Forever suckling.. STOP!!!

I recently adopted 2 new kittens (sisters) and brought them home and introduced them to my 4 year old siamese. As expected, it was a little rocky initially, but Tai is just as happy as I thought he would be with new little playmates.

The larger of the two kittens (Kiki) has a very annoying habit. When she wants to take a break from playing and wants to relax, she will crawl up in your lap, begin purring vigorously, and looks for any fold in your clothing and begins to suckle and knead. I love lap kitties and I am glad that she feels so comfortable with me. However.. the constant sttuuuth sttuuth sttuuth sound along with the vibrations and wet spots on the clothing, has all become unbearable. Cookie, the smaller of the two, plays hard, doesn't seem to require as much affection as Kiki and will simply lie down beside me to take a nap.

Does anyone know if this is something that will just pass in time?? Is there something I can do to help her to stop? For now, I simply remove her anytime she begins, but she is persistant and has started to suckle on any blanket or part of the couch that is near me when I won't allow her to be on me. H-E-L-P!!!!:fingerscr

:grouphug:
~ragdollrae

My Aunt's cat did that for 20 years. I thought it was rather endearing and woke up plenty of times with the armpits of my sweatshirts wet.

When I got my kittens, one of them would have to stop for a "sucky break" once in a while, except he wouldn't suck on me, he'd suck on a spike of fur on the other kitten's neck. The other kitten didn't mind and he wasn't doing any damage, so I let them be. Now they're both about eleven months old and . . .

. . . he still sucks. Less than when he was little, though. I don't know how to discourage it, sorry!

Funny story, though . . . I was on a different message board and this guy got a kitten and then woke up from a very, ahem, pleasant dream to find the kitten attached to his nipple! :p So he detached Suck-zilla and rolled over onto his stomach. And the kitten happily discovered that he had a mole on his back and sucked that instead. :D

Kittens who are taken too early from their mama sometimes do this - I have had bottle babies do it and it never bothered me tho I tried to dissuade them from doing it. (as in I thought I was not being as good as a feline mama). Then again, some breeds - like Siamese - have Pica and like to suckle on wool. That can mean they are bored but that seems so unlikely with 3 cats in your home.

I really find nothing wrong with a kitten suckling,she obviously has a need,same as babies and a soother.
Maybe when she gets on your lap,you can give her her own special blanky or pillow for comfort:love:

I have a 9 year old DSH (rescue from school) and she's sucked on clothes from the minute we brought her home. It used to be just my husband's clothes so I didn't care that much. But now she'll do it to mainly mine! She'll climb into the clothes hamper and pull a shirt out for her to suck on. Or if the dresser drawer isn't closed all the way, she'll get her paw in and pull at it till it's open, then grab a shirt out. She's ruined so much of my clothes with nail marks/rips in them. Even ones that I haven't had a chance to wear yet! I know how frustrated you are! I don't know how to stop mine because she only does it when no one is home or she's alone in the bedroom.
It's a good thing she's cute!:evil:

I should have added I would not worry about it too much either. I once had a stray kitten - neighbour who left, sigh - when I was in Boston - show up and she used to suckle my sweaters - esp when it was on me but that was OK. I gave her the sweater, lol Now of course I have spyhnx kitties with more sweaters than me, lol

Thanks for your replies and input. Looks as though there is no breaking the habit. I am sure everyone has different limits on what is annoying to them. My children find it odd that I cannot stand a constant rhythmic sound, i.e. drums, or beating hands on a table; however, it makes me crazy. Same with Kiki's constant suckling.. it just strikes a small nerve in me. :eek: It is somewhat better since she has been willing to move on to a nearby blanket instead of needing to be nestled in my armpit!

Thanks for reading and letting me know that it is a common issue.
:love:
~ragdollrae