So I have dealt with suckling issues in kittens before but this is a little different.....
My kitten Diego is 14 weeks old and was born here in foster with me. He was weaned from his Mom at 9 weeks which I believe was too soon (it's a long story but the shelter pulled her for no apparent reason and said the kittens would be fine). Two of his litter mates immediately developed a suckling problem but Diego wasn't one of them. I saw no indication of suckling until about a week ago.
I have several of these fleece blankets that I leave around the apartment for the kittens to sleep on. I keep one on my bed next to me which is where he likes to sleep. Last week, for no apparent reason he just started suckling the blanket. And not just a little- he sucked it until the whole top of it was soaked through! He doesn't do it to the identical blanket in the living room or the one in his carrier (where he also likes to sleep), only the one on the bed. There are also two other kittens here his age (from a different litter) but he doesn't do it to them.
My questions: Is it normal for a 14 week old kitten to start suckling? Is there something that may have triggered it? And, perhaps most importantly, is it a dangerous habit for him to have? It doesn't really bother me if it makes him happy and comforts him but I don't want it to do any permanent damage.
Thanks for any advice!
My kitten Diego is 14 weeks old and was born here in foster with me. He was weaned from his Mom at 9 weeks which I believe was too soon (it's a long story but the shelter pulled her for no apparent reason and said the kittens would be fine). Two of his litter mates immediately developed a suckling problem but Diego wasn't one of them. I saw no indication of suckling until about a week ago.
I have several of these fleece blankets that I leave around the apartment for the kittens to sleep on. I keep one on my bed next to me which is where he likes to sleep. Last week, for no apparent reason he just started suckling the blanket. And not just a little- he sucked it until the whole top of it was soaked through! He doesn't do it to the identical blanket in the living room or the one in his carrier (where he also likes to sleep), only the one on the bed. There are also two other kittens here his age (from a different litter) but he doesn't do it to them.
My questions: Is it normal for a 14 week old kitten to start suckling? Is there something that may have triggered it? And, perhaps most importantly, is it a dangerous habit for him to have? It doesn't really bother me if it makes him happy and comforts him but I don't want it to do any permanent damage.
Thanks for any advice!