Relentless Suckling on Skin

pawsywasy

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I have a kitten who wants to suckle on my skin everytime I'm around. I have tried pushing her away, but she is relentless. I've tried letting her suckle me, thinking she will get tired in a couple of minutes, but she wants to suckle for a long period, and I hate the feeling. Sometimes it hurts. Every night, she wakes me up by suckling on my face. Usually my nose. Her brother doesn't do this, and even he responds well to being pushed away or put down on the floor if he does something I don't want him to do. So I'm confused as to why she's doing it or how I can even correct it. She is one relentless little kitty. At this rate, I just can't get a good night's sleep nor do I particularly enjoy petting her anymore for fear she will suckle me. 
 

catmom marcia

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How old is this baby?  I had a bottle baby that would do this and by the time he was 3 months old he had largely stopped.  Usually they will outgrow it.
 
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pawsywasy

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Hi there Catmom! Thanks for the response. My little girl is about 4-5 months old. 
 

catmom marcia

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I would gently try and dissuade her then.  She is still a baby and the suckling is probably due to being taken away from momma too soon.  Personally, I am very empathetic towards these babies.  They were denied this essential act as kittens and show it by trying to suckle on anything else.  If you can just try to distract her with play rather than pushing her off in a negative way, she will be more apt to stop this in time.  I know you find it annoying, but she is actually showing love and affection towards you so try to not discourage it too forcefully.  I get how annoying it can be.  I have a foster baby that wants to suck my neck.  Aside from a possible embarrassing hicky it might leave, I am terribly tickle-ish and just can't take it!  Lately, I have been distracting him with a toy that I keep nearby and it has helped.  I will often remove him and give him kisses on the cheeks and lips and he will squirm away rather than suffer that indignity!  

Again, I want to caution you to not be abrupt or rough in pushing her away - you don't want to alienate her and associate you with an unpleasant action.
 
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pawsywasy

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Thanks so much for your advice! I will definitely put what you've said into action. Also, I understand, I should probably not be pushing her away so much. I do feel quite bad about it. But, hopefully distracting her with toys will help in the long run. Thanks again! :- )
 
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