my cat sucks his own arm, how do i make him stop?

Question

I got a shelter-rescue cat (Sam) who was about 8 weeks at the time, he's now about 7-8 months and he is obsessive with sucking his own arm. you can't even pet him without the sucking starting, he does in -- it's really gross and it's to the point where it's almost all the time. i tried that "Bitter Yuck" spray stuff and he licks right though it and continues sucking, and we've also tried to simply distract him, but the minute you pet him he goes right back to the arm-sucking. it's soooo gross and my family doesn't even want to give the cat any attention whatsoever because he goes right to sucking his arm if you as much as touch him. what can i do to stop him? please help!

Answer 1

At some point, little Sam has had to compensate for a lack of security and good feelings. These attempts have manifested in suckling his arm. Even though he gets security and good feelings from you (i.e. petting), he stills needs to suckles his arm. It not especially harmful and I'm not sure why it's so gross to you but contact your vet and ask for help. It is a behavioral issue. If you continue to pull away from Sam when he suckles his arm, he may feel a loss of security which can make him increase the behavior.

Answer 2

try putting something really gross tasting on his arm like vinegar. i'm not sure what "bitter yuck" is like but i know my cats absolutely hate vinegar so its worth a shot. i had a kitten that used to suckle on my older female cats nipples trying for milk, and i just kept separating them every time i saw it and eventually he grew out of it. good luck!

Answer 3

Sounds like he didn't get to nurse as long as he needed from his mom and now is oc (obcessive/compulsive) about it.

Answer 4

its the cat version of bitting your nails it just a bad habit