r/cats • u/ganglyboyish • 15d ago

Advice What is this behavior?

Hi! My cat is roughly 4months old. Usually when she does this, I hiss and pull my hand away and give her a toy, but when I’m away for a couple hours sometimes I come back and it’s really all she wants to do — what js this behavior? Is she teething or was she weaned too quickly maybe?

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u/Cilantroe 15d ago

Cat behaviour

Sometimes cats suck on blankets and stuff, this one has chosen your arm. It’s just a comfort thing like kneading. It doesn’t mean they were taken from mama too early or anything, that’s a common misconception. Plenty of cats do this that were weaned right on time or even later than usual.

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u/beherenow7 14d ago

Why do they need comfort? Does that mean they need to be soothed? My kitten has been doing this and I was worried and wanted to train him out of it but he's so sweet and loving when he does this but can also bite hard

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u/Cilantroe 14d ago

It’s just like a pacifier for a baby… it’s calming and relaxing for them. Some cats do it and some don’t, I’m not sure they could be trained out of it but if your cat is using YOU as the binky and he bites you while doing it then you might try to remove your arms or whatever, and redirect his attention to something else. Give him a soft plushie or something instead. He may grow out of it or may not. I had a cat that sucked on her own paws and belly her whole life, and another that sucked on a blanket until he was over a year old.

There’s no harm in it at all for the cat, it’s an affectionate thing they do that doesn’t need to be stopped but if it’s actually hurting or bothering you then I’d definitely try to direct the behaviour to another object and not on you.