Conference misery::feline_v1

    One of the kittens that a fellow Feliner bought from me did the
    same thing.  He was weaned just like his littermates, but didn't
    want to give up the sucking thing.  The feliner bought two Birman
    kittens from me, and the little male, Lindy, used to suck on the
    female, Lizzy, until she was soaking wet!  Well, happily, he seems
    to have outgrown it.  It was difficult to teach him not to do it
    cause Lizzy never seemed to mind it.  She would actually pure and
    lick his head when he did it.  How's that for positive reinforcement!
    
    If it is bothering your older cat, then keep them apart whenever
    you are not around to correct the behavior.  Also, if the older
    cat would get mad and swat the little one, it would help cure the
    problem.  But, if the older one just sits there and allows it (as
    Lizzy did), you will probably have to wait til he outgrows it.
    
    Good Luck,
    
    Jo

    Re .1  You're lucky the kitten outgrew it!!  Benjamin is 7 1/2 years
    old and still sucks on whatever he can get a hold of, as long as it's
    attached to me!  I'm his third owner (got him when he was still a
    kitten) and it's something he never outgrew.  Also, my mom's cat (Sam,
    17 1/2) also liked to "nurse" for most of his life.  I don't think he
    does it anymore.  However, we got him fairly young.
    
    Mary
    

    Actually, Lindy doesn't belong to me anymore, he belongs to Anne
    Wifholm.  But, I warned her about the sucking thing before she bought
    him, just in case she didn't find it amusing.  She never worried
    too much about it, and he did eventually outgrow it.  That was the
    last I heard anyway.  Lindy will be 10 months old tomorrow, and
    has already been neutered.
    
    Poor Lizzy used to look so funny with little wet spiky pieces of
    fur sticking out all over her body.  She looked like she had "gone
    punk" once Lindy was finished with her.  It was really funny.
    
    Jo

    Well I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with a punk cat!  :-)
    I really don't mind, he is a really neat kitten, guess I just 
    wanted to hear that I wasn't the only one!  I had lots of cats before
    but never more than one at a time, if Sinead doesn't mind so much,
    I won't let it bother me!
    
    Thanks for your input!
    
    Corine

    Our family shares the house with Lindy (Lucky Lindberg) and Lizzi (Lady
    Elizabeth) the two Birmans from Jo's cattery.  Sorry to burst your
    bubble, but Lindy still occasionally reverts back to the sucking habit
    with his sister's coat.  These little (!) Birman babies arrived from
    California on a TWA Red Eye, under the watchful care of Mary Tamir--cat
    courier.  They were both in one carrier, and Lizzy arrived, absolutely
    soaking wet, with Lindy still attached!  His habit sort of stopped in a
    few days, so we just chalked it up to travel/change-in-habitat stress. 
    He only tried to nurse his sister at bedtime.  When she had enough, she
    would first swat him, second, try taking his head and tucking it under
    her chin, and third, just throw him out of their little cat bed.  It
    was a source of amusement to us.  
    
    Until....Lindy discovered that humans have fur-like covering on their
    heads!  There is nothing quite like waking up at 2:00 am with a
    now-ten-pound cat sucking and kneading your head.  Fortunately, there
    are four of us, and he has the decency to spread himself around.  It's
    quite funny in the morning, a quick glance at everyone's head ---the
    guy with the wet matted hair and spikes had the honor of Lindy's
    company!  We only catch him doing this once or twice a week now.
    
    He's a good little guy, so the habit isn't any bother.  We previously
    had a Maine Coon that sucked for years, so we were familiar with the
    habit.
    
    Our chidren were born in (1) U.K. and (2) Netherlands, and both were
    thumbsuckers.  Being American, at first I frowned upon this, and went
    the "dummy" routine (pacifyer[sp?]).  My Euro-neighbors told me this
    was the sign of a contented baby.  So I ditched the platic things and
    they soon broke themselves of that habit.
    
    Think it's true of felines?   I'm just happy having, what seems to be a
    contented pair of cats.
    
    Anne
    

    Oh well Anne, I thought he had outgrown it!  But, it kind of makes
    him seem like a sweet little baby rather than an almost full grown
    male cat.  
    
    Bye the way, Happy 10 Month Birthday, Lizzi and Lindy!!
    
    From your former mom,
    
    Jo

    I wonder if some substitute toy would help, just in case the suckee
    would like a little relief?
    

    Corine,
    
    I'd leave the behaviour to the expert...the suckee!!  When she gets
    tired of it, she'll let the little one know.  Meanwhile, I'd just get a
    chuckle out of it.  
    
    Maybe I'm nuts, but I still enjoy the rare moments when Chauncey kneads
    away at my arm, drooling and purring like crazy.
    
    Mary
    

    re: .8  Well if you're nuts Mary, then I'm completely around the
    bend!!  Mao still jumps into my lap about twice a week and kneads
    my tummy for a bit purring to beat the band!  I love it and obviously
    so does she  :-)
    

    Laci will give my husband hickies on his neck if we aren't careful.
    He loves to knead and suck his neck, and of course, she must groom
    his beard for him too.
    
    She is also the cat who climbs into bed with me at night and kneads
    and sucks my forearm til all hours of the night.  She has never
    tired this on the other cats, only on us humans.
    
    She is a year and a half, and it doesn't look like she will outgrow
    this.
                                                    
    Jo

    I know this note has been inactive for awhile, but thought I'd share
    my experience.  We had a kitten (now twelve) who insisted on nursing
    on our dog - a huge 120 LB Newfoundland/Lab cross. Fortunately Mrs.
    Nofsky absolutely adored her kitties - she had three - so she put
    up with the behavior, albeit with very audible sighs, moans, groans,
    etc. Abby, the kitten, eventually stopped nursing.  But until the
    day Mrs. Nofsky died, Abby groomed her - cleaning hers eyes and ears,
    and occasionally removing dead fur. What a duo those too were -
    best friends to the end!
    
    Kris
    

    an adorable story about a substitute mom for a kitten is
    James Herriot's children's book  "Moses the kitten".
    
    Fran