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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 2004unusual behavior problem
The latest addition to my family of wife, 3 cats and a puppy is a male kitten about 14wks old. He's a mixed breed but looks very much like the Aurkish Angora- longhaired, white, blue-eyed, hearing. I don't know much about his history except that he was abused by his previous owners. He came to us limping and emaciated, but with very good temperament. After only a week "Yeti" seems to be doing much better and is settling in as a happy member of the family and I have become much attached to him. Now for the problem- his one very annoying habit is that he tries to suckle whenever hungry or seeking attention. I am used to the kneading thing with the front paws, but along with this our guy will try to suckle fingers, toes, ears, or just about any area of exposed skin whenever handled. He also drinks from the water bowl in this same loud manner. I had never seen this behavior before. A co-worker tells me she had a cat which did this and never stopped as it grew older. I assume maybe he was weaned too early, or has some insecurity problem due to his short past, but how does one go about correcting this? Thanks for any advice. bill __ alienbill@intercorp.com > The latest addition to my family of wife, 3 cats and a puppy is a male > kitten about 14wks old. He's a mixed breed but looks very much like the [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > __ > alienbill@intercorp.com I bet he'll grow out of it. He's still a baby. Karen > The latest addition to my family of wife, 3 cats and a puppy is a male > kitten about 14wks old. He's a mixed breed but looks very much like the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > only a week "Yeti" seems to be doing much better and is settling in as a > happy member of the family and I have become much attached to him. Congrats on the new addition! (Yeti - that's so cute) > Now for the problem- his one very annoying habit is that he tries to > suckle whenever hungry or seeking attention. I am used to the kneading [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > was weaned too early, or has some insecurity problem due to his short > past, but how does one go about correcting this? Thanks for any advice. Some cats grow out of this. My friend's cat stopped by the time she was a year old. Some cats don't grow out of it, and it becomes almost an OCD type of behaviour. Medication can help, as can behaviour modification. I'd wait to see if he grows out of it before giving him any meds or seeing the vet about it. He may just need time to learn that he's secure and loved now. Got pics? :)  Signature-- ~kaeli~ Practice safe eating - always use condiments. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace >The latest addition to my family of wife, 3 cats and a puppy is a male >kitten about 14wks old. He's a mixed breed but looks very much like the [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >__ >alienbill@intercorp.com The thought that came to me is : does he have the persian-type nose? Any breathing problem? You said he had been abused, so he obviously needs llots of comforting and reassurance. Just pick him up often and pet him whenever you can. He will probably outgrow it. Best of luck. I don't hold much hope that your sweet Yeti will ever stop the thumb-sucking. Just consider it as part of his charm. I am not one of those who believe that over-early weaning contributes to this behavior. In years of fostering cats from the streets and alleys, I've seen as many (if not more) thumbsuckers develop from loving families, where the momcat allowed prolonged suckling long after she dried up and was spayed. You might try diverting some of that behavior to a towel or other prop when you hold Yeti, to give him the outlet he seems to need and save a soaking. He may eventually "wean," but I wouldn't count on it, poor guy. Sharon Talbert Friends of Campus Cats > I don't hold much hope that your sweet Yeti will ever stop the > thumb-sucking. Just consider it as part of his charm. I think it is totally adorable. circa Thu, 4 Mar 2004 13:26:52 -0800, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Sharon Talbert (stalbert@u.washington.edu) said, > I am not one of those who believe that over-early weaning contributes to > this behavior. In years of fostering cats from the streets and alleys, > I've seen as many (if not more) thumbsuckers develop from loving families, > where the momcat allowed prolonged suckling long after she dried up and > was spayed. Ditto. Camille is an obsessive licker, and her stray/feral mamacat who chose my household as her home allowed Camille to suckle until Camille was bigger than mamacat was. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > The latest addition to my family of wife, 3 cats and a puppy is a male > kitten about 14wks old. He's a mixed breed but looks very much like the [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > __ > alienbill@intercorp.com Stop this primitive id-like behavior IMMEDIATELY, bill. Ours is three years old and still tries to 'get some neck' on the wife almost every day. Not when he thinks I'm watching, of course. He thinks he's smart, he does. But he'z not smarter than me. It's just another form of masturbation, I maintain. All the softies around here will tell you to just let them have at it. But men like you and I understand that 'the child' must eventually be separated from the nipple of 'its mother'. I think you will agree. Don't let this go on. Nip it at the bud. Don't be a feminized ninny like all the other guyz who post in here. That's my advice. If you wear the ballz in the faimily like I do, you'll take it. IBen Getiner circa 5 Mar 2004 20:22:01 -0800, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, IBen Getiner (lappcatt@aol.com) said, > Stop this primitive id-like behavior IMMEDIATELY, bill. Ours is three > years old and still tries to 'get some neck' on the wife almost every [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > IBen Getiner You are such a stupid man. Off to the bozo bin for you and your pointless, useless, trolling "advice". Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > You are such a stupid man. I think you're giving him way too much credit about his age. I think he's stuck between 13 and 14. Signaturehttp://www.mindspring.com/~slywy/ http://slywy.diaryland.com/ >I think you're giving him way too much credit about his age. I think >he's stuck between 13 and 14. You owe me a new keyboard. *grin* Magdalene IWG #1024/Drill Sgt. of Local 35/Soiled Doves of Colorado & IFoRP #57 KC MasterPiece of the KCRF BBQ Wenches One of Moonie's Naughty Kittens Red Gemini Ghetto Smurf "Don't mess with me, I dance with swords." To email me, remove my bodice >I had never seen this behavior before. A co-worker tells me she had a >cat which did this and never stopped as it grew older. I assume maybe he [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >__ >alienbill@intercorp.com Paintball (year and a half old) still does this, and hadn't been weaned early, and was well bonded with her mama and sisters. (I knew the mama cat's owners.) My two cents is that it's a cat's way of bonding with the person it sees as it's new 'mama'. Paintball did it a *lot* when she was a baby and just joined us, but she does it less and less now--usually only if I've been gone an unusually long time or if Chase is determined to ignore her. She just wants comfort. Magdalene IWG #1024/Drill Sgt. of Local 35/Soiled Doves of Colorado & IFoRP #57 KC MasterPiece of the KCRF BBQ Wenches One of Moonie's Naughty Kittens Red Gemini Ghetto Smurf "Don't mess with me, I dance with swords." To email me, remove my bodice circa Thu, 4 Mar 2004 03:21:48 -0600, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, alienbill (alienbill@intercorp.com) said, > Now for the problem- his one very annoying habit is that he tries to > suckle whenever hungry or seeking attention. I am used to the kneading > thing with the front paws, but along with this our guy will try to > suckle fingers, toes, ears, or just about any area of exposed skin > whenever handled. He also drinks from the water bowl in this same loud > manner. Jacob used to get a suction grip on my earlobe and suck. He didn't really stop doing it until he was about ten years old, and he still nuzzles at my neck, ear, lip, chin, whatever, although he can't seem to get the suction-cup hold anymore. > I had never seen this behavior before. A co-worker tells me she had a > cat which did this and never stopped as it grew older. I assume maybe he > was weaned too early, or has some insecurity problem due to his short > past, but how does one go about correcting this? Thanks for any advice. Honestly, since it's a security and affection thing, I'd say that you're in for an easier haul if you learn to live with it. :-) Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated.
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