He now makes a nuisance of himself in other ways

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

I had a male pal who once won't up to find their new kitten actually suckling on his nipple in the middle of the night! 

She'll grow out of it. You have to think like a mummy cat.  They tolerate it for so long but once mummy cat judges it's time for kitten to be a big girl/boy, they ignore the kitten and they get up and walk away when kitten tries to suckle... so do the same?  Just walk away and make a cuppa or something. A bit hard if you're asleep in bed but sooner or later she'll get the message. 

As I said in the previous thread, kittens will still suckle the odd meal from mum up to 7/8 weeks. So keep offering milk at least once a day until that age. There really is no harm in her continuing to have milk alongside her solid food for as long as she needs it... also, kittens removed from mum too early can become 'backward' in their development and will grow and mature at a slower rate. So she could well be 7 weeks but still acting and eating like a 5 week old. 

[Millys Mum]

They all wean differently so dont worry yet. I reared a trio, the 2 sisters were offered solids and they weaned over a few days, the little boy was 8 weeks and still enjoying his bottle,he was the closest to humans and loved laying on you with his precious bottle  they do grow out of it, he started to get jealous of his sisters food and would have his bottle and then sneak some solids 

[Dawn F]

Amber sucks oh earlobe - I think it is soooo cute!!  bad news she is about 7 years old!!

[AliCat]

Awww!

Akamaru does this on blankets and my t-shirts too. 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I think her weight is the rreasoin she is wanting the milk and desperate for it 

[angeleyes]

Ok thanks, I will keep on with the milk for a while yet then, the packet said feed up to 6 weeks of age and my vet said she should be eating solids so I wasn't sure if i was doing more harm than good giving in to her with milk.

I'm so upset that she is away from her mum at this age, we always bang on about buns staying with mum until 8 weeks as well, but we couldn't turn her away, the rest of the litter had already gone by the time she came to us

I just read on another site that at 7 weeks a kitten shoudl be between 1.5-2 lbs, she is 0.7kg at the mo which is about 1.5lbs so I think we are on the right track with her age although she is at the lower end of that weight range.

[Millys Mum]

Its for comfort and if she had a mum she would be getting a wash and cuddle after feeding, you can get some really nice soft plush beds so you could try putting her in such a comfy place and let her paddle in there with something you have worn so she can still smell you.
She may grow out of it but may not, some of my handrearers continued for months, purring and dribbling to their hearts content, its all part of being a stand in mummy 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

7 weeks is very very young and she shouldnt be away from her mother, so you are definately a sustitute 

She sounds a  clever little kiity 

I am not up big time with kittens but think I would keep giving her the milk cos she has lost so much being away from her mother and she could be younger than essimated

I have watched the kittens on the kitten cam and they eat from mother most of time and your kitten is missing her mother big time by the sounds. I remember tthe original thread now thanks.

I think she sounds younger than 7 weeks.

I think you need to persevere with a blanket but she sounds hungry to me and milk is a food not a drink.

I hope that she will start to grow up in another coiuple of weeks 

[angeleyes]

She thinks you are her mother cat , which you are of course especialy now. 


How old is she and what is she getting to eat,,,,,,do you give her milk and if so what sort.


This may help us to give more advice and yes you need to move her fvrom ummmmmmm inapproprient places LOL, Misa who was 4 used to suckle the top of my arm amnd he had come from very bad circumstances so he waqs definately looking for comfort raqther than food, and he still suckles but blankets now.

Here is her original thread - http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,31515.0.html

As she was given to us were not exactly sure but from my vets thinking she would be just over 7 weeks now. She is getting Royal Canin weaning food and Royal Canin milk once or twice a day, I am trying to get her off the milk but she screams the place down for it sometimes, she knows the cupboard it is kept in lol

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

She thinks you are her mother cat , which you are of course especialy now. 


How old is she and what is she getting to eat,,,,,,do you give her milk and if so what sort.


This may help us to give more advice and yes you need to move her fvrom ummmmmmm inapproprient places LOL, Misa who was 4 used to suckle the top of my arm amnd he had come from very bad circumstances so he waqs definately looking for comfort raqther than food, and he still suckles but blankets now.

[angeleyes]

She is only a baby - you don't say how old she is. Be patient with her. Your frustration is only going to make her feel more unsettled. You are the only being in the world who can give her the love and comfort she is presently seeking. If the suckling bothers you that much then find a flannel blanky or something similar. When she suckles you, move the blanky into the line of action so she can start suckling that. Once she is well away, then gently move her and the blanky to a position immediately alongside you so she has your body warmth and the comfort of your presence, and her blanky to suck on. Eventually, with much love and patience, she will transfer her attention to the blanky rather than you. But be gentle, and loving with her.

I am afraid it does bother me, I can't help it, I am not being mean to her at all, she gets lots of love and attention, she is also trying to do it in the most inappropriate places! I wouldn't mind so much if she was doing it to my hand or something like that just not the places she is trying to go! I have tried the blanket trick and she is not interested. I was actually more concerned that she is after milk all the time, she only does it to me, never anyone else which had me thinking more along the lines of food as I am the one that feeds her and does the milk etc

[blackcat]

She is only a baby - you don't say how old she is. Be patient with her. Your frustration is only going to make her feel more unsettled. You are the only being in the world who can give her the love and comfort she is presently seeking. If the suckling bothers you that much then find a flannel blanky or something similar. When she suckles you, move the blanky into the line of action so she can start suckling that. Once she is well away, then gently move her and the blanky to a position immediately alongside you so she has your body warmth and the comfort of your presence, and her blanky to suck on. Eventually, with much love and patience, she will transfer her attention to the blanky rather than you. But be gentle, and loving with her.

[angeleyes]

Suckling is a comfort thing and if she is very young she is missing her mother.................you are the new mamma cat 

Misa a giant of a cat still suckles at 8 years old and he is so cute.

I know there are different opinions on suckling by behaviorists and I am not one and feel that she is not doing any harm, so let her suckle. Maybe if you put her on a soft blanket with a cuddly toy she will suckle those but suspect she just needs comfort and you a warm breathing thing like her mother. She needes love and attention.

Ah right, I was taking it to mean give me more milk, which she shouldn't be having by now right? She is literally doing it all the time as well, is that ok, is it normal?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Suckling is a comfort thing and if she is very young she is missing her mother.................you are the new mamma cat 

Misa a giant of a cat still suckles at 8 years old and he is so cute.

I know there are different opinions on suckling by behaviorists and I am not one and feel that she is not doing any harm, so let her suckle. Maybe if you put her on a soft blanket with a cuddly toy she will suckle those but suspect she just needs comfort and you a warm breathing thing like her mother. She needes love and attention.

[angeleyes]

So I have had the little kitty here for over a week now and she is still trying to suckle from me, its driving me mental now, I can't do anything, she even does it after she has just had her milk, which I am giving her once or twice a day at most if she is being a total pain. Can anyone give me any tips how to stop this? I unattach her from me and generally put her on the floor/sofa just next to me and she comes straight back and does it again.....