Obsessive licking driving us crazy!!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Like soufle said, Pussy suckles more when she is hungry and paddles away lol

[Emma2Cats]

Thanks everyone for your replies
Well I will break the news to my partner that we have about 80 Nos to tell Holly over the next few nights
Im sure he will be thrilled!

We will take your advice and keep up the firm No and moving her to the bottom of the bed and see if she clocks on -
why doesnt she sleep the crazy kitty!!

Tansy used to nuzzle and headbut and put and I never gave her any fuss in the night and ignored her - my partner stroked her and fussed and she settled down and incidentally she now loves him way more than me!!

Maybe I should try and convert Holly to my side and give her plenty of love instead of being cross

I will get some pics on when I work out how everytime I try the stupid thing says its too big

[Feline Costumier]

My Chilli did this as a kitten, I would have to cover my head and hands as she would lick m,y hands and nuzzle my ears, even trying to hunt them out! She did eventually grow out of it but I did have months of broken sleep, kittens can be like babies in that way.

My second cat Dave, who is now 2.5 still suckles on blankets, dressing gowns and jumpers and is a ocomplete pest in the morning for attention. So they don't always grow out of it, you just have to find ways to manage the behaviour.

[souffle]

We have two kittens Monty and Callie and Monty is still suckling at Callie a lot. She doesn't seem to mind but he really is persistant and is paddling her and licking her. We normally try and distract him as soon as he does it and he does do it more when he is getting hungry too. I worry he will hurt her but so far there is nothing on her tummy but wet fur!
I am going to have to stop him when she has stitches from getting spayed in a few weeks though as I don't want him doing that. I have a large cage and it looks like someone is going to have to sleep in there when unsupervised.
Many people have said they will grow out of it so I do hope that is the case. Ours are 4 months also.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Helen is right every kitten is different and Pussy is now suckling and her little claws are so sharp LOL

[Tiggy's Mum]

I had a similar issue with Riley as a kitten, it wasn't licking but was obsessive headbutting/nuzzling at night time. He and his brother are obviously the same age with the same upbringing but Lu was an angel at bedtimes and don't think he's ever woken me up.

With Riley I found the supernanny method worked... in the end! If you've ever watched it you'll probably realise that the 40 times you moved her was just the tip of the iceberg! Everytime he tried to get my face (by 'get' I mean lay on, paw at, snuggle/rub against with his head, purr ridiculously loudy right by my head) I picked him up and placed him at the bottom of the bed whilst firmly saying No.  The first night I must have done this about 80 odd times before he finally got the message.  The next night was quite bad too but he eventually got the message and now is as good as gold as long as my eyes are closed. If my eyes even flick open he rushes up and starts pestering me 

Sooo, as frustrating as it is I'd say persever with what you're already doing 

P.S This post is only valid if we get piccies of her in return 

[Emma2Cats]

I didnt have these problems with my other 2 and Tansy was found at 4weeks old away from her Mom so youd think she would be more likely to display this kind of behaviour but Holly as far as im aware was a rescue - her mom and dad were bought in with them and I would have thought they were seperated at the right time but you never know.

The thing is id have no face left if i let her finish her grooming 
it HURTS!

I atleast thought that she would understand No and being moved - what age do they start to learn things?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Oh definately and Pussy does the same thing, she is persistant until she has finished.

Its something that is natural to do for kittens so they dont understand why you are so upset.

If I allow Pussy to finish then she moves on , on her own accord.

I have a 17yr old birman who like my other cats is offended that he is not getting his cuddles cos of Pussy and he is not just licking but also biting and I am having to make sure every inch of me is covered in bed until he settles for a couple of hours before he wakes me up for food.......sigh

[Emma2Cats]

Do you think she just doesnt understand why we are saying no and moving her?
She just runs back even faster!

Im worried my partner will burst a few blood vessells soon if she doesnt give it a rest!
But at the same time I feel bad for her - shutting her out the bedroom she must of hated but we had to sleep - poor thing

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I suspect she has moved on now and will not like being shut in a cage any more.

I think you have all the options and you will just have to try..............my preferred I think, but obviously dont know her, would be to persevere with her out and on bed because I think its a comfort thing and it will eventually stop in time!

Pussy the kitten with me has been shut in her room all the time since arriving about a week ago and I am in there most of day but most of time she ignores me LOL

[Emma2Cats]

Thanks for the advice.

Well we could do that but I think that would cause more stress than being in her crate as when we first had her she slept in her crate at night and was in their in the daytime as well whilst we were introducing her to our other 2 cats and until we were comfortable
they were all getting on and she didnt mind this or seem to (she didnt cry at all in the night whilst we slept and was very quiet until she saw us get up in the morning and we let her out then anyway!)
Id be worried that shutting her in a seperate room to a) US and b) the other 2 cats at night would make her feel lonely and stressed as she is used to being with us at night?
What do you think?

She has loads of fluffy toys / beds but doesnt seem interested although she does sometimes lick soft pillows and the leather sofa?!
But its mainly us and at night she never does this in the day time.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I have a 4 month old kitten who walked in out of the snow before Christmas and she is suckling , I am sure she would do it at night but has to be kept in her own room all the time cos of my other 4 cats.

I think she is missing her mother and probably yours is too and its a comfort thing which she will eventually grow out of but dont think punishing her will do any good cos she is too young to understand. When they are taken away from their mother and family can have a huge bearing on this and if they are too young this could be a problem for life.

I would keep her out of the bedroom at night and trying getting her a fluffy toy that she can cuddle up to and suckle if she wants.

Cant you just shut her in her own room at night rather than putting her in a cage?

[Emma2Cats]

Hi everyone,
we are having some real troubles with our new kitten - she is 15 weeks old and we have had her for 3-4 weeks now.
We have 2 other cats who are about a year and half old.

Basically the problem is in the night she will sleep with us mostly on the bed but she wakes up ALOT of the night and will lick and lick us so much so that it keeps us awake and actually makes your face / arms sore!

My partner initially stroked her lots to try and get her to settle down as Tansy one of our older cats didnt lick - bur her face on us in the nights for attention - he stroked her and she always settles now so he thought it may work with Holly but to no avail!
We then tried a firm NO and moving her away from us - but she just runs back at us even quicker and starts licking again!
We now tell her no but also pick her up and move her off the bed - she normally waits 5 minutes and then comes back again - and starts licking again - we have pushed her away but she doesnt seem to take the hint!

Last night we had to shut her out of the bedroom and the other 2 in with us which I hate to do but it is affecting our sleep - we both moved her around 20 times EACH last night and we have to get up for work.

In the day time we dont have this problem and she doesnt try and lick us and I just dont understand why shes doing it and why she is doing it despite being told off!!
We are putting her crate up again today so if she starts tonight she will be put in there but im worried this is not going to stop it long term... does anyone know why she is doing this - whether she will grow out of it and how to stop it?
Thanks