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I adopted two wonderful kittens which are 4 months old. One of them won't stop suckling on my skin when I am trying to sleep and often wakes me in the middle of the night doing this. In researching this , it's clear he was taken from his mother too early(most likely). There is a lot of advice about trying to get him to suckle on something else like a teddy bear, but this has not worked- he only wants my skin. It is driving me crazy and nothing I have tried has worked. Any advice?

I adopted two wonderful kittens which are 4 months old. One of them won't stop suckling on my skin when I am trying to sleep and often wakes me in the middle of the night doing this. In researching this , it's clear he was taken from his mother too early(most likely). There is a lot of advice about trying to get him to suckle on something else like a teddy bear, but this has not worked- he only wants my skin. It is driving me crazy and nothing I have tried has worked. Any advice?

Updated On November 3rd, 2019

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 4 months and 4 days old | 4 lbs

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

The best way to stop it is to keep Linus out of your room at night. Do that for a few days, and let him back in. If he starts to suckle your skin again, immediately kick him out of your room. You want him to associate not sleeping with you with suckling your skin, and hopefully this will make him stop.

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