since i'm here, just thought i'd ask...ear sucking!

when murphy was a baby kitten he'd climb up me to hold him and i held him like a baby and he'd put both paws around my neck, one in the front, one in the back, and proceed to start sucking on my earlobe! lol...then he'd switch ears and do the other one. as he got older, he favored the left one. he'd still switch but only suck the right one for a second and then go back to the left. then eventually, he only sucked the left one. this went on for YEARS! my cousin told me it might be because he missed his cat-mommy so he was trying to nurse on my ear! i let him do it because i figured it wasn't hurting anything... even to this day, when i hold him, sometimes he'll do it but just for a few seconds.. not like before where he would do it for maybe 3-5 minutes!

was my cousin right? was he doing this to replace nursing? has anyone else experienced this or heard about it? just wondering, thanks

Kittens who were weaned too early sometimes do this. Didn't it get painful?!

My cat Suki did this for quite a while as a kitten (and also 'nursed' my pinky finger) but I just figured it was because she was separated from her mother *far* too early (was a foster kitten). I let her continue because it made her feel secure (not easy in her circumstances) and she eventually stopped on her own about six months later.

My cat Easy does this, too. I was told it was because she was taken from her Mother too soon also.

Originally Posted by catcaregiver

Kittens who were weaned too early sometimes do this. Didn't it get painful?!

Click to expand...

not usually! sometimes if it would hurt a little if he did it a few times a day and then i'd usually put an earring in. that would make him mad though lol... he'd try to nibble it off so he could have the ear unfettered.

thanks for the replies! i figured it had to do with being separated from his mommy too early or something... i adopted him when he was 6 wks old and he was separated from his mommy even before that. i don't remember the circumstances i just know his first (human) mommy who i adopted him from had murphy and his two siblings but no cat mommy. she abandoned them.