Suckling 17 week old.

melhammouche · Mar 15, 2013

Okay I'm a first time cat owner so I sort of thought the suckling and kneeding was just because she was comfortable but I started reading about it and people say it can cause damage and that the kitten was weaned to soon.

Mia's mum stopped feeding her kittens at about 6 weeks and left them in the care of their older sister.
Mia didn't start to suckle until I had had her a few weeks.
She would climb up on my chest and suckle my shirt. And then she moved to blankets but even then she would only do it if the blanket was on me.
Is it true that this is bad behaviour and that this can damage her? She does it two or three times a day.

duckdodgers · Mar 15, 2013

My kitten is 6 months old and still does this. She only does it when she is sitting on my blanket, but does pretty consistently. She was 5-6 weeks old when taken away for her family, so that's why I believe she still does this.

melhammouche · Mar 15, 2013

Do you think it's a bad thing? Personally I don't mind her doing it, I think it's cute but I'm scared about what other people have been saying..

duckdodgers · Mar 15, 2013

melhammouche said:
Do you think it's a bad thing? Personally I don't mind her doing it, I think it's cute but I'm scared about what other people have been saying..

Not in my case. She doesn't do it on anything but blankets, and usually just in my bedroom. People don't care, and most people don't even have the occasion to notice. I have heard of cases when cats will suckle on people or their clothing, and that is a more difficult situation. I guess as long as it isn't a problem, then it isn't a problem. It isn't for me and my cat.

yayi · Mar 15, 2013

My RB Ichi did not stop suckling. They will do it less often as they grow older, but the habit will not go away. For me it was kinda cool. Ichi would go on my lap, make himself comfortable, and where he put his head he would do a short suckle then fall asleep.

smitten4kittens · Mar 15, 2013

melhammouche said:
Okay I'm a first time cat owner so I sort of thought the suckling and kneeding was just because she was comfortable but I started reading about it and people say it can cause damage and that the kitten was weaned to soon.

Mia's mum stopped feeding her kittens at about 6 weeks and left them in the care of their older sister.
Mia didn't start to suckle until I had had her a few weeks.
She would climb up on my chest and suckle my shirt. And then she moved to blankets but even then she would only do it if the blanket was on me.
Is it true that this is bad behaviour and that this can damage her? She does it two or three times a day.

It is more common in cats that were weaned early. My 2 year old cat still does it everyday while laying on my lap. He purrs and nuzzles me and is completely content. I don't think it's damaging at all. I think they are just comforting themselves...like a person drinking a nice hot cup of tea

.

melhammouche · Mar 15, 2013

Oh what a load off my mind. Thanks duckdodgers, yayi and smitten4kittens. She does do it to my clothes but she won't suckle anybody else's. I'm glad to hear its normal

smitten4kittens · Mar 16, 2013

She is loving on you the way she would with her momma cat. I think it's sweet. She's very comfortable with you.

melhammouche · Mar 16, 2013

smitten4kittens said:
She is loving on you the way she would with her momma cat. I think it's sweet. She's very comfortable with you.

That is so adorable I could cry.
So those people who say that it can damage her gums and teeth are just worrying to much?

smitten4kittens · Mar 16, 2013

My cat has been suckling for 2 years and his teeth and gums were just fine at a recent vet check. I wouldn't worry about it.

Some people call this behavior "smurgling" lol. If you type that into the search bar at the top of this site you can read more about it.

melhammouche · Mar 16, 2013

Thanks for the info. Well if your kitty still enjoys a good "smurgle" then I guess it's okay for Mia. Il check it out now.

faecat13 · Mar 16, 2013

My ragdoll will suckle on my arm from time to time. I take it as he thinks of me as his mommy. But if it makes you uncomfertable you can just pick up your cat and place it on the couch and let him/her know you dont like it. Its alittle sad but its not aggressive so Im fine with it.

melhammouche · Mar 16, 2013

I'm flattered that she thinks of me that way so I don't think I'd ever want her to stop it

ashyfulz · Mar 16, 2013

Mica would go to town suckling on any fluffy blanket he could find. Pumpkin was our biggest suckler, but he was doing it even with his mom (poor Jakey was suckled on so much by Pumpkin and Autumn we had to keep them seperrated them most of the time! but from what the lady said their mom was never around, only coming every few hours to do a quick feeding then venturing off again so we think he had mommy issues) and he refused to suckle on blankets. He'd started suckling on our fingers and the look of pure bliss and relaxation as those little eyes rolled back and he started kneading was so sweet and cute we couldn't make him stop. It kept him relaxed.

If you really want to stop it, there are ways to do it. But it's not hurting them and causes them great relaxation and means they're happy (just look at her face next time she does it, they look so cute and content!) so if it doesn't bother you too much, let her do it.

melhammouche · Mar 16, 2013

ashyfulz said:
Mica would go to town suckling on any fluffy blanket he could find. Pumpkin was our biggest suckler, but he was doing it even with his mom (poor Jakey was suckled on so much by Pumpkin and Autumn we had to keep them seperrated them most of the time! but from what the lady said their mom was never around, only coming every few hours to do a quick feeding then venturing off again so we think he had mommy issues) and he refused to suckle on blankets. He'd started suckling on our fingers and the look of pure bliss and relaxation as those little eyes rolled back and he started kneading was so sweet and cute we couldn't make him stop. It kept him relaxed.

If you really want to stop it, there are ways to do it. But it's not hurting them and causes them great relaxation and means they're happy (just look at her face next time she does it, they look so cute and content!) so if it doesn't bother you too much, let her do it.

I love the mental image of your little kitty rolling his eyes back with pleasure sounds adorable! By the way does he use his teeth?

It doesn't bother me as long as she's safe and happy

ashyfulz · Mar 17, 2013

He did use his teeth on everyone but me (but I also figured out where to move my finger to get between his fangs so he couldn't bite down with them accidentally) I'm not sure if he still suckles as much now (his new family hasn't given us any updates yet)

pumpykin1.jpg

ashyfulz
Mar 17, 2013

pumpykin2.jpg

ashyfulz
Mar 17, 2013

pupmykin.jpg

ashyfulz
Mar 17, 2013

There he is suckling when he was with us. It was so cute! He'd make suckling noises and if his sister came to see what he was doing, he'd growl at her and bat at her with his paw to "protect his spot"

melhammouche · Mar 17, 2013

Oh that's soooo precious! You can kind of see he's got his paw up to make sure your finger doesn't go anywhere

I absolutely love that second picture, he looks like he's so relaxed. I can see his new family would love him a lot because he's just so gorgeous.

callista · Mar 18, 2013

Yeah, it happens more in cats that were weaned too early, but all in all it doesn't harm them unless they are suckling on something that is not good for them, or ingesting it. None of which your cat is doing. So it is quite harmless, and as you say, very cute. She probably thinks of you as a sort of foster-momcat.

I bet the idea that it hurts their teeth comes from how people tell their kids not to suck their thumbs if they want straight teeth. And then of course their kids have sky high orthodontist bills anyway, even though they stopped thumb sucking long before their permanent teeth came in...

stealthkitty · Mar 18, 2013

My two little guys suckle each other as they are falling asleep. Not always, and never at the same time, but every so often one will decide the other is the mommy.

Sometimes they really get into it, getting loud and sloppy and kneading the air with their paws, and the other always ends up with a soaking wet tummy or neck. Once I decided that maybe I should redirect the behavior since the one was so sleepy but the other wouldn't leave him alone, so I tried to get him interested in a wool sock. My mistake! Both of them gave me a look as if to tell me I was ruining all the fun! Now I know that they like playing both roles.

Silly cats!

melhammouche · Mar 18, 2013

Callista, that is so true. All of my siblings were never allowed to suck our thumbs or dummies because of that teeth thing and every one of us had to have some serious orthodontic work. That's urban myths for you.

And stealthkitty, i only just woke up half an hour ago (thats 7:30am here) and I am literally crying with laughter already haha. Those boys know how they like it hahaha. Are they brothers or just very familiar?

Suckling 17 week old.

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