|
behavior
problems and creative solutions
cat suckling study—the results
8. If you discouraged suckling, please
explain how.
Suckling Feline #1: I held his head away from my shirt
sleeve and petted it. Or I just placed him on the floor.
Suckling
Feline #2: At first, I discouraged suckling, for a period of 2-3
months. I did so by pushing him away from me, or blocking my ears.
After 2-3 months, he was still persistently attempting whenever he
had the opportunity, so I decided that if suckling made him happy
(it's his favorite activity) I'd let him.
Suckling Feline #3:
I let her do it sometimes, but when it gets irritating, I hold her
head away from my neck while petting her. When that doesn't work,
I put her off the bed.
Suckling Feline #4: No response.
Suckling Feline #5:
No response.
Suckling Feline #6: N/A.
Suckling Feline #7:
No response.
Suckling Feline #8:
I separate them for a while and as soon as they're back together it
starts again.
Suckling Feline #9: No response.
Suckling Feline #10: I put a hand under his chin whenever he
started suckling, but kept petting him.
Suckling Feline #11: moving him away from the other cats.
Suckling Feline #12: I gently blow on his face or say no and
his name very slowly. This stops him at the time, but he does again
any time he is sleepy or cuddling.
Suckling Feline
#13: I kind of discouraged her by taking her off of my
hair, but she was so persistant that I gave her a teddy bear to suckle,
and now whenever she gets cuddly or tired she curls up on her teddy
bear and suckles. She has cut down a little but not much.
Suckling
Feline #14: pulling her foot away or distracting her. Now i have
given up on trying to discourage her.
Suckling Feline #15:
No response.
Suckling Feline #16: N/A.
Suckling
Feline #17: N/A.
Suckling Feline #18: N/A.
Suckling
Feline #19: I never allowed it. He could suckle his bottle but
not me. Whenever he tried I would put him down. He seemed to figure
out that if he wanted attention he could not do this.
Suckling
Feline #20: After a while I stopped her from suckling
my ear. I would put my hand over my ear when she came up to it or
I would move her to my lap and pet her.
Suckling Feline #21:
N/A.
Suckling Feline #22: We would remove her from us at
first, then we started givig her a light tap on the nose when she
did this. To this day she will try to suckle on your skin or hair
and nestle and knead her paws in you hair and suckle your hair almost
every time she comes to see you, if we give her a tap on the nose
the first few times she does this when she comes to see us she will
eventually stop and just be happy being petted and scratched but we
have to go a few rounds with the nose tapping almost every time.
Suckling Feline #23: He was tiny, feral and very aggressive
as a kitten and tried desparately to nurse on our adopted Chihuahua.
We discouraged it and I am glad as he grew very large, very fast and
is still very aggressive with all dogs from the Chi to the German
Sheperd. It is possible if we had let him nurse he would have out
grown it and left her alone, however, knowing his obsessive personality
I'm glad we didn't because I think it would have been a problem. I
breast fed my babies, I am aware of the need to suck and the benefits.
He is a split personality, playing, wrestling aggressively with the
dogs and cats and then at night he is a "little baby" with
his blanket.
Suckling Feline #24: Any time she would attempt
to suckle, I would put her down from wherever she was (ex: if she
was laying on the couch with me, I would put her down on the carpet.)
Suckling Feline #25: N/A.
Suckling Feline #26: We
tried that Bitter apple stuff on my other cats arm, it stunk so bad
I felt bad for him having it on his arm. so we gave it up, and so
did he, he just puts up with it.
Suckling Feline #27: I
was young and she would try to suck on my pjs at night. So I would
move her. I really think that this "loss" made her so mean.
I am talking about "blood-drawing" mean. You could NOT pet
her. Because of this, when I got another kitten years later, I let
it suckle and will fill out another questionaire for that one.
Suckling Feline #28: Only when full-grown. I just sent the
form re my other cat that was so mean. This cat was the sweetest thing
and she lived to be 23 years old. I really think cats are taken away
from their mothers much too young.
Suckling Feline #29:
N/A.
Suckling Feline #30: N/A.
Suckling Feline #31:
N/A.
Suckling Feline #32: Sometimes I tried to stop him
by putting my hand between his mouth and my clothes or by turning
him in another position, but he was very consistant.
Suckling
Feline #33: N/A.
Suckling Feline #34: When she tried
to suckle us, we'd put her down, or pick her mouth up. When I caught
her with the dog, I'd do the same thing. Sometimes the dog would discourage
her with a sharp "word", sometimes he would get up and leave,
and other times he'd just let her have at it. I never bothered to
try to stop her from suckling the blanket.
Suckling Feline
#35: N/A.
Suckling Feline #36: Pick her up and move
her to a new spot, or if she is laying on me, put something between
us, like a pillow.
Suckling Feline #37: N/A.
Suckling
Feline #38: I don't see any reason to discourage her. I just think
it's a need she has and it's real sweet to see and HEAR her suckle.
By the way, the only place she does this is on my right shoulder and
it's usually when we she is ready for bed.
Suckling Feline
#39: N/A.
Suckling Feline #40: N/A.
Suckling
Feline #41: N/A.
Suckling Feline #42: Tapping on nose
everytime he begins to suckle. He usually stops but begins the next
time he returns to my lap
Suckling Feline #43: N/A.
Suckling Feline #44: N/A.
Suckling Feline #45: Pulled
his tail from his mouth and tried to replace the activity with toys
or cuddling.
Suckling Feline #46: N/A.
Suckling
Feline #47: N/A.
Suckling Feline #48: Saying "no"
in a really loud voice. It doesn't help.
Suckling Feline #49:
N/A.
Suckling Feline #50: I used to remove her from my
lap and offered her food but after a year of this the only result
seemed to be a very bad tempered cat upon removal. Every time I removed
her she would go and beat my other cats up.
Suckling Feline
#51: He no longer suckles, but he nuzzles and kneads his paws,
and we let him do this. When he was little, we simply pushed him off
our laps or moved his head away.
Suckling Feline #52:
I did at times push her away. She's persistent though.
Suckling
Feline #53: keep my fingers hidden from him when he tried to suck
them, or put him in the floor
Suckling Feline #54: N/A.
Suckling Feline #55: N/A.
Suckling Feline #56: N/A.
Suckling Feline #57: Apple Bitter on the area she suckles,
and also I hold her head away from it, or put her in a position where
she can't get to it.
Suckling Feline #58: N/A.
Suckling
Feline #59: N/A.
Suckling Feline #60: Push him away
and play with him or pet him and try to distract him. Neither of which
made him happy.
Suckling Feline #61: N/A.
Suckling
Feline #62: i would tell her no and pet her. after two years of
discouraging her i gave in. but there are times that i just don't
have the time for it.
Suckling Feline #63: removing said
cat from skin, over and over again.
Suckling Feline #64:
discouragement is futile; tried removing cat from skin.
Suckling
Feline #65: pulling the tail out of his mouth.
Suckling
Feline #66: We didn't discourage it. Our vet said that it caused
no harm. Rusty seems to be comforted by it almost.
Suckling
Feline #67: N/A.
Suckling Feline #68: N/A.
Suckling
Feline #69: lift him up gently, talk to him in baby voice, change
his position in lap, hold his paws in my hands, or take him off lap
and place him beside me.
Suckling Feline #70: Just by removing
my cat from my lap and saying "no". However, this does not
last long and he's back to it in no time.
Suckling Feline #71:
N/A.
Suckling Feline #72: N/A.
Suckling Feline #73: by moving him saying no,separating him
from me, he then moved on to other cats which i also discouraged,then
he became addicted to suckling on himself.
Suckling Feline #74: N/A.
Suckling Feline #75: N/A.
Suckling Feline #76: N/A.
Suckling Feline #77: N/A.
Suckling Feline #78: N/A.
Suckling Feline #79: The cat would suck when I was laying in
bed, with her on my belly. Generally, I was petting her on the back,
so I would move to scratch her below the chin so that it couldn't
suck. If she moved to suck again, I would quit petting her and put
her off the bed.
Suckling Feline #80: N/A.
Suckling Feline #81: Moved him from my head. He would just
come back.
Suckling Feline #82: N/A.
Suckling Feline #83: N/A.
Suckling Feline #84: N/A.
Suckling Feline #85: N/A.
Suckling Feline #86: N/A.
Suckling Feline #87: N/A.
Suckling Feline #88: N/A.
Suckling Feline #89: N/A.
Suckling Feline #90: N/A. |
9.
Would you say that your cat, outside of the suckling, or previous suckling,
is well-adjusted, or does the cat have behavior or emotional problems?
|
