Is my baby OK?

First of all I would like to say Hi to the whole board. Until recently I was not a fan of cats until I found a 3 week old kitten taped up in a box sitting on top of a dumpster behind my favorite watering hole. I opened up the box, she mewed , and my heart melted and that was the beginning of the end for me.......

This is probably a really stupid newbie question but here it goes....

Here is my "issue". Since I found marge at such a young age I had to act like a mother cat would (bottle feeding, 'licking' her rear with a mosit warm towel to help her out.....). I bottle fed her for about 3 weeks after finding her and then began to slowly ween her over the next 2 1/2 weeks. She is now doing great health wise ( i got all her shots and had her checked out) and growing like a weed. The only problem is that she 'nurses' on anything soft and fuzzy. I shaved my beard off because I woke up one night and she was purring away nursing on my chin.... It is not really that annoying but is there something wrong? Is it my fault? This is my first pet EVER. I have never even owned a house plant up till now. I just want to make sure she is ok. I like this cat and would like her to be around for as long as possible. Thanks all.

Kittens do that.
Sounds like she is fine to me.

ok cool. I was kind of worried that she had brain damage or something.....the imaginary milk she gets from those imaginary nipples must be amazing the way she purrs. So its just a phase then. thanks.

Awwww, she loves you
She missed out on the much needed suckling that kittens get while nursing. Kittens that are seperated from their mother and siblings young often do this. It's kinda like a baby sucking her thumb, its soothing.

My other kittens tried to nurse on blankets.
Do you ahve any pics of her?

For someone without experience with pets, you took on a momentous job raising this little baby on your own. You should take a bow, and then put the story on the front of a T shirt that you wear to the singles bar; the ladies should go for a guy with that kind of heart and soul!

If you see him around here, Fastnoc can tell you all about how that kitten will get in your heart.

It's not unusual for kittens separated early from their mother to nurse on something soft, whether their own paw pad, another kitten, a blanket, whatever.

I agree - whichever human is lucky enough to share a life with you, is very lucky - and any woman alive would melt at that story.

Mulder was taken away from his mother too early at 4 weeks because his mother started attacking the kittens. From the time I first brought him home at 7 weeks he started nursing/sucking on me and blankets, etc.

He kept waking me up by sucking my blanket until it got all wet or on me somewhere, so I gave him a furry stuffed animal whenever he would feel the need. Now whenever he starts I just give him that and he will go at it until he falls asleep cuddled up with it.

My vet said it is normal and some kitties will stop it when they get older, some won't. Mulder still does it (he's 8 months now) but usually only at night when he's sleepy.

Rusty would try to nurse on her sister, Dusty but I put a stop to it. They were 7 wks old when I brought them home last January

yup I know this issue very well. I actually got to where I like it. it's cute .

As always, i'll spam a little and show you what my kitten suckled on. his foot!

when he was really little

As he got older (he almost falls asleep at the end of this one. Which is how it ends)

Unfortunately his feet outgrew his mouth and he can't get suction anymore lol. he still tries but gives up after about 10 seconds

You're doing a great thing, and the commitment you're giving will come back 10 fold. You'll be surprised just how close you get to that cat

What a wonderful, heartwarming story!

As everyone else said here, that's normal. She's an infant after all....

Maybe get her a stuffed toy to cuddle and nurse on.. that might help redirect her suckling instincts. Just don't let her use your fingers.. that is not a good habit to get into.

You may also consider getting her a pal at some point in time.. one of the possible issues with bottle babies is that they don't have proper cat socialization.

Originally Posted by fastnoc

yup I know this issue very well. I actually got to where I like it. it's cute

.

As always, i'll spam a little and show you what my kitten suckled on. his foot!

when he was really little

As he got older (he almost falls asleep at the end of this one. Which is how it ends)

Unfortunately his feet outgrew his mouth and he can't get suction anymore lol. he still tries but gives up after about 10 seconds

You're doing a great thing, and the commitment you're giving will come back 10 fold. You'll be surprised just how close you get to that cat

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HIJACK:

OMG, those vids are soooo cute. I have never seen a kitty suck his "thumb".

Originally Posted by Doozer

I shaved my beard off because I woke up one night and she was purring away nursing on my chin....

Click to expand...

That's too cute

First of all... What a wonderful person you are to rescue that kitten. I will never in a million years understand how someone could take a kitten that young, put it in a box and leave it to die cold, alone, and starving. The three I just recently adopted had that happen and if I could find the person who did it, I would shove my boot right up their you know what

Anyway... like the others have said, this is a side effect of a kitten being taken away from their mom way to young. A friend of mine had a beautiful white cat that had been taken away from his mother at around the same age. He lived until I think 11 or 12 and to the day he died he suckled on blankets, stuffed animals, whatever he could. He was also one of the coolest cats I'd ever known.