My 2.5 month old kitten suckling on my clothes

[kittady]

I have a kitten that I adopted a month ago whose mother passed away in an accident. He is a healthy and playful little kitten but it's only a week ago that he started to suck on my shirt and kneed at it as though he were taking milk from his mother. He does this often when I'm lying down and he climbs my stomach and chest and strait to kneed and suckle on my shirt. He does this on my blanket as well or on anywhere he feels warm. I often catch him suckling on my sleeve or collar when I'm asleep. I feel bad because he probably misses his mother so I tried to give him warm milk in a squeezable food color bottle but he refuses. I've tried countless of times to try and use this solution but it was no use. I have also read that a by the age of 5-6 weeks old, a mother cat would train her kittens to not suck from her teets anymore. I'm wondering why its only since a week ago that he has been doing this to my shirt. I don't think it is the milk he is after. I think he does it to pacify himself even if he is already calm. What should I do and how do a change his habit?

 

[pusheen]

One of my family's cats was a sickly two week old kitten when we adopted him. He'd been abandoned by his mother and was on the street, about to get run over. We raised him and he's now almost 10 years old--but he's never stopped sucking blankets. My great-grandmother's cat would always suck clothes, even at 15 years old. For some cats, it's a habit that is impossible to break. It's definitely a comfort/pacifier thing. 

You can try gently detaching him when he does it, but with my family's cat, that only stops him suckling in the moment--not permanently. If it really bothers you maybe rubbing a cat deterrent on the blanket he does it most would help?

 

[Columbine]

It's a comfort/self soothing action that you most often see in kittens that were separated from their mom too early. As long as it stays at sucking (as opposed to chewing), then there's no harm in it. He may grow out of it as he gets older, but he may not. My 1 year old rescue girl HAS to have a good knead/suckle session before she settle down on my lap. Its just one of her little quirks

 

[newmamaof3]

We have one that does this as well, although she prefers the tip of a finger. She was a shelter kitty, born there as one of 5. The shelter kept her with mama but for some reason (probably overcrowding) separated the babies abruptly from mom at 5 weeks of age. We got her at 6 weeks old and assumed it was due to not getting to wean slowly. I also knew that she seemed more secure when we allowed her to do it. Now at just over 3 months old she has graduated to just giving a little lick on the fingers when you let her before she falls asleep. So he may outgrow it

 

[hexiesfriend]

I had one that did it all his life and slobbered all over my shirt too while I was wearing it. They say it comes from being weaned too early as a kitty. It's a comfort thing for them.