I have two cats inside. One is a neutered male a few years old and I have a female who is about a year old. When we first got her she was a kitten and my male cat would clean her and stuff.
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She's not hurting anything by doing this. One theory is that she was weaned too early. They take comfort in doing this. Some people want to stop it because it's embarrassing for THEM but the cats enjoy it.
I agree with Glenn's Mom. There's no reason to try to stop this behavior. I've had cats who were weaned too early, and they will usually pick out something to nurse on.
Yes, if it begins to bother the adult male, he will let her know in his own way. I doubt that he would hurt her even then, as cats can sound mean and get their point across.
I agree, it just sounds sweet to me. My cat does the same thing with a flannel blanket.
My male helped "mother" our new kitten and she would try to nurse him. It eventually stopped on its own.
Its not bothering me or anyone here at home I was just curious,lol its cheap entertainment. I'm thinking that the part about being weaned too early is a good theory.
The younger cat looks to the older male cat as her mother. Evidenly he feels the same way since he grooms her. It's wonderful that they have such a close loving relationship. Enjoy them!
Years ago I had two very young kittens and the female did that to the male for a long time. Eventually she lost the habit on her own. God I miss those two!
We foster kittens and have a male cat that is 3 years old that nurtures all the kittens that we get without a mommy. He washes them and also lets them suck on his belly, normally they stop as they grow but we have one that is pretty big, close to his size sucking on his belly and he was washing him up, he enjoys doing it. I am afraid if we try to stop them then they will only suck on something else. This stems from being taken away from mom too early. If they are not allowed to grow out of it then they will suck on blankets and clothing. My own opinion is as long as they both enjoy and neither are at risk for any health issues then why stop them. It makes for some nice pictures and interesting topic when others see the pictures that are left on coffee table with other books and magazines.
I have found that it is usually the boys that he ends up caring for. One cat will suck on any cat that will let him right now, like I said, I would rather him get it out of his system that way instead of eating blankets. I just check my cats belly to make sure there are no sores there, luckily he has a white belly and it is easy to check. The first time we ever saw him take over was so funny, wish I could have recorded it. I bottle fed the kittens we had at that time then put them on the floor until done with others, they we did the potty thing but much to my surprise Lucky was washing them to stimulate them having to pee. I will never forget the look on his face when the kitten started to pee while he was washing and he looked up at me in total shock but it only lasted a few seconds then he went back and took care of the baby. He enjoys taking care of them and the babies seem to enjoy it also, I just think of Lucky as a breathing pacifier. LOL. Anyway as above said, as long as no one is getting hurt, then let them be. When the adult male has had enough he will let the other cat know. At least she didn't pick a skunk or some other animal to spray~
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