Canadian Hairless

How do I make my sphynx cat stop sucking on himself?

I have a sphynx cat that is 7 months old that has this habit of sucking on himself before he goes to sleep. This "harmless" habit leaves little marks on his beautiful hairless body and is very annoying when I'm trying to sleep. I've heard he will probably grow out of it but I don't think he will. How do I make him stop?

Public Comments

1. my uncles cat used to do this. It happens when the kitten is took away from its mother before its fully weened. He just misses his mother. He connects the feel of sucking on himself to the feel of sucking on his mother. You cant stop it, and dont scold him for doing it. He WILL grow out of it, just like when kittens are getting weened they go through a phase of trying to get milk out of their mother. When i would suggest doing is cuddling him until he falls asleep. Maybe making a 'bean bag'-- cut off an old pant leg and sew up three sides, fill with uncooked rice and sew up the other side, every night heat his 'bean bag' up so its warm (but not hot) it will remind him of the warmth of his mother, he might turn to that as comfort rather than sucking himself.
2. He was taken from mom too soon, and will most likely continue to do so for a while yet.