Conference misery::feline_v1

One of our cats had this problem. The only way we found to break this problem
was not very nice...

Every time we caught him sucking on something (he wasn't picky, either, he
would suck on practically anything) we'd flick the side of his face
with a finger. Not enough to really hurt him, but hard enough to make
him sit up and take notice.

After a month or so, he stopped. We're not sure if we actually broke him
of the habit, or if he just outgrew it...

Charlie 

P.S. He was definitely NOT taken away from his mother too early, either.

I loved the note! Speedy sounds like a genius among cats, even though he
does have that one little quirk.

My Chiun prefers earlobes, but fortunately for us he doesn't do it very
often. When he does, we put up with a large, happy cat, slurping away at
our ears while kneading his paws (and digging his claws into our throats
at the same time). It's a very - interesting - experience. (Chiun was a
year old when I got him, so I've no idea if his habit results from kitten-hood
deprivations or not.)

We've never tried to break him of it - sorry I can't be more helpful. Good
luck!

-b

Loiosh has a similar, somewhat embarrassing habit.  He goes for nipples, and
sucks HARD!  No amount of vocal or physical discouragement can convince him
to quit for long.  When I'm trying to sleep, it's distracting, to say the
least.

I got Loiosh from the shelter at nine weeks of age.  I have no way of knowing
how long he was with his mother before that.

How ever do nursing mothers put up with this?

					-- Roger

Hobbit used to like to suckle blanket bindings...you know, those 
satiny edges they often put on the tops of blankets. Since that 
was the only thing he ever bothered with, and he would bliss out 
so happily...I never tried to break him of the habit.

Eventually, he stopped on his own...I think when he was about 7 
or 8 years old. So, if you're ***very*** patient, your cat may 
too!

-nn

What funny habits cats can have..! I've had similar problems and I
found the following method very effective:

First, and most important of all, you have to be very consequent and
very patient. Give Speedy one thing he is allowed to suckle, like an
old handkerchief or a fur toy or something. Everytime you catch him
suckling anything else you should give him a small punishment (101.1)
and at the same time you should use his name and a keyword in an angry
voice e.g. SPEEDY, NO! Give him his toy and if he stops the illegal
suckling or starts on his toy you should reward him by sounding gentle
again, use his name and a different keyword, and stroking him softly.
You should get results within a month. If not you could use another
method, but this really is an unpleasant one. You will have to put
him in a rather large cage with his water etc. and his toy for about
a week. If there still is no improvement afterwards you may have to
repeat it for a slightly longer period. It really is hartbreaking...

But then, you probably won't have to use the cage-method, I'm sure
Speedy is a smart cat. Right now I guess he is still looking or his
mother, since he was taken away from her too soon and normally the
mothercat stops the kittens from suckling after some weeks, since she
probably grows tired of it, just like us.

Wish you luck,

Marga

Empress Star is also a suckler, but she keeps it under control.  She will
suckle nothing but my wife's nightgown.  Lynne found it very annoying to wake
up to a slurping sound and a wet nightgown.  (If it was the cat, anyway. :-) 

Star can get QUITE determined about it, too.  She pokes around on the bed
until she finds a loose edge, crawls under the blankets, usually ends up
crawling over me, and then snuggles down next to Lynne and goes into nirvana. 

Our solution was simple - Lynne leaves an old ratty nightgown by the side of
the bed.  Star visits it every morning.  Waking up to a cat purring by your
bedside is kind of pleasant, so we don't consider it a problem anymore. 

This morning, though, Star came up to get us out of bed.  When we adjusted the
blankets in the "get away - I'm not waking up" mode, Star found an opening,
jumped onto Lynne and started nursing immediately.  Sure got Lynne out of bed
in a hurry - which is of course what Star wanted, because Lynne usually feeds
the cats in the morning.  (I was laughing so hard, I got up too...) 

- Chris 

   Gandalf gets weird about my nightgowns also.  I thought it was because they
are worn a few nights in a row before washing so they had lots of "mommy"
aroma on them, but he does it to freshly washed nighties also.  It doesn't 
matter what kind of material it is.  He rarely slurps any more.  He usually
just closes his eyes, kneads and goes into a trance.

(For those who aren't as weird about their cats as I am, the mommy referred to
above is me because I feed them, and do all their fixing of hurts,...)

tlh

Thanks to all for the replies and/or advice! I took the notes back to Peggy
last night and she really enjoyed them too. Nice to know that this isn't
an isolated case (although my commisserations to the others with similar
problems -- at least Speedy hasn't thought of nipples yet!!).

We're going to try a combo of .1 and .5. We've just about given up on the
lanolin, as our place is beginning to smell like a sheep farm. I'll keep
you updated on how it works out... Please feel free to give additional
ideas, if you have any.

As you probably (.not)iced, I just recently came on this file, and I'm
enjoying it a lot!

Fred

When I was a child, I had a cat that liked to suck my thumb. He would sleep with
either my sister or me as if he were a stuffed animal. We thought it was great,
but you know how kids are... 

Erick likes to chew socks. For a time we thought he liked them after being worn,
but discovered that he prefers them straight from the dryer. He likes wool, but
prefers acrylic and chews them so hard that they squeak as he chews them.

Erick also likes to wash people's hair. Neither Val nor I like it, but I
usually find him doing it as I awake, and as I'm going to take a shower anyway,
I don't let the thought of cat spit in my hair upset me. His favorite thing
to wash used to be my mustache. I would awake to the pain of those short
hairs being pulled a cat trying to get the tangles out and seeing a cat's
face as large as a dinner plate looming in front of me. He kept this up until
an especially painful time when I howled loudly and threw him into the wall
as I awoke. He has mostly outgrown both habits, but we still catch him at
both.

	Jon

On suckling/washing/et al:

	Of my current cats, I have only one suckler: Merlin.  He prefers
the underside of my chin!  My wife-to-be says I get a kick out of having
him do so, but then shr's never had the dubious pleasure.

	Morlock doesn't suckle, but he loves to lick photographs.

	Vivianne loves to eat recording tape, if she gets any (I have
the Devil's own time hiding any I have).

	sammy, my fiancee's cat likes to lick the outside of the refriger-
ator.  He also loves to jump on the back of the chair I'm sitting at and 
wash my hair, holding my head down with both front paws.

Steve

From the July 85 issue of Cat Fancy in the Ask the Vet column.

Puzzling Behavior:
   My 1 year old cat has a habit of licking the bankets in our home.  He's 
primarily an outdoor cat and only licks the blankets in winter.  Can this
be harmful?
     Unsigned 
     Massachusetts

Many theories have been suggested to explain your cat's behavior.  It is,
interestly, more common in Siamese and is a partial expression of a 
behavior pattern called "wool-chewing".  Some people feel this is due to a need
for lanolin.  U.S.P. lanolin is a vailable at pharamcies and you might giving
your cat a mouthful twice weekly to see if it will stop the behavior.  Others
feel it is a lack of minerals.  Daily administration of good feline vitamin and
mineral supplement is another medication to try if lanolin does not help.
    Margaret Reister DVM

tlh

	Our cat Kat (I haven't introduced her yet) was definitely taken from her
mother too soon.  She was found when my friend - who was laying out in the sun -
felt her sucking on his earlobe.  She goes for nipples, fingers, and toes, too.
	It's three years later, and she still does it once in a while.  Like
Beth said, it's - um - interesting.
#6	<_Jym_>\

                      ** TOMATO UPDATE **

Speedo has been given a pair of Peggy's old panties (old, she not in 'em),
as his official suckling toy. This has worked even better than we hoped,
as Speedy will happily take the panties as an immediate replacement to
whatever he happens to be suckling on. Interestingly enough, with an
official suckling toy, the Tomato's suckling seems to have decreased. He'll
now go for days without nursing -- and even when he works over the panties,
it will only be  for a few minutes at a time. I haven't decided whether this
is mere pervesity, or just Speedy groweing up.

'Course, Peggy ain't too happy with her panties roaming around the house. Says
is not an appropriate conversation piece, embarrassing when minister comes to
visit ("Excuse,, father, you're standing on the cat's panties"). Says when
panties worn out, my boxer shorts are next...

Wonder if this is how term, "cat's pajamas" originated?

Fred

    Glad to hear there are lots of other sucklers out there too.
    
    The first time we discovered Tootsies habit was embarassing/hysterical.
    At the time we used to play 'Kitty hiding' games with her.  We'd
    pop her down a jumper\sweatshirt (whilst wearing it) she'd curl
    up and then suddenly shoot out the neck or wrestle out the arm,
    then proceed to crawl around the bottom again until she got in.
    
    One afternoon she stayed down a little longer, and boy did Dad get
    embarased as she proceeded t adopt him as 'Mum'.
    
    Shortly after... one of Mum's (my mum not Dad) friends was round.
    She was wearing a soft fluffy jumper wth little beads sewn on in
    flower patterns.  Well who could blame Tootsie, soft fluffy warm
    and how considerate even with little false kitty nipples, she set
    too like mad.  Thankfully I think it was just missing mum and she 
    soon grew out of it.
    
    Dinah used to be more of a classic suckler, ears nipples moustaches
    fingers elbows,  and her favorite? 
    
    SWEATY ARMPITS!
    
    Yeuch.
    
    Jo
    Reading, UK.
    

    Wow!  I thought for sure Kerouac was the only cat in God's creation
    that loved to suckle!  I was told by the shelter where I got him that
    he was abandoned in an apartment and found by the landlord after two
    weeks (my poor pooter!); when they got him, they guessed he was about
    two months old.  
    
    This one loves paper products - kleenex, paper towels, toilet paper,
    tissue paper - but only when Mommy and he have settled in for the
    night.  To him, there's nothing as wonderful as curling up in bed with
    me and just going to town on a paper towel, purring, kneading, and
    drooling!  Thank goodness he doesn't swallow!
    
    
    Joanne