How to get a kitten to stop suckling on you
Young kittens separated from their mothers often resort to comfort nursing on skin, clothes, or even pets multiple times a night. Gently pushing the kitten away every time it happens breaks the habit over time, though some cats continue the behavior until they are nearly a year old.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
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How to get a kitten to stop suckling on you
- 1Pushed the cat away gently every time they suckledDid this help you?
- 2Removing the kitten from the dog when caught in the act.Did this help you?
- 3wear a beanie that covered my earsDid this help you?
- 4try to redirect him to a blanketDid this help you?
- 5Ensuring the kitten gets its main nutrition from regular vet-provided foodDid this help you?
- 6Keeping an eye on the kitten and intervening if the dog becomes visibly uncomfortableDid this help you?
- 7Wipe down the affected furDid this help you?
- 8Separate the kittens completely if the nursing persistsDid this help you?
- 9Watch the hind end for nursing behaviorDid this help you?
- 10letting the kitten do it on its cushionDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“two of them had fur that looked wet but was actually dry and kind of hard? Almost like someone spilled something sugary on them.”source ↗
“It's only on their necks, and I'm not sure what could have caused it. I tried to wipe it down but it didn't do much.”source ↗
“Its cute as hell but really hurts after some time lol. He reeeally insist on doing this a few minutes before napping time.”source ↗
“My mum has a kitten about 12 weeks old who keeps trying to nurse off her dog I have her sister from the same litter and she doesn’t do it how can she stop it”source ↗
“he wants to sleep on my face. He licks my eyelids while I sleep and regularly bites my nose at night, I think an attempt at suckling.”source ↗
“My sweet Goldie Girl is about 23 weeks old. At night, she sneaks up, makes biscuits on my shoulder and starts suckling.”source ↗
“It’s pretty uncomfortable and it happens several times a night.”source ↗
“I got my orange menace at 16 weeks too and he suckled to almost 1 year old.”source ↗
“Everytime he suckled I pushed him away gently. He eventually stopped.”source ↗
“My boy will wake me up by attaching himself to my lip and suckling. I’ve tried to redirect him to a blanket but he only wants a living person (he does this to my husband too).”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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