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Nursing & Kneading Kitten

post #1 of 6
9/4/10 at 9:33pm
Thread Starter 
Rescued kitten, taken in at 5-6 weeks, bottle fed canned cat milk, gradually weaned using KMR Second Step to lapping up Kitten Science Diet. However, once he tasted Science Diet kitten kibble, he had no interest in canned.

I have several adult indoor cats, so kitten lived in a series of cages until the other cats could get used to him (with play periods with toys & humans, and some supervised playtime on a table with the youngest of the adult cats.) During this period, Miele (named after the vacuum cleaner he resembled at mealtimes) had little patience with being petted.

At 4 months he was neutered, then unleashed on the older cats, whom he gleefully jumps on & chases. Then his human interaction style changed. Whenever anyone sits down in his vicinity, he hops on the lap & proceeds to nurse furiously, kneading all the time. He will do this for quite some time unless forcibly removed, soaking our clothes.
I have taken in other 5-week-old kittens while having adult cats in the house, but none has exhibited this behavior. Anyone have any ideas why he is doing this or how to gently persuade him to stop the nursing/
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post #2 of 6
9/5/10 at 5:02pm
He may grow out of it with time, but I haven't ever heard of anyway to stop it. It's just what he does, and it's not uncommon. My advice is to keep a soft clean fleece blankie nearby and put it between you and his paws and little muzzle so he kneads and nurses on that instead of you.
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post #3 of 6
9/7/10 at 5:37am
I wish I could help but I am having the same problem with one of my babies. Pria was taken in from the shelter at almost 4 months of age and I don't know her story before that time, but now she is about 6 months and completely views me as her mother. She is always on me kneading and suckling...lol. It's a good thing I find it more cute than annoying however.
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post #4 of 6
9/7/10 at 6:40am
Good Luck!!!! Kricket (4 yrs old) and Sloth (2 yrs old) both bottle babies still do the kneading and suckling to this day. I have given up trying to figure out how to stop it, besides pull the blanket out of Sloths mouth when he does it, and after 2 times of doing so he gives up and stops. My DH has kicked him off the bed at night because he does the kneading into your side when you are sleeping. I've come to be ok with the whole process and usually just let it be unless it annoys me.

I definately 2nd the thought of the fleece blanket. Strange as this is, my 2 that knead and suckle will only do so on the blanket that is on our bed. : ) Good Luck!!
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post #5 of 6
9/7/10 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
OK, I will give up try to cope. I was afraid Miele would ingest dye from sucking the fabrics and becaome feeble-minded.
Right now I keep a clean bath towel by the recliner with which to cover myself whenever I sit there. The bad news is that the towel is becoming a magnet for some of my other cats, who sit on or rub against it, purring, whenever I do not have it on me.
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post #6 of 6
9/8/10 at 5:59pm
Harley is our suckler, he loves an ear lobe, and only does it when he needs that extra attention, so I always allow it. Some people probably think thats crazy but you can tell he just needs to feel reassured, he only does it for a bit and then is content to lay with you. Harley is 3-4 and adopted 2 years ago from the shelter, no clue his background.

Leslie
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