First off, hello fellow cat lovers!

I have a question: my kitten Bo is 4 1/2 months. We got her at 8 weeks, but I felt that she had been weaned too soon, especially as when we went to meet her, she had a little section of the room to herself to keep her away from her brothers. Apparently she was too rough, and she had to play by herself.

Almost immediately she began a habit of suckling on my hair. And I mean proper, full-on, plucking with her claws and sucking on my hair. I let her because..well she was so little and new and I wanted to make her feel safe and secure. In her eyes, I *am* mummy cat and I wouldn't be surprised if she expected milk to come out of my hair

I don't mind being mummy-cat and not mummy-human so much - in some ways I like her doing it because I can see how much comfort and kitten joy she gets from it. A couple of times after being spooked by something, she's chattered at me and trotted straight over, leapt into my arms and started suckling, and calmed right down.

But. I want some lovin' too, you know? Cat cuddles and love that doesn't involve my hair being back-combed and soaked wih kitten spit. I am wondering if it is her way of showing love too as well as a comfort thing, and I wonder if she doesn't realise there's other ways she can show it.

So: should I try and start weaning her off mummy-cat (again) so I can get some normal cat love, or should I just leave her be and let her just be herself - bonkers but still herself?

Thanks!

K

edited to add: I've tried encourging her to suckle on teddy-cats and fake fur rugs, but no luck.

Hello and welcome to the forum, hopfully your kitty will grow out of this behaviour soon, i'm sure some one will be able to offer you some advice soon.

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Hiya Kirsten and welcome. Just got to let you know that my oldest Persian Crystal (7 years) still licks my hair and has always done it. Its her way of showing affection I'm kinda used to having soggy strands now, but keeps her happy

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Hi and welcome Kirsten,Chrissy's quite right imo some of ours do this as a way of grooming/bonding with us and showing their affection/friendshipLeave her be and enjoy her quirks as i'm sure she does yoursAny pics to show off yet

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Dogs have owners, Cats have slaves

Burnthwaites Siamese

Welcome
My cat used to do that, he's kind of grown out of it now, but if its raining and he's out he'll come in and do a bit of hair suckling. At first he did it all the time, so I gave him a little fluffy teddy and he started suckling that too, so I only got hair-suckled half the time. If ever you want her to stop for a bit, give her some of your worn clothes like an old tshirt or something, the smell of you should be comforting and it won't lead to you getting full of cat spit

Hi everone - thanks for all your responses!

I've tried giving her an old t-shirt but she just sort of looks at me like I'm mental when I get a shirt and rub on vit and pretend to suckle on it to show her

I don't think she wants anything but my hair, so will just have to wait for her to grow out of it. She's waking me up at 5am every morning doing it and if I shut her out, she cries - she totally has me wrapped around her little finger.

Here she is:

Aw bless, its only cos she loves her mum She's a pretty little thing

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Thanks - I think she's absolutely beautiful and the bee's knees, but I am completely biased

Re: mum thing - I know, it's so sweet I can't really refuse. And she's still only a baby still...we'll see how I get on with her wrapped around my head when she's fully grown.

That'a a point - a what age do cats become fully grown? She has MASSIVE ears and I'm not sure she'll ever grow into them

Her codename is Ebony Fox - it really tickles me and my b/f to hide behind doors and say in a mock-radio voice: calling Ebony Fox, calling Ebony Fox, receive, receive - and she actually comes running to find us and skips about when she does. Simple things entertain us

lol, kits are officially adults at 9 months old. As far as showing them is concerned anyway, but it is a good guide to go off

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OMG you got one of mine except mine are males What a little sweetie.

Well there you go one of mine pads my scalp and suckles my hair (did), I stopped him. I feel a bit mean now.

The other will still use me as a climbing frame - my skin isn't strong enough for him now so I have lots of superficial tears in my skin. megga ouch! I am going to have to stop him from climbing on me too. I supposed that balances it out.

Sue