4 month old kitty with a suckling issue

by Kimberly
(Saucier, MS, USA)

My mother had two female cats that gave birth one to four kittens and one that had seven. Being inundated with kitties everywhere we decided to take one of the seven from the second litter. He's a sweet kitty and we had his neutered as soon as he turned three months old. My question is concerning his suckling. He's an absolute lap cat that loves being very social, but when he thinks he's going to drift off to sleep he finds the nearest piece of blanket, shirt, pant, whatever is nearby and begins to suckle it. It may or may not include kneading, but it's something that we are having a hard time breaking. I've tapped his nose, I've pulled him away, and now I've had to resort to putting him on the floor to get him to stop. I think we was not properly weaned and that we probably got him a little early and I was wondering if there's something that I should try or just keep doing what I'm doing and eventually he'll stop. Thanks for any suggestions and we love our little Homer!

Thanks,
Kimberly in south Mississippi


Hi,

That usually occurs because the kitten was taken away too early or because it is part Siamese. In either event, I would probably find something that is safe to suck on (that won't be destroyed and therefore swallowed by the kitten) and let him use that and discourage everything else in the manner in which you have been doing.

Good luck, Thank you for writing,
Dr. Neely