Adopted Kitten Nursing On Blankets...

[Emerald00]

I adopted a kitten over a month ago and she nurses on everything when she starts to become tired(blankets, pillows, robes, etc...). I think she may have been weaned too early But I"m not too sure. She also has problems grooming and the older cat will hold her down and groom her when she starts playing to aggressively. Will she grow out of the blanket nursing?

 

[Letta]

Hi,
Yes she might have been weened to early, how old is she? She might stop or she might not. Mine never did, there are catficiers if you don't want her to do that on your belongings. If it makes her feel good I would just let her do it, just be careful that she nurse is safe for her. For the grooming it's a way from your cats to stay please stop.

 

[DreamerRose]

She probably will, but she may not. It's harmless, so I would let her do it. It is probably very comforting to her, like a kid sucking his thumb. Adult cats love to knead soft objects, which also recalls nursing. No one tries to dissuade them from that.

Welcome to the Cat Site!

 

[Emerald00]

She's only about three months old.

 

[danteshuman]

She may have been separated from her mom to early. I have heard people recommend felt or a very soft fleece ... I recommend a very soft knitted blanket or scarf. Let her have a binkie One bottle baby I raised was attached to her binkie & 'nursed' on it every day of her life. The other kitten did everything 5 days after her sister. She was failing to thrive so I let her 'nurse' off of my calmest neutered male kitties. After that he let her pretend to nurse whenever she wanted and was Mr. Mom to both kittens. The kitten that 'nursed' never took to smurgling/nursing on a binkie. *shrugs*

 

[Blakeney Green]

Zephyr used to do this when he was little. I just let him do what he needed to, and he eventually outgrew it on his own.

 

[EmmiTemmi]

My 5mo kitten does the same thing. I have a super soft/cheap walmart blanket that Colby will suck on and knead very often every day. I'm hoping he'll grow out of it, but it seems to bring him comfort so I just let him do his thing. My other kitten has never once showed interest in sucking/kneading, so it's kind of a mystery why Colby enjoys it so much.

 

[Emerald00]

My roommate sent me these pictures earlier this week.

View media item 419996View media item 419995
Apparently, this is what Ella does when I am not home.

 

[dahli6]

Last November a friend of my daughter kidnapped a 5 week old litter of kittens from a stray cat. It is something well meaning humans do because they don't know any better. He kept one and gave the rest to a pet foster who could raise them until they could go to the shelter.
The friend brought that kitten to me to raise for him because his mother in law didn't want a cat in the house at all and they had one year old in the house too. He thought he could talk Mil into letting him have a cat.
She nursed on a blanket several times a day until she was 4 or 5 months old and then it became a bedtime nighttime thing; she would lay across my body and nurse the blanket over my chest. She has done it a few times since then but not much. She is right about a year old.
Omen developed a small blister on her bottom lip at one point from sucking on it when she was nursing the blanket. When she stopped nursing so much it went away.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Ah, the push-purr cat paws behavior! Your kitty may grow out of it, she may not, but yes, I do think it is comforting behavior for them and often happens with kittens who lost their mom too early during kitten hood.

My kitty was orphaned at 4 days old, then fostered by humans till we found her and adopted her. She still "push purrs" at two and a half years old, and I actually love that she does it. It's very comforting for her. It can also really help to have your kitty's "push purr binkie" put inside of a crate or carrier along with them, if you need to ever crate your cat long-term for any reason. Really helps them calm down! (Our cat is having to go through weeks of crate-rest at the moment; I don't know what we'd do without her binkie!)