Cat Suckling

Question
I adopted a teenage cat a few months ago. He is now probably 8 or 9 months old and probably almost fully grown. My problem is that since I have had him, he has been an obsessive-compulsive suckler. He constantly wants to suckle on the tips of my fingers and cannot be distracted from this singular desire. At night, unless I lock him out of my room, he will literally hunt down the tips of my fingers. If I try hiding them under pillows and blankets, he will dig to find them. He also wants to do this during the day, when he is lounging on my lap--basically any time he wants to cuddle. Besides being very annoying and inconvenient, it is painful, as he bites me a lot in his initial effort to latch on to my finger. Is there any cure for this behavior??? I'm desperate!

Answer
Hi Paisley (pretty name),

That does sound annoying. Do gloves work?

Mostly those kind of problems with cat deal with emotional issues of the cat or a non-normal kittenhood.

I don't have a good magic answer that will instantly cure the suckling problem. I wish I would.

But I AM including some articles for you to read on the subject that can explain it much better than I can.

Copy and paste the whole links into your address bar if the link is not clickable. I hope they provide some understanding and insite in the compulsive/obsessive behavior pattern.

http://www.petalia.com.au/Templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?specie=Cats&story_...

http://www.nhahonline.com/feline_behaviour/feline_chewing.htm

http://www.petqna.com/cat/1880-cat-petqna.html

Hope these help a little and that you get relief soon.

Carol