Cat with an oral fixation

[JaneBoleyn]

So, we acquired the cat at what was ALLEGEDLY 8 weeks but I don't believe it for a minute (I was away when this all happened).

His mum was killed by a car when he was 3 weeks old and I think they bottle fed him.

Cat now about 5 months, still very small, voracious eater, lovely animal.

BUT

He is obsessed with suckling. He suckles anything but particularly likes ear lobes (I suppose they're a bit like nipples??). I tend to wake up with him lying on me, latched on to my ear lobe, suckling and kneading my neck.

He will also suckle hands, blanket and occasionally another cat if they are grooming him.

Is there anything I can do discourage him in a kind way? I feel so mean when I'm sure it's because he was prematurely weaned.

Bless him.
My boy is the same although its my chest/breasts. I gently move him away to teach him thats not ok. Hes fine with that. I just gently move him to the sofa next to me then if he wants a stroke or a belly rub thats fine. Mine is over a year old so buckle in...

Ah poor baby
I had a cat who was hand reared and he liked to suckle too, for the most part hopefully he'll grow out of it but for now as pp says just move him away and distract when he's suckling an ear or something else he shouldn't.

No harm in him suckling a blanket though, let him crack on and next time he's suckling something you don't want him to replace it with something he can.

He's still a kitten though so don't worry too much, he may never drop the behaviour entirely (I've known a few cats who liked to suckle their tails when relaxing) but he should grow out of it as he develops into adulthood

Mine still does it, particularly our hair, clothes or anything fleecy. I've got teddy bear blankets and move her onto those when she starts on us, she'll suck one of those for ages. It has reduced somewhat but she still does it a lot. She was 6 this week.

My hand reared girl is the same, she’s 18months and still hasn’t grown out of it. I think it’s because they associate humans with feeding instead of mum cat and it’s just comforting.