How to wean a kitten off the sucking reflex

As a natural instinct, many kittens will knead and sucke on blankets, toys, or even their owners. Their natural tendency to nurse is the cause of this behavior, which is generally innocuous but has the potential to develop into a habit that lasts long after they are weaned. While some pet owners might think it’s adorable, others might be concerned that it might encourage chewing or damage to furniture.

It will take some time and empathy to help your kitten get over this behavior. Recognizing that this is a consoling behavior for them is crucial, particularly if they were weaned too soon. You can, however, gently encourage your kitten to adopt healthier habits if you take the appropriate approach.

This post will discuss helpful strategies for weaning a kitten off of its sucking reflex without upsetting it. There are easy things you can do to encourage your kitten’s development, like giving them alternate comforts or making sure their surroundings feel secure.

Facts about the sucking reflex

A newborn’s ability to suckle is a sign of their health and vitality, as well as their eating habits and initial experiences with communication and world awareness. As stated by zoologists:

1. An active kitten, barely born, instinctively crawls to the warm mother"s belly, independently finds a nipple and greedily sucks in precious colostrum. Small and weakened babies suck poorly or are not able to suck at all, which indicates their low viability and possible developmental defects.
2. Sucking is not only the process of absorbing food, but also the establishment of a strong emotional connection with the mother, and the creation of the first psychological associations. During sucking, the kitten is in a state of peace and comfort and, having had enough, calmly falls asleep.
3. The warmth of a native nest, licking with a wet mother"s tongue, the smell of milk and its taste are part of the first sensations of a baby kitten who has just begun his life"s journey. The mother cat and littermates are the first creatures with which the baby interacts and communicates.
4. Sucking promotes the development of the kitten"s vestibular apparatus and motor coordination: it is enough to observe what exotic poses the babies take to get to the life-giving source on the mother"s belly. Later, sucking skills are transformed into the ability to capture and hold prey in the mouth, as well as cut it up.
5. Having opened its eyes and learned to walk, the kitten begins to more actively explore the world around it and does this with the help of its mouth and limbs. Having carefully touched the pad of its paw and having made sure that the object is safe, the baby will most likely want to taste it, trying to suck and gnaw at the same time.

Manifestation of the sucking reflex in older kittens

A mother cat will typically nurse her kitten for two to three months.

As the quantity of milk gradually drops, the mother cat senses this and starts weaning the kittens from the breast by hiding, scuttling, and even growling at them. As a result, developing infants quickly abandon their newborn routines and begin eating like adults. But there’s also a picture of abnormal behavior when an adolescent kitten:

• continues to suck on empty mother"s nipples;
• persistently sucks fingers, earlobe, hair or a fold of skin of the owner;
• for a long time chews, chews and sucks a plush toy or a corner of a shaggy woolen blanket;
• licks, gnaws, smacks and even swallows other inedible objects, such as genuine leather goods, plasterboard, scraps of wallpaper, cement chips, glued paper books.

Watch this video as well to learn how to wean a cat off of sucking:

It can take some time and patience to gradually wean a kitten off of its sucking reflex. This behavior, which can be gently redirected, is often the result of being taken from the mother too soon or of the child seeking comfort. It can be beneficial to provide the kitten suitable toys, to make sure they eat well, and to show them lots of love. Also, it’s critical to refrain from punishing the kitten because this could make it more anxious. With regular attention and encouragement, the kitten will eventually grow out of this behavior.

Why does a teenage kitten continue to show a sucking reflex?

There is a direct correlation between mouth movements and brain development in cubs, and the sucking reflex turns out to be a critical component of psychophysiological development. A kitten’s extended "suckling period" could be caused by:

1. A banal reluctance to "get out of childhood". When keeping a cat family together, a nurse cat with a developed maternal instinct turns out to be overly caring, meekly enduring the attacks of energetic teenagers and the unpleasant grabbing of nipples by toothy mouths. Sometimes a selfless mother continues to feed an adult child at the same time as the subsequent newborn offspring.
2. Early weaning from the mother or artificial feeding. In this case, a suckling kitten considers a person to be the closest creature, associating with him not only the distribution of food, but also a blessed feeling of security and tranquility. Falling asleep in the owner"s bed, a well-fed and contented baby can begin to lick and smack any part of the owner"s body. Cubs, accustomed to receiving food exclusively from human hands, will suck on fingers, feeling hungry.
3. Lack of attention from the owner, frequent loneliness, boredom. Unable to find a more suitable object for splashing out its emotions, the kitten will cuddle and suck on a soft toy or furry thing.
4. Stress, nervous shock. Instinctive memory indicates that the safest place is next to the mother in her native den, so the fear experienced can psychologically turn a teenage kitten into a three-week-old sucker. Disconnected from the scary outside world, the little animal uses the sucking reflex as an effective antidepressant, relaxing with the help of a kind of "self-hypnosis".
5. Breed predisposition. It has been noted that young Siamese, Thai, Persian, Asian cats, as well as their crossbreeds, often suck and gnaw things.
6. Underfeeding, lack of vitamins and minerals. Unbalanced feeding can lead to the desire to lick, gnaw and swallow inedible objects. Thus, the organism tries to compensate for the deficiency of certain ingredients empirically. In particular, if there is a lack of minerals, the cat will take a fancy to the walls or taste the soil from flower pots. The desire to suck on woolen things is due to the content of lanolin in them, which has a similar chemical nature to lipids and fatty acids. Naturally, the habit of consuming inedible objects has a detrimental effect on the cat"s body, causing clogging of the digestive tract and increasing the likelihood of poisoning.
7. Disorders in the functioning of organs and systems. Functional failures in the body can provoke constant licking and sucking, leading, for example, to increased salivation and nausea. In turn, this can be a sign of poisoning, internal intoxication, diseases of the oral cavity, teeth, digestive tract. An obsessive desire to lick a part of your own body can be associated with dermatitis, a manifestation of a skin allergy, a wound.

Also read:

• what to feed a kitten at 2 months;
• when can you take a kitten away from a cat;
• how and when to transfer a kitten to dry food.

It may require some time and patience to help a kitten get over its sucking reflex, but this is a normal stage of development. You can help your kitten develop healthier habits by giving it lots of love, attention, and toys that are suitable for its age.

Providing an alternative, like a plush blanket or toy, can also soothe the kitten and lessen its need to suckle. In this process, consistency and gradual redirection will be essential.

Recall that each kitten is unique, so don’t give up if development appears to be taking a while. Your kitten will overcome the habit and continue to flourish in your home with love and care.

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