How do I get my kitten to stop trying to nurse on herself?

Question

I have a three month old kitten that i adopted from my local shelter. I noticed when I first seen her she was being nursed on by her sister. About two after bringing her home thats when i first noticed that she was trying to nurse on herself, its started off only about once a day but now shes doing it more often. I would like to know why shes doing this and how could I get her to stop if possible?

Answer 1

Put a bit of Bitter Apple on her nipples. The taste should make her stop.

Answer 2

Mabye you took her away to soon,but idk

Answer 3

Distraction. Keep a toy to hand or something and when she starts to do this distract her with that. My cat nursed on me a lot when he was a kitten and I tried to do this. Also, when they're small enough you can physically stop them. He's much better now - although occasionally he'll resort to it, which is okay. Hope goes well.

Answer 4

i know this cause i was just fostering 4 kittens. kittens suckle because they are used to suckling to get thier mom's milk. so to stop suckling you have to get it used to drinking in a low cup like cats or get a syringe. if u do get a syringe give it to the kitten when he/she starts.

Answer 5

she got taken away from her mother too early... she might grow out of it & she might not.  

Answer 6

my cat does this all the time he sucks his nipples and kneads his paws on whatever is closest to him, we just got him fixed and he still does it especially when hes laying next to me or my boyfriend, i heard theres nothing wrong with it and i think hes going to keep on doing it the rest of his life, i think it comforts them, its like having a blankie for them lol.

Answer 7

If that's what she's actually doing it isn't actually a problem. It won't harm her so just leave her to it. And she will grow out of it.

Are you sure this is what she's doing? Cats often nibble at their stomachs while grooming, spose it can look a bit like suckling. If her eyes are open and she's not laying their all relaxed (which I doubt she can be in that position!), I don't think she is trying to suckle off herself. Wouldn't make sense for a cat to do that really, so highly unusual if that is what she's doing.

Chalice