I have a male kitten that is about 16 weeks old and in the past few days he has began attempting to nurse my female cat. He had never tried this before. I've had him and his brother since they were 8 weeks old, but now every time I turn around he is connected to her belly.
It is normal for your cat to try to nurse another cat.
It is a comfort thing to your cat.As long as the two get a long together.
I don't think you have any thing to worry about.
It is a comfort sort of thing.
If both are perfectly content, then just leave it alone unless it bothers you.
The kitten will out grow needing to "nurse"
Only separate them if the get aggressive.
Nursing may just be a temporary thing but most likely the older cat will let the small one know when she is tired of it.
There is a product called Bitter Apple. It is a spray and costa about $4 for a bottle. Take a little bit of this Bitter Apple and with a cotton ball swab it on the cats tits. It is bitter and the kitten will stay away and it will break the habit.
But what if it is hurting the older cat ? Mine has blood stains on her belly because she hasnt got any milk. But she also doesnt stop the kitten because she is really fond of her
The kittens are about 10 weeks while the older cats are 2 yrs old and spayed
We have a male kitten that is around 12 weeks who has been suckling on a female cat of ours who isn't his mother. He has caused her nipples to become swollen, red and bloody. Its difficult to keep them separated because my kids' kids let him out of the space we provided for him.
I having this issue My female is a year old and I got a new male kitten which is 12 weeks old(maybe 12_16week), is it bad for my female ? I'm getting her booked in to get done but I just need information if its somthing I need to stop. My female isnt a mother at all, she doesnt stop it either so i dont want her to get hurt.....PLEASE HELP
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I have had my male cat for eight years and every kitten that I bring into the house even though their mother is nursing them they go to him and attempt to suckle. He doesnt try to stop it. I now have five-month-old kittens that are still nursing off their mother And he will let those kittens nurse off of him.
My male Maine Coon nuzzled his sister when he was young but he outgrew it. To my thinking it's no different than a young child nuzzling his pacifier.
As long as everyone is ok with it, it doesn't hurts anything. The one thing is just to make sure he doesn't get any sores, bites or scratches. If you see any, just talk to your vet about ways to stop the behavior so he can heal, and watch for infection.
This isn't a problem and it can be natural for a small cat to want to cuddle or attempt to nurse off another cat in the home. I don't find anything strange about this and your male cat must love it otherwise he would let the babies know he didn't by hissing at them or trying to swat them away.
If it bothers YOU then stop it, otherwise just leave it alone, there is nothing wrong with a kitten wanting to suck a male.
It's ok, it's just cats being affectionate. Animals do weird things.
This is called comfort nursing. It is very common and harmless. Many older male cats really take to their Grandpa role and thoroughly enjoy kittens.
This is really no different than an animal that tries to "nurse" or suckle your hand and they do this a lot.
I agree - if this does not bother you then I would let it be. If anyone happens to say something about this going on then just let them know your male cat just wants to be part of the family and he likes the loving kittens.
If it bothers you then you can use some bitter lemon and to keep the kittens from nursing.
My kitten is is trying to nurse on my older cat, is that okay? How do I get her to stop?
By aLiCiA from Quincy
Give her some of the following:
It is the natual instinct of a kitten to nurse on an older female cat. Why try to stop it. The older cat will or the kitten will stop in time.
it is absolutely common for an older cat to adopt an orphaned kitten;mine have done it.The kitten is getting more than milk; it is being nurtured.Don't try to stop it.
I'm not sure that anyone actually dealt with your particular problem. Is your kitten still of nursing age? Is the older cat a female, and giving milk, or just irritated? The "normal" reason for kittens to try to nurse from other cats, and nearly anything they can get their mouth around, is that they were taken away from the mother, or orphaned, before they were ready. It seems dogs can be weaned just fine at 6 weeks, for the most part, but kittens seem to take a bit longer. Usually, with patience, they will grow out of it, but the need seems to be there for comfort, as it is with all little creatures. Try giving it, after it eats, a play toy that it can be distracted with. Hope all works well.
Leave the kitty and older cat to follow their natural instincts and don't worry about it because they know what they're doing :-)
Don't worry about it, it is perfectly natural. The kitten will stop on her own as she outgrows the desire to nurse.
I had a one year old cat and a kitten who fought like crazy. I kept them separate for quite a while. Then finally I let them together. They stopped fighting and the kitten began sucking on the older cat. Nothing ever came out but they both seemed fine with it and I thought it was sweet. The kitten eventually grew out if it.
My female cat, Bear, is a year old. I got a new male kitten Jack who is 12 weeks old (maybe 12-16 weeks). Jack keeps sucking on my female. Is it bad for my female? I'm getting her booked in to get done, but I just need information if it's something I need to stop.
My female isn't a mother at all, she doesn't stop it either so I don't want her to get hurt.
Please help.
Sweet photo!!
This is a totally normal behavior for the kitten. As long as the older cat puts up with it, then let it go. If she tries to hurt (scratch or bite) him, then I strongly suggest keeping them together only when supervised for everyone's safety.
Are you going to spay/neuter both? That is the best way if you want to prevent future babies. This just comes from a spay and neuter advocate...you need to do what is right for you and your cats
This is normal behavior and I would ignore it since the other cat doesnt seem to mind. It should go away in a few weeks.
Nurturing is what is happening! It's o k.Just keep a eye on them!
The kiten is very young still and misses the mom. This is a normal behavior and if your older cat is not upset over all this then let them be. The little will stop soon and if your older cat is fed up with the behavior she will let the baby know this one. He is just looking for another mother because he lost his.
This is normal behavior called "comfort nursing". Normally it just goes away in a few weeks. In rare instances Bear may get some skin irritation depending on how much nursing is going on. But as I said that is rare but you can keep an eye out just in case. Mostly it just makes everybody feel better.
I have a 1 year old cat who's never been a mother. She also isn't fixed and I just recently got a kitten from somebody online. The kitten is almost 3 months old. She's also not fixed and today she tried nursing on my older cat.
My older cat's reaction was giving the kitten a light bite on the top of her ear which scared the kitten. Why is the kitten trying to nurse on my older cat and why did my older cat react like that?This sounds like your poor kitten was weaned to early from it's mom! Sometimes suggested time may be a little short. Your kitten may need to be fixed when old enough. That helps, if not, you may need to find away to keep them apart for a little while.
The kitten was with the mother until you adopted her. She is missing her mom and has tried to adopt your other cat as her new mom. The other cat does not want to be adopted and this was her way of saying to the new kitten I am not your mom. It was a light warning and a nice way to say you are too old to nurse now and I am not your mother so there is no way you can nurse with me.
I adopted two kittens and they will not stop nursing on my older female cat. She's not producing milk. They have her teat hard and a mess going from above the teat to her vagina.
They won't stop no matter how much I separate them. What can I do?This is normal behavior, but if it is hurting the older female, just keep them separated and let her heal.
The separation needs to be something so that the kits can't get to her....like closed doors or even crates or kitty condos.
If she seems to be in distress, please have the vet check her out to make sure there is no infection going on.
Prayers for all. Post back with an update!
Cats will do this until they are four months old. I would separate them if the older cat is sore.
This is a common problem and the way rescues deal with it is to get a "onesie" for momma cat. You can buy them on Chewy. Of course separating them will work too...or a combination of the two.
Using a sweater/shirt on the older cat will help but may not stop it completely.
Most people try to find a small baby Onesie at a thrift store that will be snug on the cat - buy several if you can find them.
You can try to find a secure place for the older cat to hide so she can get well and stop the nursing cycle. A crate would be idea but most people do not have one of these for cats.
Even a bathroom might work for a while.
Most vets recommend gently pulling them apart and try to distract them.
Vets also recommend put something on the older cat to discourage suckling but it has to be 'safe' for the kittens.
Since the older cat is already sore this could be a problem but one vet said Vaseline sometimes works and when the older cat is well you could try a product made for this. I'm not sure of the name but has a bitter taste.
You do not say how old the kittens are or if they are eating wet and dry food so maybe we should know that the kittens were not weaned too soon as this is usually the root cause of this kind of problem.
I have a two year old female cat that is not fixed and I recently have gotten two kittens. They are trying to nurse on her and she's allowing them to.
Is this normal? They're not 8 weeks yet. Any suggestions?
It's not uncommon and fine. It's probably a sign that the kittens were taken from their mom a little too early. They will stop doing it eventually and it's likely a good thing that they are bonding.
A kitten can nurse up to 10 weeks
Their nursing will stimulate lactation. So they are probably getting milk from her. I had a dog that would nurse kittens even after they were full grown.
I recently live trapped two baby kittens that the mother brought into my basement. They're both boys and they're doing quite well. I have two males that were both rescues too. One is fixed the other is not and they're both fostering these baby kittens. They're letting them suckle on them and they lick them all over and letting them sleep with them.
The kittens are 12 weeks of age so it is unusual. I've never seen a male cat let a baby suckle on them. They let the kittens suckle on their legs or wherever they can grab some fur. This is kind of funny. I am just wondering if anybody else has ever gone through something like that and if that's unusual or what?
Could it be one of your boys is the daddy? I have never see this either and have been a cat person for many decades. It is probably good for the babies, at least they are not fighting.
Can't answer about the male cats but our kitten we found abandoned at 4 weeks would suckle our male St. B's titty. He kept the kitten clean and it's bowels working.
I have 2 males, we rescued from side of road at age about 3 weeks. They are now 5 months old and fixed. Both suck on the stomach fur of the largest of the 2. It looks quite rediculous. But i know the reason is because they were taken from their mama cat and dumped wayyyyy too young to be weaned. There were 4 total but when they turned 8 weeks old we gave the 2 girls to 2 seperate family members and they are not sucking on any of their pets at all. Our vet says unless it causes wounds or irritation, let it be. They are just sucking the fur, as I check regularly to make sure.
I have 4 female cats that never been pregnant. They are not spayed and when they go into heat they want to nurse on our mother cat. They are 15 weeks old weaned kittens. Is this normal?
Some cats wean at 16 weeks. Its ok.
It seems some kittens have a kind of "Peter Pan" thing going where they don't want to grow up and they continue to try to nurse periodically.
At least it is on a mom cat...not the dad cat, a sibling, themselves, or your clothing, fingers, carpet, etc.
If the mom doesn't let them, it is fine. It can get noisy, but unless the fur starts to really fly, leave them be. If it gets really hissy, separate them (safety first)!
Contact your vet ASAP if they are not eating or drinking as expected, if you see they are losing weight, if it is hurting the mom--(she gets VERY hissy or you see sores or other issues with her, or you feel there are other issues that may be health related for anyone involved.
What you are describing just seems to be a quirk in some kitten personalities.
