[mismodliz]

Every since I got Stephen (4 1/2 now), when she lays on someone, she starts to suck her front paws. It's a habit I've tried to break, but to no avail -- and obviously it's not going to change now! I can tell her to stop and separate mouth and paw, but eventually she goes back to it.

Has anyone had a cat do this? Any ideas as to why?

My mom always thought it was b/c she was taken from her mom too early? She was 6 wks, though....

 

[Lilly]

ohhh 6 weeks is very early to be taken from mom! kittens should not leave mom until at least 8 weeks and really they should stay with mom until 12 weeks.
As for the paw sucking, it could be a variety of resons. One could be leaving mom to early.
Also cats do this because they feel comfortble and happy. When you are petting your kitty he feels happy, so he kinda drifts off into kittenhood agian
Two of my kittys, Minnie and Jerry, have been with me since 3 weeks. They have aways had a blanket that was theirs since the first night they came home. Jerry in particular will not sleep any where except on his blanket. Sometimes you will find them sucking on it, however if I am petting them they always suck their blanket. I thin kit kinda replaced mom when they were babys.

 

[Wayne]

As far as kneading and nursing, three of four of my white kitties does this, and all are males. (Happy Cat, Snow Plough, and Foxy.) When I first adopted Foxy from our local shelter, he used to nurse my earlobes in the middle of the night. I have finally broke him of that behavior, but Snow Plough still nurses the covers next to me in bed. Happy Cat, nurses my shirt while in my lap. In fact, I have never seen a female cat behave is such a manner. Could it be that licking her paw is a female cat's way of satisfying the nursing need?

 

[mismodliz]

Maybe it could be, but she's been doing this since she was just a kitten. I think for her it's a security or contentment issue. Not sure, though.

 

[Wayne]

I had a flame-point Siamese (RB) who would do this a few years ago. It was not due to him being taken away from his mother too young, because he was from a home-born litter. Such behavior appears to be a natural trait of the cat. Foxy is the only one whom I have broken his habit of nursing. Once I tried breaking Happy Cat from doing this, and all it did was to make him mistrusful, for a few days. However, he doesn't do it as much as he did when I first brought him home from our local aminal shelter. Snow plough is too young to attempt to stop this behavior, if indeed it can be stopped. I do not care if I can stop it or not, just as long as he remains a lap cat, it is OK with me.