4 month old kitty with a suckling issue

by Kimberly
(Saucier, MS, USA)

QUESTION

My mother had two female cats that gave birth. One had four kittens and one 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 him 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 don't think he was properly weaned and perhaps we got him a little early. 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