My cat keeps sucking her arm, flexing her claws like she's breastfeeding when she's hungry. She's 5 months old and eats normal food. We used to think the sucking was cute, but now it's annoying and her claws are sharp.nHow do I get her to stop?
Answers:
Like children sucking their thumbs, its a security issue, it makes them feel secure. This kind of behaviour can occur when the kitten has been taken away from its mummy too soon. I have three cats. My eldest was a sucky cat, she had a thing about earlobes and my boyfriends beard. The only thing you can do is discourage her from doing it, just as you would discourage a child from sucking its thumb. She will probably grow out of it, or least not do it as often. My eldest cat can be disuaded from doing it be occupying her with stroking and chin tickling. You will probably find some similar action will distract your cat in the same way. My youngest is about 4 months old, and he does it with clothing, or bankets, but this little guy was taken from his mother and abandoned on a back street before he was even weened. Again, we are trying to disuade him by occupying him with something else whenever we catch him at it. The only cat that is "normal" in my house is my eldest cat's son- he's never done the sucky thing- he, but he loves his curry!
She is still a baby. Give her at least a year, some cats do it until they are old. Have her declawed because they will always be Sharpe unless you clip them.
You don't wean a cat. If she's not nursing anymore then she IS weaned. She just finds comfort in assuming the behavior of when she used to nurse. Is she sucking HER arm or YOUR arm? If she is sucking your arm then gently push her away if you don't like it.
As far as her claws are concerned, trim the sharp ends with nail clippers and they won't hurt so bad when she trys to show you that she loves you by kneading you.
usually, if she is still "kneeding" and "nuzzling" she will continue to do it the rest of her life. This is usually a sign of being weaned off her mother too early, or too late! Almost all the cats i've ever had (and i've had them all my life) do this. Start to trim her claws now so she gets used to it. I find it helpful
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment