Am I the mother cat?

[RSbunny]

The last couple of days Milko has been suckling my clothes! Any part he can grab when he feels the need. He never did this before, what is going on? We are discouraging it, but he is a man on a mission and he fights to get back to suckle some more. will someone care to explain why. He only does this to me, no-one else.

[Jade]

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/ou...or_basics.html

See if that helps. I don't know much about kittens but that made sense to me.

[Scarlette]

Sucking on something probably gives him comfort. Either that or he was weaned too early.

We had a Siamese that suckled on anything she could get ahold of. She did that her whole life. It was funny until I went to bed and had cat spit all over my pillow case.

My mother's Bengal loves to suck on his own tail.....but he's just a freak!

[Formula86]

this is pretty normal when a dog or cat has been weaned too early. sometimes they just do it.
just don't take your shirt off, carm!

[DirtySouthChins]

@ Jane.... but yes both Jane and Scarlette are right, he was probably weaned too early, which could be the truth if Milko was only about 4 weeks old when you got him

[RSbunny]

ok thanks guys....I'll keep discouraging him from doing it then. I don't want to spray him water (he knows what that thing is and runs whenever he sees it!!) cause I figured it might be a loving thing and I didn't want to turn him into a nasty cat by teaching him that affection is wrong!

Jane....tonight he was trying to suckle at my side, and yesterday it was my legs...poor thing doesn't know what he is doing!!!!

Edited to say thanks for the info. Steph!!! It was a good read!!

[Formula86]

wait a minute, carm. are you going to discourage it or not? you said you don't want to put him off of something that is loving, but you said you will discourage it. ??? darn aussies!!

[RSbunny]

Sorry...I'm discouraging by distracting him, hoping to break the habit, he hasn't been doing it long so hopefully he won't take too long to get out of it. But I'm not going to discourage him by squirting him water, something he associates with being bad, because I don't want him to think all loving is bad. Instead I either distract him with a game or alex takes him and cuddles him instead.

[Formula86]

ooooooooooooooooooooooook.

[RSbunny]

see I just distracted him by rubbing him under his chin and keeping his head just out of suckling reach of my clothes and he has fallen asleep! So it's a happy ending for all this time