Kitten advice please

Hi,
I just adopted a 4 month old kitten from the humane society (I had to put my old wonderful cat down about 4 weeks ago, and when I saw this beautiful little girl who looks a lot like Crystal did - we just had to have her - she is wonderful and adorable. She brings tears to my eyes occasionally - when she sits in Crystal's chair, or looks a certain way. It makes me think of Crys and what she must have been like as a baby - it's a good thing ).
My question is this: she wakes up during the night and trys to "nurse" just about anything she can get her little paws on (my fingers, chin, etc). It's very sweet, but is she OK? (she drinks plenty of water and eats dry food very readily) Coming from the humane society, I have no idea when she left her mama. Is there a way to soothe her, or is she just behaving like a sweet baby who misses her mom?
She is getting plenty of love and affection - It's been sooooo long since I've had a kitten I just want to make sure we do everything we can for her (she is on my lap right now purring her little head off).
I'd appreciate any input or suggestions...
Thank you for your time,
Anne

First of all, I'm sorry about your loss of your Crystal. I know it's hard.
About your kitten, I would say to just keep giving her all the attention you can give her. She is probably just a little scared and insecure right now since she is in a strange place. If you just give her plenty of love and attention, she might get over it. What it sounds like to me is she is using that as a pacifier, in a sense. Young kittens suck on wool (carpet, clothes, etc.) because of this. I would think that's what she's doing. It doesn't sound bad to me. It shouldn't harm her.

I'd say to just keep giving her love like you do.

Good luck!

And congrats on the new kitten!

Hi Anne,

I'm glad you found a special kitten to come live with you, I can imagine how hard the loss of Crystal was - it doesn't matter how old they are or if it's time, it just hurts.

It could be your kitten was separated quite young, and frankly, she may keep this up for some years to come. It is a psychological thing... I would just do what you are doing...loving her up, and see how it goes over time as she realizes she really isn't going anywhere else, but is "home".

Just my 2 cents!

You know what? I think she is going to be just fine... My 2 year old Pug is in my lap,and she just climbed up to join us... She is stretched out on his back with my arm for support - and purring. I don't know how long I'm going to have to sit here - they are both asleep.

Originally Posted by Crystal13

I don't know how long I'm going to have to sit here - they are both asleep.

Click to expand...

Until they wake up enjoy the snuggle.

It sounds like she has settled in just fine! But like the previous poster, I too have a cat, ellie, who at a year still sucks on any bit of anyone she can reach and nuzzles all the time as if she is trying to get inside me! Others I know have the same behaviour. SOme seem to grow out of it, some will accept a substitute to suck (Ellie won't - she must have flesh!) and some just do it. But there seems to be nothing you can do to stop it.

Take all the lovins' while you can, cause when they get bigger, that's it.... they're the rulers!

*grin* Sounds like a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon ... I have often said of my Siamese cats that once on my lap it would take a surgical procedure to remove them. Your little one sounds quite sweet.

~gf~

Too cute!
My Oliver is more of a "chewer" than a "nurser"--the nursing itself is quite harmless so long as she doesn't start chewing/eating clothing, strings, etc. which is one of Oliver's favorite and most expensive pastimes, as we have to rush him to the vet whenever it's evident he's eaten something he shouldn't (ribbon, part of a shirt). My parents have a kitten (well, about 8 months old now) who nurses/nibbles on my mother, but doesn't show any interest in eating innapropriate things.

There is a neat product called snugglepet which I've seen links to on this website which many people rave about to help soothe young kittens and even scared "grown-up" kitties.

Good luck and keep us posted!