kitten nursing

Question
This sounds weird as all heck, but I inherited a wee kitten at about 6 weeks. She was litter trained, eating crunchy food and drinking water. I don't know if she was weaned too early, because she has a habit of sucking on my neck, fingers, arm, anything she can grasp hold of. She'll slime my neck trying to get something to suck on. She is now 10 weeks old and although I pull her off, and discourage her, she has not been broken of this habit. She is either biting my hand or sucking on it. Is this typical? What do I do?
Thank you so much, Elizabeth

Answer
Elizabeth,

Unfortunately you are probably right about this kitten being weaned too early. Mother cats will wean their babies by themselves when the kittens are about 8 weeks old. I generally recommend that kittens stay with their siblings and mom until they are about 12 weeks old or so. The first 12 weeks of a kitten's life are important in terms of socializing the kittens properly and helping them to understand boundaries and skills such as bite inhibition (which I am sure that you can appreciate if your kitten has attacked toes, fingers or ankles). I have a 9 year old cat that I hand raised from about a week old, she used to suck on other cats in my home, her own paws and tummy, as well as fingers, blankets, my lower lip, ear lobes, blankets, towels and clothing. MC (my nursing kitty) actually came to a point where she started to nurse on her tummy and she still self soothes daily. As far as I know the only thing that you can do is help the kitten to redirect the self soothing behavior so that it is something that you can handle. Unfortunately this baby was too young to be taken from mom. A common misconception is that if a kitten is eating kitten food that they are no longer nursing. Sadly that is not true. It can easily be compared with a human baby when they are first starting to eat solid foods, during that time period they are still getting the bulk of their nutrition from breast feeding or formula. Momma cat will wean her little ones, sometimes it happens as early as 5-6 weeks of age, sometimes it can be as late as 8-10 weeks of age. It is a positive sign that she tries to nurse on you, it shows that this baby feels secure with you and is trying to treat you like a mom. You can offer this kitten something else to nurse on, you may want to try talking with your vet as some common substitutions such as blankets, towels, stuffed animals and clothing can be dangerous if the kitten manages to swallow them. This little munchkin really doesn't understand why she isn't being allowed to suck on you or slime you, all that she is trying to do is be comforted in the only way that she knows how. You can try redirecting her and reassuring her with gentle handling and talking to her in a soft comforting tone. Sadly this little one feels a bit on the abandoned side, unfortunately her momma isn't around. With my nursing kitty because her eyes were still closed when she came to live with me she views me as her mom. I do wish that there was a simple and fool proof solution to this, but to be honest, if there is one I haven't found it yet. This behavior will likely continue, the trick is to make sure that your little baby is safe. Kitten proofing takes on a whole new meaning with a kitten who has a bit of an obsession in terms of sucking on people and possessions. You can try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a blend of flower essences that has been designed to calm and reassure. I have found Rescue Remedy to be a fairly useful remedy to keep in the house and it generally works. I would suggest that you try a dose of about 5 drops in fresh water every morning. Rescue Remedy can be found in most health food/natural health stores and it is fairly reasonably priced. It is safe and you may find that it works. I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me again.