u/monarchdodoras

Hey all, first time poster here in need of some advice. I recently took in a six-month-old kitten and she is amazing, but she is obsessed with suckling on my skin (usually my neck, shoulders, or arms). She also tries to latch onto my fingers quite often, so I know she's trying to nurse. The person I got her from is just as perplexed by this as I am, as this is apparently usually seen in kittens who were taken from their mom too early and she was adopted at 5 months. None of her littermates do it either, just her.

I know that some cats just like to suckle as a comfort thing, in fact one of my other cats loves to suckle on blankets and pet beds, so I'm not worried or anything. I don't even want her to stop doing it in general, just to move it to blankets or something so I'm not covered in kitten spit all the time. She also makes biscuits on my bare skin when she does this, and her claws hurt.

I've tried getting her to move it elsewhere with treats and other redirection methods, to no avail. So far she's literally only interested in doing it on skin (even as I type this, guess what she's trying to do). Does anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance!!

So last month, an ecobee smart thermostat was set up in my house, replacing my old non-smart one, without my knowledge by the HVAC guys. My AC unit, also ancient, was on the way out and needed a replacement. I protested, but they cajoled me into trying it out because "it's great and never gives anyone problems," apparently.

A day later, I had to call out a different heating and air company because the thermostat wasn't running at all despite saying it was and it was over 80 degrees inside; nothing I tried on troubleshooting it was working. They managed to get it going, and, since it was a late night call and I didn't want to trouble them any further, I decided to forego insisting on a replacement and see if this thing would finally work.

It hasn't. Every week there's some issue with it, and now it seems to have just gone out again despite it claiming to be working to cool the house. No air is coming from the vents. I have it set to 70 degrees, but the unit is still showing that it's 78 and it's boiling inside. I live in the Deep South, where it's insanely hot and humid for much of the year, so having a working AC and thermostat is a must.

I've put the ceiling fans on in an effort to keep myself and my poor pets cool, but I've already informed the air company that when they come out tomorrow, I want them to get rid of the ecobee and install a non-smart thermostat that won't fight me every step of the way.

And looking around, it appears my problems are more the norm for ecobee owners than the exception. To anyone thinking of getting an ecobee, save your money and get a non-smart thermostat instead. They aren't worth it.