Why is my kitten doing this?!?

kristallyn250

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Please help me... my kitten is 15 weeks old... which is getting to be a little old for a kitten, and she is trying to nurse off of me!!

Whenever I am wearing a big fluffy housecoat she'll come up, start purring, feel for a "nipple", and then start sucking on a lump of fluff from the housecoat and kneading her paws. Initially I thought it was just the housecoat, but then she did it to blankets and my armpits too.

She didn't start doing this until a few weeks after we brought her home. At first this looked cute; however it is apparent that she is not growing out of it. I have to push her away from me until she stops trying, but I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to confuse her -- I still want her to cuddle with me!!

Has anyone else ever heard of this? How can I get her to stop? I'm tired of kitty slobber everywhere!

Any help would be appreciated, Thanks!
 

anmccleod

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Usually kittens will do this if they were take from their mother too early.
I had a cat that did this his whole life, eventually I just gave him his the housecoat, and I got a new one.
 

epona

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Get him a little blanket of his own and encourgage him to use that instead, as the previous poster rightly says often kittens that are taken from their mum too young will do this for comfort, sometimes right through their whole life. Some grow out of it. Radar (who I got when he was 8 weeks old, too young) used to be a finger-sucker but unlike the above poster's cat has more or less stopped now at 15 months old, although he does still do it occassionally. Trust me it hurts when they do that to your fingers with adult teeth!

ETA: Sorry, I have referred to your cat as 'him' throughout. I have 2 boy cats and for some reason I instinctively refer to all cats as 'he'. My apologies.
 

katz4life

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Our female cat Spooky used to try to nurse from our male cat Snowball. He did not like that at all...

She was taken away from her mom too early
The person forced us to take her early because he was going to shoot her if we didn't take her right then and there. She didn't nurse on us because she didn't like humans because he also abused her. It wasn't pretty but she did grow up and finally stop nursing on Snowball. Now shes a great cat


When your kitty tries to nurse on you - gently move her to a coat or a blanket. Your cat is still young - give her time to grow up. Either she'll grow out of it or have to transfer nursing on you to nursing on something else. Something will work for your kitty!
 

kittkatt

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I've had 2 cats who've done this, and as suggested, it's usually b/c the kitten was weaned away from the mommy cat too soon. Geronimo did this a lot when we first got him as a kitten, but has outgrown it for the most part. He still occasionally does it when he's in one of his "lovin'" moods.
Damian used to do this too, and never did outgrow it: I have no idea if whether or not he was weaned too soon, b/c I adopted him from the humane society when he was a year old. He would sit in my lap and suck on the fuzz of my clothes, or lay on the bed next to me and suck on the blanket-fuzz. it never really bothered me though - not unless he got too carried away and would sink his claws in too deep!


KittKatt
 

dixie_darlin

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All mine do it too. And they are anywhere between 2 1/2 and 8 yrs old.
I know for a fact all of them except Tonka were NOT taken from thier mother too early.
I think it's also for comfort and to me it means they trust me


I would do as others suggested and get him his own blanket or towel.




Oh, and my almost 2 yr old dog does this too
 

xlpooper

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That is what I was thinking also, she was taken from her mommy to young.
 

xlpooper

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Originally Posted by anmccleod

Usually kittens will do this if they were take from their mother too early.
I had a cat that did this his whole life, eventually I just gave him his the housecoat, and I got a new one.
That is hilarious, and a good reason to get a new robe
 

kittkatt

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Originally Posted by Dixie_Darlin

I think it's also for comfort and to me it means they trust me
I agree w/ this!
I also think it's their way of showing their love for you.


~KK~
 

thezookeeper

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I have a problem with this exact situation. About 1 1/2 moths ago I adopted 2 kittens from the animal shelter. The shelter said that Ripley was about 4 moths old and Cali was 2 moths old. Our friend who has worked at a vet for most of her life says that Ripley was more like 2 1/2 months old and Cali was 1 month old (MUCH TOO YOUNG).

From day one, Cali has been trying to nurse from us whenever we hold her. The instant she is in our arms or lap she trys to nurse on us, or anything around us. Both kittens sleep in my room and Cali spends the whole night trying to nurse.

I read all the responces so now I know I should just give her her blancket every time she trys to nurse. I will give it a try.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by KittKatt

I agree w/ this!
I also think it's their way of showing their love for you.


~KK~
I agree that being separated from mom too early may contribute to this behaviour, but Bijou also did it and he wasn't separated early. With Bijou it seems to be a love/comfort thing as he only does it just before he settles down to sleep with me (he suckles my neck and only ever in one spot).
 

abstract

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Originally Posted by kristallyn250

Please help me... my kitten is 15 weeks old... which is getting to be a little old for a kitten, and she is trying to nurse off of me!!

Whenever I am wearing a big fluffy housecoat she'll come up, start purring, feel for a "nipple", and then start sucking on a lump of fluff from the housecoat and kneading her paws. Initially I thought it was just the housecoat, but then she did it to blankets and my armpits too.

She didn't start doing this until a few weeks after we brought her home. At first this looked cute; however it is apparent that she is not growing out of it. I have to push her away from me until she stops trying, but I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to confuse her -- I still want her to cuddle with me!!

Has anyone else ever heard of this? How can I get her to stop? I'm tired of kitty slobber everywhere!

Any help would be appreciated, Thanks!
My little kitten Shinobi did that to me as well, for the first few weeks, only she preferred my earlobes. What I tried to discourage her was to place her at her food bowl and let her eat for a bit, or to place her at a small fuzzy stuffed bear and let her suckle on that. She loved the bear and grew out of the habit eventually. She's just fine now.
 
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