my kitten appears to be nursing on my arm! Can anyone explain?

[FiveSugarsPlease]

Hello, me again.

My little 11wk old girl kitten has been sucking my arm and sleeve for the past 10 minutes. She's still going now so i'm having to type this one-handedly.

She's buried her face into the crook of my arm, purring, and has been making loud sucking noises since she started. My sleeve is soaked! She's also kneading my arm with her paw.

She did this one before for a few minutes on her second night here (three weeks ago). That time it was my tummy. She's not done it since until tonight.

I'm totally bewildered.

Can anyone explain? Is this some strange sign of affection or does she genuinely think my arm can produce milk?

[MeerkatMerkin]

Awww that's so cute! She sees you as her mummy now so of course she is going to try and get milk - and the process is enjoyable for her so no harm. :)

I have a kitten of a similar age and he tries to feed from my breasts while I am feeding DS. I do stop him but feel a bit bad (!) as he sees me as his mummy and DS is having milk so he probably thinks why can't he?! Poor mite!

[FiveSugarsPlease]

She's finally stopped! Has fallen asleep on my arm, still purring.

[thecatneuterer]

I'm not sure if she's actually expecting milk, but she definitely thinks that you are now her mum :)

[QueenOfCats]

My cat does this. He's 5.

Freak

[FiveSugarsPlease]

Have to admit, her little sucking noises were very cute, but my arm's all slobbery now.

She was going strong for 20 minutes! Think i'll have to get some kitten milk in tomorrow.

[thecatneuterer]

I saw that thread Meerkat. I that was me I'd definitely let him try breast milk and then, if it didn't upset his stomach, I'd probably let him have more! I can't see anything yucky about it at all. I really didn't get what the fuss was about. After all, humans drinking cow's milk is pretty damned odd.

[superbadspeller]

Aaw my little ones do this 11 weeks old and they scrape at me then lick me and nuzzle their wee soggy lips on me and lie on my bump :) one is always trying to get boob he bites my nipples through thin dresses it'll be colostrum building up and he smells it, very cute!

[shallweshop]

Giving kittens breastmilk? Heard it all now!! All the cats I have owned have done this throughout their lives - my 20 year old used to love to pad and knead, and my 16 year old used to pad and slobber. It doesn't mean they want breastmilk, its just a reminder of their mum and kittenhood and makes them feel comforted.

[EuroShaggleton]

Our cat did this to furry slippers well into adulthood.

[Madratlady]

Madcat2 loves sucking fleecy fabric. My dressing gown gets slobbered on a lot!

[thecatneuterer]

shallwe. You're right. It almost never means they actually want milk. But Meerkat said (and I read the other thread) that her kitten did seem to. He is only a kitten after all and I expect he could smell it.

[Somethingtothinkabout]

My sister's cat does this, has done since she was a kitten, she's now 13...

She just sucks and sucks at your clothes, literally soaking them through.

It's cute

[Doodledumdums]

My 3 year old cat does this to my male dog...it's very odd! My dog is a massive softy and doesn't care at all, but it is very strange to see!

[Iwouldratherbemuckingout]

Yup, mine do this too. One is obsessed with my pyjamas and I often find large patches sopping wet in the morning. The other suckles his own paw, bless, that breaks my heart and makes me wonder if he was taken from his mum too early and had to find his own comfort. Whenever he does it he gets big snuggles from me, I end up with one attached to my pjs and another snuggled like a baby. Good job the third is happy on the end of the bed!

[Righton48]

My Tom cat does this and he is 11 this year.

[Kowalski]

I used to have a cat that did that, she chose to go and live with an old lady though. This threads making me miss her :(

[MeerkatMerkin]

I am surprised that my young kit doesn't try and suckle from my girl dog - she is very sweet with him and lets him cuddle up with her etc, they sleep curled up together all night but I've never see him try to have a sneaky feed. Possibly because she was spayed young and never had a litter, her teats are, ahem, modest, unlike mine.

[megkiansmom]

I've been looking at this recently as well . We just recently adopted two kittens who do the same thing though, our older girl cat does the same. For us, both the kittens and our older cat were separated from their mom too early. This can be a common thing apparently if that is the case. According to our vet the nursing and making biscuits is a sign of comfort and trust and that they have bonded with me as their mom. He said not be worried.