Cat frantically sucks his paw for comfort

Cat sucks paw for comfort. Screenshot.

Like a child sucking their thumb for comfort, this domestic cat does the same thing except that it appears to be their paw pad. Sometimes when cats suck objects it will be their thumb just like babies. It is akin to wool sucking and human ear lobe sucking. These are behavioral issues brought about by being weaned too early. It is a shame. It is not great to see. Cats do it to calm themselves. It makes them feel better. It is probably a sign of underlying anxiety.

I fostered a tabby cat who was obsessed with sucking my hand or arm. He was a cute and nice cat but this was an unwanted behavioral problem which I think went against him as the adopter relinquished him after quite a short time.

• Fabric chewing in cats may be like thumb sucking in infants
• Pictures of kittens sucking their thumbs

From @mikancanon: "みかんちゃん　私の傍に来たと思ったら恒例のチュパを始めたよ
ฅ(=✧ω✧=)ฅ🐾
《どアップで失礼します🙏》" #catsofinstagram pic.twitter.com/vfynWJJwxu

— Cats of Instagram (@catsofinstagram) July 31, 2021

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

---

Cat weaned too early sleeps with owner's finger in his mouth

This is both cute and sad. This black cat sleeps with his owner's finger in his mouth. This looks like the cat was weaned too early and that his owner's finger is a nipple substitute. It's like sucking your thumb when you're a child and you still do it when you become a teenager and older for emotional comfort. 

It's comforting for this cat which is cute but being weaned too early (which means being removed from your mother's feeding and her breast too early) can lead to this kind of insecure behaviour. I've seen it in a cat I fostered and you see it not too infrequently on the Internet. 

It may be one reason why Siamese cats are predisposed to sucking wool. Cats who have been early weaned will suck items of clothing or parts of the anatomy of their owner. The lanolin in wool smells like the mother's breast. I don't think there is much that can be done about it because the "damage" has been done. 

You might be able to alleviate it through plenty of tender loving care and creating a very secure environment. The cat should not be punished and in my view the owner should put up with it and let their cat do this because if not the cat may take from that human behaviour an understanding that they are being rejected. In other words it might undermine the bond between human and cat.

Cat weaned too early sleeps with owner's finger in his mouth. Screenshot.

Note: videos on this site are typically made by people other than me and held on YouTube servers or the servers of other businesses (not the server storing this website). Sometimes the videos are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened I apologise but I have no control over it.