About a week into our kitten Norton’s life at our house, we noticed that he was suckling himself, using one of his own nipples. He’d go at it in a really focused way, and knead his paws at the same time, purring loudly. Having no experience with this, we took him to the vet, who reassured us that the behavior was nothing to worry about. She noted that the nipple was not inflamed or infected. The vet said that kittens may outgrow this kitten suckling behavior, and that sometimes kitten suckling happens when a kitten has been orphaned too young. The latter had been something I wondered about.
Still, I wanted to find out more. Would this kitten suckling behavior go away? Did it mean he was stressed or just contented? If I distracted him, would he stop? (When Norton suckles, which now seems to be occurring less and less, nothing can distract him.)
Kitten suckling — what is it?
Kitten suckling can occur when cats suck on their nipples, other areas of skin and other objects. Cats might suckle on rugs, your skin tags, your ears or your fingers. Jamie Bluebell came to us as a kitten and for a very brief time, she would suckle on a skin tag on my husband’s armpit. She also liked to suck on the frames of his glasses. But Jamie got over it fairly quickly, and from what we know, we think that Jamie was not orphaned as young as Norton.
The causes of cat or kitten suckling
The causes of kitten suckling can include being separated from mom too early. Ideally, kittens should not be weaned from mom earlier than six weeks. But according to ASPCA information online, cat or kitten suckling can also be a sign of stress, compulsive behavior, or even just happiness or contentment. It’s a hard behavior to nail down.
Is kitten suckling bad for kitties?
Sometimes kittens suckling is harmless. But sometimes, according to this Catster article, cats or kittens can do damage to each other or themselves if they suckle too hard or for too long. The article refers to what is probably a high-stress situation — kittens in a Humane Society who are motherless and suckling each other to the point of damage.
Should you do anything about kitten suckling?
My vet proposed no solution. She saw no reason to be concerned in Norton’s case.
If you’re not concerned about suckling and your cat continues, you can try to make the situation a little safer. For example, if your cat loves to suckle blankets, make sure that the blanket fabric doesn’t pill or have loose threads that your cat could swallow.
Obviously, trying to physically stop your cat from suckling (in the moment) or yelling at your cat when he’s suckling are not good solutions. If your cat is suckling from stress, this will only stress him more.
Here’s what I’m going to do about kitten suckling
Most of what I’ve read (and observed at home) say to me that kitten suckling is not a bad thing. It seems that Norton is getting comfort, and he’s not acting like he’s doing it from stress. The site is not infected, as my vet pointed out, and we’re keeping an eye on that. The frequency of suckling gradually seems to be diminishing. And if we’re playing with Norton, or snuggling, suckling seems to be far from his mind. So I’ll wait it out, and see what happens. In my situation, I’m not worried. Norton seems happy and not stressed or compulsive.
In short — and the ASPCA article worded this in a helpful way — if the kitten suckling is interfering with your cat’s quality of life, then it’s time to seek help. If your cat is damaging his skin, or the skin of another, or seems to be suckling as a kind of stress response, seek help. Get the help of a certified cat behaviorist or your veterinarian.
Tell us: Have you ever had a suckling cat or suckling kitten? What did you do about kitten suckling? Let us know in the comments!
Thumbnail: Photography ©ElenaBoronina | Thinkstock.
About the author
About Catherine Holm: Told that she is funny but doesn’t know it, accused of being an unintentional con artist by her husband, quiet, with frequent unannounced bursts into dancing liveliness, Cat Holm loves writing about, working for, and living with cats. She is the author of the cat-themed memoir Driving with Cats: Ours for a Short Time, the creator of Ann Catanzaro cat fantasy story gift books, and the author of a short story collection about people and place. She loves to dance, be outside whenever possible, read, play with cats, make music, do and teach yoga, and write. Cat lives in the woods, which she loves as much as really dark chocolate, and gets regular inspiration shots along with her double espresso shots from the city.
168 thoughts on “Kitten Suckling — Is It a Bad Thing?”
Kitten suckling is not new. Some kittens will go to a shirtless boy & suck on his nipples.
I have two sibling kittens who do this. One suckles her nipple while the sister also suckles on her too. It’s so strange! But they seem to do it when happy. The frequency has gone down as well. We got the kittens around 6 weeks.
I fostered and eventually adopted a kitten. She never suckled when she was with her litter mates. Once they were separated she started to suckle her own nipple. My vet said she would out grow it. She is now 6 mo. And still suckles but not as often. Only when she wants to snuggle. My family wants me to make her stop. I try but she is insistent. I don't see the harm. She's a friendly loving kitten. We will see as time goes on. I may decide to stop her more often since I feel it's more a habit now.
I have a kitten that likes to nuzzle into the crook of my arm and suckle. Otherwise she is quite normal and happy.
My husband found a baby, baby kitten a few weeks ago at a dump site not too far from our house. We estimated he was 2-3 weeks tops based on his size. He had a large scar snd sunburn across his face. After syringe feeding for a few weeks he is now doing amazing (as I was concerned he was going to possibly crash when hubby first found him), but he recently started suckling now at about 5weeks. We’re barely starting to ween him, but noticed that after we stopped syringe+bottle feeding he started to suckle. Glad to say that “Sir Wobbles” is happy and content now in his forever home . Hope this might be helpful to anyone who rescues a neonatal kitten.
I just adopted a kitten from a foster. She is 2 1/2 months old. She is very tint. Just a baby. She keeps sucking on my neck or my arm. I try putting her on the arm of the sofa but she insists on going for my neck. I do not treat cats mean n I don't even holler. I've had 4 cats before her n have never had that problem. What should I do? She is just a little baby.
We've adopted an approximately 5 week old female kitten. A neighbour took her in when she'd been apparently abandoned 2 weeks ago. She's healthy and happy and currently suckling on my pyjama shirt and purring.
My cat still does this at 2 years old. It is usually on a blanket and he appears happy and purrs so we don’t stop him :)
I have a kitten that I rescued I have no idea how old she is but she’s suckling and it will only be with me and my mom but she’ll fall asleep and then she’ll wake up again and do it again but sometimes she won’t even do it she’ll just come and lay beside me idk if I should get her to stop or if I should just let it run it’s course I love her with all my heart I don’t wanna loose her
My kitten suckles on a huge stuffed animal everyday multiple times a day. He has done this since I adopted him at 3 months of age. At first I had no idea what he was even doing but figured it was related to nursing. I now know what suckling is and why he suckles. He will even fall asleep while he suckles, wake up and get right back to it. It’s pretty cute and endearing. Thank you for the information on this.
Wolly, my kitten, won't stop sucking on my nipples, but it isn't causing any irritation. He seems content and purs throughout each suckling session. I guess no harm no foul…..
My new young Kitty tries to suckle on my earlobes at night
Our youngest cat is the first one I've ever known to suckle. He's been doing it since I got him at 6wks old (now 2yrs). Funny thing is he'll only suckle on a fleece blanket. I took one blanket that he suckled that was full of holes, cut a piece off of it and gave it to him, we called it his suckie. He had that because I don't like the wet spots his drooling leaves on the blanket. Lol. Our cat, Oreo, chose me, he sleeps at night in my arms like a baby.
I have 3 siblings that were part of a litter of 5, found by a construction worker right before he bulldozed them. They were between 1 1/2-2 weeks old at the time. They never suckled on me during the time they were being bottle fed; however, within a few months of being weened all 3 developed the habit of suckling and kneading and they were very specific about where they had to suckle. (My left armpit, close to my neck and face.) I did a google search to see if this was problematic behavior and found mixed reviews. Since I was being scratched by 30 little needle sharp claws all day everyday I decided it was time to stop so I would gently redirect their behavior away from my left arm. That resulted in me waking up numerous times a night to a cat trying to get their fix so after 2 months I caved. They’re now 5, get their nails trimmed fairly regularly, and suckle away until their big hearts are content. 🤷♀️
My 11 year old formerly feral cat suckles on a fuzzy blanket. he does not seem to be stressed. he was not separated from his mom as I cared for 4 kittens & the mom for 6 months outside. When the weather got freezing I brought 3 in ( giving one to a friend) the plan was to socialize them so hey could be taken to Petco for pet adoption day thru the rescue shelter I volunteered at. This didnt work. but my Grayson still suckles and I dont worry about it at all.
My 10 month rescue kitten has been sucking on herself since she was 3 months old. Recently I’ve noticed lumps on her belly where she’s sucking. I believe it is a nurturing thing she is doing as she seems content when and after she does it.
My cat is around 6-mos old now and he suckles when he’s about to sleep or in the middle of his sleeping. His mother left him (he was about 4wks old) on our neighbor’s porch, (maybe) because he was sick. So we rescued him and when he was around 4-mos old I noticed the suckling behavior on our blankets. He tried suckling on our fingers but like he couldn’t find the “right spot”. Other than his sleeping “habit”, I think I have nothing to worry about.