Obsessive suckling and crying-- Could my kitten have separation anxiety?

sure no medical intervention is needed. Whether the baby kitten was abandoned, or the mother died, it is imperative that you get the kitten to a doctor so that it can be examined for problems such as dehydration. If the veterinarian approves, take the kitten home. •2 Set up a bed for the kitten using a cardboard box, old towels and a heating pad. Wrap the heating pad in a towel or two and place it in the bottom of a cardboard box. Bunch up another towel or rag, and place it in a corner for a bed. You may also want to consider putting a stuffed animal in the box for the kitten to cuddle with, as they are used to being close to other kittens or their mother. Place the heating pad on low, as newborn kittens are not able to regulate their temperature until around 8 weeks of age. •3 Feed the baby kitten using a small bottle designed to feed orphaned kittens, and some kitten formula or replacement milk. These can be found at any pet store and also at stores like Wal-Mart. Sterilize the bottle, and then fill it with the replacement milk. The instructions on the back of the can will tell you how much to feed a kitten of a certain age, and no mixing or adding of water is needed. If the kitten refuses to drink out of the bottle, you can use an eye dropper to slowly drip the milk into the kitten's mouth. •4 Stimulate the kitten so that it urinates and defecates. To do this, you will need to wet a washcloth or soft towels with warm water, and slowly stroke it over the genital and anal areas of the kitten. After a few strokes the kitten should have defecated. It may take a few feedings to notice any urination. You are stimulating the kitten to substitute the mother kitten's act of licking these areas with her rough tongue. If you do not perform this act after each meal, the kitten will not be able to excrete. You can stop this process once you notice the kitten using the restroom by itself. •5 Show the kitten plenty of love and affection. Kittens normally interact several times a say with their mother and siblings, and you will have to take the place of them. Let the kitten sleep on your lap, or gently pet it. Be careful not to over stimulate the kitten though, and let him sleep in the heated cardboard box as often as he needs. •6 Wash the kitten with a damp warm washcloth. Gently stroke the kitten over its back and neck with the washcloth. This will teach the kitten the art of licking and cleaning itself. This is another job that is normally done by the mother cat, which now must be done by you to teach the kitten the essential skills. •7 Give the kitten a bath in dawn dish soap or other mild soap if needed. Sometimes the kitten will become dirty, and a bath will be necessary. Do not over wash however, and do not use harsh flea soaps at this early stage in life. •8 Start introducing solid foods to the kitten at 6 weeks of age. Begin by soaking some dry kitten food in the replacement milk or formula until it softens. Place the softened food into a shallow bowl, and offer it to the kitten. You may need to do this several times before the kitten gets the hang of eating on its own. You can then gradually feed just dry food once the kitten is old enough to chew the food. You can also start introducing plain water in a shallow dish at this time. •9 Start to litter train the kitten at 8 weeks of age. Place the kitten into the litter box filled with litter after every meal, and whenever you notice it trying to eliminate in its box or around the home. Litter training should be a fairly quick process, as it is a natural instinct for most cats. •10 Take your kitten into the veterinarian at the age of 8 weeks so that it can receive another check up and its first shots. Follow any additional instructions given by the doctor. At this point your kitten

Remember that your kitten is still a baby, and 4 weeks is too young to be separated from its mother. Assuming that the kitten has been checked out by a vet and is being fed regularly, it is not really uncommon for kittens to cry when you put them down or leave them for a few seconds. You are mommy now, and your kitten is still learning about the world. Kittens need to build their confidence so they do not grow into shy, timid or scared adults. You need to make sure that the kitten is well socialized to other people and animals, new sights, sounds, etc. He is in the prime stage of socialization now and up to 7 weeks, so take advantage of this time to help him develop a confident and well-rounded personality. Don't be too concerned with the crying if he is healthy and well cared for. I just found a 4 week old kitten myself back in October, and I was at first concerned about the crying too. But then I realized that he is still very young. Give him toys to play with and things to do independent from you so that he can build a little independence, which will make him less prone to be upset when you are gone. Also, don't run over and pick him up every time he cries- this is only reinforcing the behavior and he might continue to cry to get your attention. While it is nice from our viewpoint to have a tiny kitten that we have become substitute mommy for, it is also possible that this can lead to future behavior problems like over-attachment or separation anxiety. Yes, believe it or not, cats have been shown to exhibit separation anxiety too! As far as the sucking, I would not encourage that. Kittens that are weaned too early are more likely to develop problematic oral behaviors such as wool sucking. You need to redirect the behavior to something more appropriate. Try getting him one of those little puzzles that dispenses food. The animal has to work for the food and it keeps them busy and mentally stimulated. If he starts sucking on something, don't hit him or yell at him. Just redirect his behavior on to the puzzle toy. The more you don't allow him to suck on your clothes and redirect the behavior, the easier it will be for him to learn to do something more appropriate. Be consistent though. Don't allow it sometimes but not others. Always stop the undesired behavior when it occurs and redirect it to the desired behavior. Good luck with your new kitten!

Kittens that are orphaned / abandoned/ otherwise separated too early often do tend to bond strongly with a kind person who is caring for them, and some get quite obsessive about it, exactly as you describe. Especially since you were the one to find and rescue him. Normally if with his mother he would probably still be nursing at this age (ca. 7 weeks) Some kittens start to eat solid food around 4-5 wks but also continue nursing and they gradually nurse less and less but still do nurse at times for comfort. Many still are "comfort nursing" sometimes at 12 weeks if their mother lets them and they are not separated from her too soon. He's still a baby so give him time. Hopefully he will eventually get over this phase When he suckles on your clothes you can try hissing at him and putting him down. Hissing imitates what a mother cat would do if he was still with her and she was sick of him nursing. (and when that happens varies by the mother cat) If you can also let him get to know other people more it might be good. and give him toys he can play with on his own ( you probably already do) They also have a thing called SnuggleKitty which is a cat stuffed animal but has a "heartbeat" and you can insert a warmer thing or a pouch with dry rice heated in the microwave . It's like a surrogate mother or sibling, and it might be comforting to him when you're away from home. http://www.snuggleme.com/store/

Kittens that young do experience separation anxiety from their natural mother. But you are his mommy now. And with no other kittens/cats to play with, he wants you to play with him. He will grow out of it. But you might try giving him a stuffed animal. Sleep with it tucked in close on your skin for a couple of nights so it gets your scent. When I got Twinkie, he was barely 5 weeks old. (Previous people were going to take him to kill shelter, so I took him younger than he was ready.) I slept with an old towel to get my scent on it, & then gave it to Twinkie. I also put him in the bathroom with litter box, food, water, & a snuggly box with the towel in it, a night light, and a ticking clock. That all greatly helped Twinkie feel more secure when he was not with me. Break him from suckling now, because he may never stop if you don't. (Learned that from experience, also.) And when you play with him, play with a string, stuffed animal, or other toy--never your bare hands. This will teach him that he is not to bite or scratch YOU, but that it is OK to bite & scratch his toys. Provide him with toys when he is away from you. He will enjoy an empty toilet paper roll, a shoe string, and a shoe string attached to a doorknob with a big knot or small toy to bat around. And a small box to play peek-a-boo with a small ball or toy in it.

I have 2 cats (6 months and 13 months) who suckle, knead, and drool. My vet said they it's probably a result of being separated from the mother too early. She said it usually passes with age, but isn't harmful in any way. I don't know if it's the same for a cat that much younger - you may want to ask your vet. I made "suckle blankets" for my two cats - I bought a yard of really soft, cushy material from Jo Anns and cut it into 1/4 yard sqaures (my cats love microfiber blankets too). I keep the blankets in the areas they sleep and wherever they want to snuggle with me. They almost always go straight for the blankets and not me (and they are easy to wash). I've also heard of using a heating pad with young kittens (on a very low temperature) and a blanket on top. Good luck with your kitty! Are you up to date on your vet visits and vaccinations? It's pretty important when they're little!

Sounds like you adopted him before he was totally weaned. As the "momma" you have to keep him weaned and not allow the suckling and he has to get used to you not being there the entire time. It's not really something to be worried about though.

your are his adopted momy. this will happen