Will my kitten stop 'milking' me?

Question

When I say milking, I don't just mean pushing with her front paws. She actually latches on and suckles a fold in my clothing.

We got her around 17 weeks and she grew up well socialized in a home with people and other cats, but her mother rejected her at 7 weeks. I think she sees me as a kind of surrogate mother, she does this only with me.

Is she likely to stop on her own? If not, how do I gently wean her? I like the affection, but the wet spots in my shirt not so much. With two young kids I've really gotten enough drool on me to last a life time.

? · Answer

There is no way to tell.  Animals do strange things sometimes. 
My neighbor's Rottweiler b!tch humps my leg. I try to tell her to stop, but she keeps doing it. I have no idea why a b!tch would hump a guy's leg, but trying to reason with her doesn't seem to help.  I don't know why she isn't satisfied with sniffing my crotch like a normal canine.

Mystique · Answer

The only answer here is....maybe...and maybe not.   Being so young when mom rejected her, she does see you as mom.  Kittens shouldn't be separated from their mothers until they're at least 12 weeks old.  The younger a kitten is when mom rejects them/they're separated for other reasons, the more likely she is to keep doing it.

You can try to distract her when she starts doing it by getting out some toys, or just plain moving her somewhere else, it may help, it may not.

With other cats in the house, if you start pushing her away, she may try latching on to one of them.  If they're okay with it, so be it....but be prepared if they're not!

Some kittens do outgrow this behavior but others don't.  You'll really just have to wait and see.

Will my kitten stop 'milking' me?

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