Kitten randomly starting to suckle

[eb24]

So I have dealt with suckling issues in kittens before but this is a little different.....

My kitten Diego is 14 weeks old and was born here in foster with me. He was weaned from his Mom at 9 weeks which I believe was too soon (it's a long story but the shelter pulled her for no apparent reason and said the kittens would be fine). Two of his litter mates immediately developed a suckling problem but Diego wasn't one of them. I saw no indication of suckling until about a week ago. 

I have several of these fleece blankets that I leave around the apartment for the kittens to sleep on. I keep one on my bed next to me which is where he likes to sleep. Last week, for no apparent reason he just started suckling the blanket. And not just a little- he sucked it until the whole top of it was soaked through! He doesn't do it to the identical blanket in the living room or the one in his carrier (where he also likes to sleep), only the one on the bed. There are also two other kittens here his age (from a different litter) but he doesn't do it to them. 

My questions: Is it normal for a 14 week old kitten to start suckling? Is there something that may have triggered it? And, perhaps most importantly, is it a dangerous habit for him to have? It doesn't really bother me if it makes him happy and comforts him but I don't want it to do any permanent damage. 

Thanks for any advice! 

 

[digitaledge]

This is strange, I have a 8 month old Siamese he was taken from his mom at 5.5 weeks old. I have never seen him suckle until last week when I pulled out my fleece blankets also. It must be the texture.

 

[physicsgal981]

I think there is a fear imprint period so where around that age, so it may have been triggered by a desire to self-calm.  Growing up we had a suckler - he was part of a feral litter at the barn my sister rode at and when the kittens hit 5-6 weeks the owner of the barn said the litter needed to go or he was "going to take care of them".  The kitten we took from the litter would kneed and suckle us whenever he was held.  It left wet spots all over our clothing but was never a major issue.  It was more of an annoyance for us than an issue for him and he always seemed very content when he was doing so. 

 

[eb24]

This is strange, I have a 8 month old Siamese he was taken from his mom at 5.5 weeks old. I have never seen him suckle until last week when I pulled out my fleece blankets also. It must be the texture.

Ha that is strange that we are having such a similar experience! I do think part of it is the feeling of the fleece. But, he loves his blankie so much I don't have the heart to take it away from him! 

I think there is a fear imprint period so where around that age, so it may have been triggered by a desire to self-calm.  Growing up we had a suckler - he was part of a feral litter at the barn my sister rode at and when the kittens hit 5-6 weeks the owner of the barn said the litter needed to go or he was "going to take care of them".  The kitten we took from the litter would kneed and suckle us whenever he was held.  It left wet spots all over our clothing but was never a major issue.  It was more of an annoyance for us than an issue for him and he always seemed very content when he was doing so. 

Huh that's an interesting thought. I guess because he was born here and has always been here I didnt figure he would go through a "fear period" but I suppose it's possible. At least it's just limited to his blankie. I don't know if I could deal with him suckling all over me! 

For now I'm just going to let him do his thang. Hopefully he will grow out of it, or at least keep it limited to the one spot! 

 

[crystalkitty]

I have a cat that was a feral rescue. He was just a bit older than the other one when I got him ... they weren't sure but probably about ten weeks old or so (they tended to separate the kittens from their mothers asap to "tame" them). 

He developed a relationship with my older neutered male cat. They would lie together and the cat would groom him, nipping at times. The kitten learned to suckle and lick during these grooming-loving sessions.

He never stopped. It was kind of cute and sweet when he was a kitten and he would climb up around my neck and do it, and I didn't mind TOO much. But now he drives me a bit crazy. When he gets stressed (which is honestly, most of the time, long story, but I think he misses my daughter, who was really his owner) ... anyway, when he gets at all stressed he slowly open his jaws and begin to rub his teeth on me while I pet him (or when he's just near me) and he begins to drool and chew on me. 

I'm afraid it is SUPER annoying, and he can get carried away too. I have tried, and tried, and TRIED to get him to stop, but if I discipline him in any way (by this I mean usually saying "no" and removing myself) ... he just ignores me and continues on, or else gets upset and leaves in a huff and goes and eats, only to return and try it again.

The poor cat has issues. 

I'm not saying yours will, but ... all I know is that it CAN escalate. Maybe it was because his life has been more stressful than he can bear. I had no idea the things that would follow when I let her adopt him, but he has had ups and downs in his life, beginning with being a feral rescue to begin with, and losing that dear cat that "adopted" him very soon after (I still miss that cat!).  I try to keep him as happy and stress-free as possible, and we've lived in the same place now for almost three years, but he still hasn't gotten over it. He's almost 5. 

I think he handles things less well than most cats though. He has had intestinal problems the vets could find no cause for, and he eats anytime you even mildly rebuke him or won't let him do what he wants. So maybe it's no relevance at all.  But if there's a way to keep the behavior under control, I'd say it's a good idea, since it CAN become a problem.