Sucking his Belly

sunflower

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I'm hoping there is someone out there that might be able to shed some light on this annoying habit my kitten has started. I brought Oreo home about 2 weeks ago and he is now 11 wks old. He came from a friend, who cat had kittens. The mother stayed with her kittens until they were 9 wks old, and the kittens managed very well on their own once the mom left. In the past few days, Oreo has started this annoying habit of sucking his belly in the early morning. This is the only time he does it. I have heard that if you spread lemon juice on his belly it will make him stop because it will taste sour. I tried this, and it worked for a few days, but he once again woke me up this morning sucking on his belly.

Will he just grow out of this, or is there something I can do?

Thanks!
 

angelzoo

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I guess I'm confused, what do you mean sucking his belly?


Some cats will take fur or a section of skin into their mouth/teeth to clean it, they will nibble on it or "spit" a little on it, and then continue to lick, and repeat. They even make a little gushy, spitty noise with their mouth when they do it.

Is that what you are talking about?
 
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sunflower

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Sorry, I don't think I was clear. It's been a long week. It is like he is sucklling his belly. He's not cleaning himself, he is sucking - you can hear it.
 

crazy-cat-lover

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9 weeks can sometimes be too young for a kitten to leave his mother. As a rule, kittens should stay with their mother until they are 12 weeks old. He does this because he misses his mother. My oldest male is 2 years old and suckles on human skin. I did'nt discourage it when he was young, so it is a habit now. He was taken from his mother when he was only 8 weeks old. Everytime he does it, distract him with a toy or treat. Eventually, he may grow out of it!
 
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sunflower

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When he wakes me up in the morning, I usually bring him over to me and cuddle him. He has tons of toys and loves to play with him. He only seems to do it early in the morning.
 

kittenkaboodle

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I have two Devon Rex kittens that do this also to each other, they are very noisy, almost as if they are drinking water. Im told its a normal thing for Devons, alot of them do it. What kind of cat do you have? I have also read on the forum that it can cause problems, and that they are taken away too young, well mine were not taken away too young, they were 14 weeks old, and not from the same litter.

I shall stay in touch and let you know what i find out or find that works.

K.K.
 
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