My Pepper didn't start kneading until very recently, and she turned a year old in July. My experience with her, though, has convinced me that it has nothing to do with when a kitten is weaned, because I also have Pepper's littermate sister Cookie and her littermate brother Big Mac, and neither of them knead. Furthermore, they were certainly NOT weaned too early, since I also have their mom Peaches, and she loved being a mom so much that she didn't start kicking them away until they were six months old! !! That was REALLY a sight to see, since by then Biggie was already 12 pounds - half again bigger than his mom! !! (He's 17 pounds now, and he wasn't even the biggest of the litter! We had no idea when we named him Big that he would grow into it so well!) Anyway, I am digressing - Peaches has also only just started kneading, but then Peaches has only just recently learned to put her total trust in me (she was a pregnant stray when I found her outside my door about 16 months ago). But kneading, sucking, and drooling are pretty common behaviors, and we probably will never figure out why. My mom has one cat that sucks his tail, and once had another that sucked pacifiers.

Also, Susieoh, some cats are very uncomfortable being held, picked up, or being cuddled, but are just as affectionate as the cuddly cats in every other way. My cats run the gamut - Pepper sleeps on me, Peaches sleeps right next to me, Cookie sleeps with only her front paws touching me, and Big sleeps in the next room. But the three littermates had identical upbringing. So, again, who knows why? But since they all have their special personalities and their own ways to give and receive affection, I take them as they are and love them all the same.

Also, a note to Pieper's Mom - they like to suck the plastic bags because they're made with lard and/or tallow, and their supersensitive noses can detect it. Isn't that sound so irritating? I'm sure you know that you need to keep those bags out of their reach since they can be very dangerous - I learned this when I came home and found one of my babies with a bag tightly twisted around her neck. I shudder to think what could have happened if I had come home too late.

Anyway, this is a very long post, but several issues were raised and I had to weigh in on each! Everyone keep loving their kitties! !