New Kitten problem

Question
I just adopted a darling 2 1/2 month old female kitten from the SPCA. I've had her a week and she has adjusted beautifully,and is so loving. I had her checked out by my vet within a week of being home. The only very odd thing is, she nurses on herself! Whenever I'am petting her or she is ready to sleep she curls up and begins loudly nursing on herself. My vet hasn't seen a cat nurse on herself before. He told me to just try to distract her when she does it. Do you have any answers for why she is doing this. or what I should do? Thank you

Answer
Hi.  I've had kittens nurse on all sorts of strange things.  One would suck the tip of her tail until she was a couple years old.  Others have suckled the belly or genitals of other cats, or their own.  In general it is a harmless behavior that resolves itself by the time a cat is a year or two.  When it's a blanket they're suckling on, you can always take it away, but when she's suckling on herself, there is very little you can do to stop it.  You can distract her if you like, but I wouldn't get too worried about it unless she is causing damage to her skin or fur.  Since this behavior is most often related to being weaned too quickly, it is usually just a waiting game to see when she has finally grown out of the habit, much like a child who sucks his thumb.