Baby sucking

[Maggies mommy]

Maggie constantly is sucking my little finger....... It is so precious she starts to fall asleep & her ears wiggle also she makes sucking noises..... I love it!!!!! Does any 1 else experience the sucking?????

 

[Hairlesslove]

Awww that is too cute! Mickey doesnt do that (I wish!)...But he loves sleeping on my pillow so I can smell him all night long! LOL! (He sometimes smells like Hotdogs-WEIRD huh?!)♥

 

[Brooke]

Awww that is too cute! Mickey doesnt do that (I wish!)...But he loves sleeping on my pillow so I can smell him all night long! LOL! (He sometimes smells like Hotdogs-WEIRD huh?!)♥

Helen often smells like mashed potatoes!

 

[PitRottMommy]

Maggie constantly is sucking my little finger....... It is so precious she starts to fall asleep & her ears wiggle also she makes sucking noises..... I love it!!!!! Does any 1 else experience the sucking?????

How old is Maggie? Generally speaking, the longer babies are left with their mother, the fewer the chances that they will continue the suckling behavior. While it may be cute now, it may progress in to sucking on towels, other parts of your body, family members, bedding, etc. Most cats leave a nice, large, wet spot where they've suckled. On the other hand, some do keep this behavior no matter how old they are. Buck, who is almost 2, sucks on his sister, Buffy. They haven't been separated since conception. However, Baldwin, their direct brother who came to be with me at 4 months of age does have this behavior.

 

[Hairlesslove]

Helen often smells like mashed potatoes!

Isnt it Great?! They have their own perfume scents! LOL!

 

[Brooke]

How old is Maggie? Generally speaking, the longer babies are left with their mother, the fewer the chances that they will continue the suckling behavior. While it may be cute now, it may progress in to sucking on towels, other parts of your body, family members, bedding, etc. Most cats leave a nice, large, wet spot where they've suckled. On the other hand, some do keep this behavior no matter how old they are. Buck, who is almost 2, sucks on his sister, Buffy. They haven't been separated since conception. However, Baldwin, their direct brother who came to be with me at 4 months of age does have this behavior.

Yep, I used to have a furry cat (a calico named Yahoo) who was separated from her mother too early. She did the sucking thing her entire life. In fact, I would wake up in the middle of the night and she'd be sucking on my neck or my stomach.

 

[CoolSphynx]

Isnt it Great?! They have their own perfume scents! LOL!

LOL. Makes me tempted to put that on my sphynx adoption application--

"Loving human and fur family seeks cool Sphynx.
Preference given to those who smell like mashed potatoes or pastries.
Hot-dog scented Sphynx welcome only if they can outrun our toddler"

 

[PitRottMommy]

Yep, I used to have a furry cat (a calico named Yahoo) who was separated from her mother too early. She did the sucking thing her entire life. In fact, I would wake up in the middle of the night and she'd be sucking on my neck or my stomach.

I had a neighbor whose cat, Sassy, would climb on your stomach, twist your shirt into a knot and suckle on it. The unfortunate part was that she would drool profusely.

 

[Maggies mommy]

Maggie is 11 weeks old, she was only 7 weeks when I got her & she was the runt, so she prob left her mommy to early & didn't get enough milk

 

[PitRottMommy]

Maggie is 11 weeks old, she was only 7 weeks when I got her & she was the runt, so she prob left her mommy to early & didn't get enough milk

7 weeks is extremely early to be sending babies home. Ideally, breeders should not be letting their babies go before at least 10 weeks of age. The idea is to be able to provide at least the first set of vaccinations (and have given enough time for the kittens to develop some immunity, some kittens will even have their second set). By this age, their immune systems are functioning fully and they do not rely on mom for anything. They're ready to take on the world alone. At 7 weeks of age, the babies still rely on mom not only for nutrients but also to show them proper social behaviors (they also learn this from their littermates). It's not to say that a 7 week old baby will not survive, but they may have coping issues (for example, the suckling). And they can still make wonderful companions.

This page: http://www.kittenbaby.com/behavior.php shows you what babies are doing at a certain age. You can see why it's important for them to make it to about the 12 week age before leaving mom and their littermates. Excellent breeders will even keep kittens longer if they feel they're not as socially developed as the other kittens. You will often hear this refered to as their "maturity level", alot like with children. Some of these kittens may not be ready for their new homes until 4-5 months.

 

[kalliee129]

Helen often smells like mashed potatoes!

I remember reading someone post that their kitty smelled like cheetos and I thought that was odd, but lately Meecho has been making me have a craving for them

 

[sydkat7]

I remember reading someone post that their kitty smelled like cheetos and I thought that was odd, but lately Meecho has been making me have a craving for them

That's funny, Kallie...Piglet gets that "cheetos" smell, too, if I haven't given her a bath in awhile. The thought of her smelling like cheetos is kinda cute, until I have to sleep with her....then I just gag! LOL!

 

[georgehairlesson]

George sucks on his arm pit. Its silly.

 

[Hairlesslove]

LOL. Makes me tempted to put that on my sphynx adoption application--

"Loving human and fur family seeks cool Sphynx.
Preference given to those who smell like mashed potatoes or pastries.
Hot-dog scented Sphynx welcome only if they can outrun our toddler"

Hilarious! ♥

 

[lovinsphynx]

LOL. Makes me tempted to put that on my sphynx adoption application--

"Loving human and fur family seeks cool Sphynx.
Preference given to those who smell like mashed potatoes or pastries.
Hot-dog scented Sphynx welcome only if they can outrun our toddler"

put that on a t-shirt that is hilarious

 

[streakin]

Maggie constantly is sucking my little finger....... It is so precious she starts to fall asleep & her ears wiggle also she makes sucking noises..... I love it!!!!! Does any 1 else experience the sucking?????

Xerxes is a major problem sucker. He will try any piece of exposed flesh. It was cute at first but now it honestly is getting old and actually annoying. We didn't bring him home till he was 14weeks BUT his mother had gotten an infection and wasn't able to feed her litter so I"m assuming that's his cause for it. We are still trying to work on breaking him of it, I've read that as long as it's not hurting them or anything else to let it be, but I'm tired of being pinned down so he can get his morning suckle on

 

[kalliee129]

Xerxes is a major problem sucker. He will try any piece of exposed flesh. It was cute at first but now it honestly is getting old and actually annoying. We didn't bring him home till he was 14weeks BUT his mother had gotten an infection and wasn't able to feed her litter so I"m assuming that's his cause for it. We are still trying to work on breaking him of it, I've read that as long as it's not hurting them or anything else to let it be, but I'm tired of being pinned down so he can get his morning suckle on

I just had the worst mental image after reading that. I would detail it but I might end up getting kicked off the site for good :Laugh:

 

[ilovemysphynx]

I just had the worst mental image after reading that. I would detail it but I might end up getting kicked off the site for good :Laugh:

I got the same picture in my head! Don't worry we won't throw you off! And by the way you just made Senior Member Congrats! (senior to us not in age)

 

[Maximus]

Reading about all these smells and suckers made me laugh!!!!

 

[harley]

Well I know you are right about the age sometimes having a factor, but Harley was 11 weeks old when I got him and he still sucks at times...mostly when we get in bed to go to sleep. but not when we sleep in the chair or on the couch, so his has no ryhme or reason...I love the sound, my husband thinks its crazy.. but he lives with it....

 

[kerrie78]

I had an 85lb Bull Terrier that did it at night when I was sleeping on the bed talk about a slimy sloppy mess! I guess I kinda had a waterbed. LOL. He wasn't taken from his mom early... None of his littermates did it, it was just a weird quirk. Thank god the cats don't do it!

 

[Maggies mommy]

UPDATE: Maggie started suckaling on my toes & it tickles so bad! Lol

 

[Brooke]

UPDATE: Maggie started suckaling on my toes & it tickles so bad! Lol

haha I think it would feel good (is that weird?), I keep trying to get Helen to lick my feet. Jeez, she licks everything else, (she'll lick the wall, for goodness sake) but she turns her nose up when I put my feet in her face. Are my feet really that bad? She licks her own butt!

 

[abeitagatos]

Baby sucking: In the case of a Sphynx kitten/cat. It doesn't matter whether you take the kitten from the mommy early or not this is in a Sphynx nature in sucking. You will find some that do and don't. This also is true in the Siamese breed.
Theresa of abeitagatos

 

[sydkat7]

Baby sucking: In the case of a Sphynx kitten/cat. It doesn't matter whether you take the kitten from the mommy early or not this is in a Sphynx nature in sucking. You will find some that do and don't. This also is true in the Siamese breed.
Theresa of abeitagatos

That's true. My late kitty PJ, a Siamese show cat champion, did the suckling behavior, too. I know for a fact he didn't leave the litter too early, because he lived at the cattery where he was born with his family members for years until I adopted him (after he retired from the show ring). Fortunately, he only suckled on himself and not on me and Sydney...LOL!