Sucking and Kneading Me?

Over the past couple weeks Teddy has developed a new pattern. He's not much of a cuddler, but when I first lay down at night he jumps on my bed and lays on my chest. He'll start purring and stay with my for 10/15 minutes. Lately, he'll start kneading me and then start to suck.... like a newborn kitten! He started doing this around 4 1/2 months old and now he's 5 1/2 months old. He seems more insistent and does it harder now that I adopted Milo.

Has anyone else experienced this? I did bottle feed Teddy... but has he started this recently?... or is my Teddy a little odd? lol ...It doesn't really bother me, I just make sure I pull the blanket up so he sucks on that instead of me. (It feels really weird. lol)

Bandit, does this suck/needing thing, on the squishy pillows I have. I have 3 of them, and they all have big suck stains on them. She is 5 months old almost. And she started this 2 weeks ago. None of her litter mates do it. I just except it.
K.

I'm glad Teddy isn't the only one. lol.... It's strange though, he only does it to me at night.

Its Normal I had ittens do it also.

Samson does the kneading thing, but he doesn't suckle.

When I'm sleeping he will come over and paw at my shoulder and at the sheet trying to move the sheet aside until I move my arm out and push the sheet down a bit to make him room. Then he comes and lays beside me kneading in my armpit Then I put my arm around him and gently pet his rump while he's kneading. It's so cute!

What's funny though is that if he thinks I'm awake, he'll stop and if I'm sleeping he will tap tap tap on my shoulder until I move my arm out and make him room so he can knead on me.

I guess I'm his cat mommy

Being a relatively new cat owner I didn't even know what kneading was. Our youngest cat who we've had since Halloween kneads before lying down.

We got a 2nd cat 3 weeks ago and he is constantly kneading, drooling and our very "favorite" sucking our ear lobes. He's about 16 months old and was brought to the shelter as a stray surrender.

Although it feels unbelieveably weird--especially at 4 AM in the morning, it makes your heart smile. My precious baby was stuck in a cage at the shelter for 4 months and just wants to be loved. I made the mistake of putting earrings in my first set of holes and Harley can't suck with them in, he got so frustrated with the fact he couldn't suck I took them back out for him. Bless his heart.

Leslie

Little Lexi does the suckling, mostly when she's tired. When we first got her, she did it when she was hungry and when she was tired. We'd take her to her food each time she'd suckle, and now she only does it when she's tired. We love it and offer a thumb or finger for her until she nods off to sleep. We're sort of hoping she doesn't grow out of it, because it does melt our hearts when she does it.

I had to remove her from her daddy three times Saturday night/Sunday morning though, he sleeps on his side and she was sprawled on his neck and face and suckling his ear! LOL

Rikki, one of my foster babies, just started the same thing about a week ago (9 weeks), except she sucks the tip of her tail.

I just keep pulling her tail out and redirecting her as I know that if she continues, she could damage her tail.

My cat kneads me and was with her littermates & mama for a long time and never bottlefed. I know another one with a kneader and sucker as an adult as well, with littersmates and mama for a long time and never bottlefed. Both raised with the best of everything and lots of attention and very healthy, so I think it is just a personality thing.

My new little one does this, mainly to a blanket I have thats very soft and fluffy. Its an acrylic blend called "Korean Mink" and I guess it feels sort of like fur. He also does it to the inside of my arm and it does feel weird. I asked my vet, and he said that mine was doing it because he left his mother too early (she rejected his whole litter at 4 weeks old, he's 8 weeks now) and he's doing it either because he's lonely or tired and its feels comforting to him, or when he's hungry. Usually he does it when he's tired, but I have been trying to take him to his food when he starts it, just in case. I genuinely have no idea why yours would start it up as an older kitten though.

I wouldn't worry - he is still a baby. Bella was "nursing" on things up until I took away her "nursing pillow?" When I got her at 9 weeks, she was suckling at my hair and kneading my shoulder and neck, then moved to this pillow I have that has like, big fringe on it. I moved it to the floor by the bed and she had a ritual up until a few weeks ago where she would suck and knead at it, then come to me on the bed and want me to pet her, and go back and forth. When we moved recently, I placed the pillow in her "corner" of the room with all her toys and play things, food, and litter box, and she doesn't nurse on it anymore.

So no worries!

Bamf does not suckle. He likes to knead the carpet next to the food bowl while he is eating, which is very cute.

Pixel, on the other hand, does this to her brother! Whenever he starts purring and she is sleepy, she will knead and suckle on her brother's side. It is so funny. If he is not very tired, he will put up with it for about 30 seconds and then run off and she will chase him around trying to suckle on him. If he is tired, he will put up with it while they fall asleep.

Silly kittens.

Growing up, I had a cat that did that constantly. I'd always thought a cat did that because it was taken from its mama too soon, but he was still living with his mama, so I guess that blew that idea out of the water...

It is a comfort thing. I have a 4 year old cat that still does that suckling and kneading when she is afraid during a bad storm.

A friend of mine has a cat named Daisy who does this. You hold her like a baby, she'll suck on your finger and her ears will twitch back and forth. She was weaned from her mother way too early, that's why she does it. It's really freakin adorable actually!

I bottle-fed my cat, Baby.... He's four years old now, and he still "suckles" and "kneads" on my clothes, or any blanket or pillow next to me... I don't find anything wrong with it... I guess he just looks to you as his mother, and it should be a compliment... Some cats may quit the habit at some point. My cat started it early, and it still does it... So I don't know if it will ever stop...

You know, I never thought it could be that they were weaned to early. Interesting! Bella (and her brother who we didn't adopt) were found in a pipe, with their momma no where to be found. She was 9 weeks when I adopted her, and who knows when her momma left her. I bet that's what happened, that's why Bella nursed until she was 1 year old! Well, actually more because we moved, and her nursing pillow isn't in the right spot anymore, I guess she just doesn't find it necessary to nurse anymore.