OT kitten behavior question

Well, he's 4 months old, and nursing on his brother's fur and his spayed
mother's tummy fur where her nipls are.
Should I worry, separate them or will he grow out of it? Will this behavior
cause psychological illness in the poor host cat? The kitty/leech is not
ever stopped or dissuaded by either the host brother or mother. Everyone
involved seems to be okay with it except for us concerned human onlookers.
I have heard of kittens trying to nurse human earlobes, but not each other.
Is there a good reason for trying to nurse after momma has weaned them off
and been spayed? The kittens have been neutered. advice, chocolate and
aspirin appreciated.
Cyndi

Once upon a time, we got a kitty from some women at a show I did (that's the
short version of the story). The women CLAIMED the cat was 6wks old, but
the vet said if it was 4wks he would be surprised. Anyhoo, it was fairly
small. We brought her home and she slept in a bowl between our pillows.
She would crawl all over my Yorkie trying to nurse (and Yorkie allowed this,
which amazed us all). She did eventually stop that, but she never did stop
the thing they do where they mash with front feet to make the milk flow -
she would mash around on the bed or the floor, or on lap, wherever she
happened to be.

L


"QuiltsWithCatFur" wrote in message
. ..
Well, he's 4 months old, and nursing on his brother's fur and his spayed
mother's tummy fur where her nipls are.
Should I worry, separate them or will he grow out of it? Will this
behavior cause psychological illness in the poor host cat? The
kitty/leech is not ever stopped or dissuaded by either the host brother or
mother. Everyone involved seems to be okay with it except for us
concerned human onlookers. I have heard of kittens trying to nurse human
earlobes, but not each other. Is there a good reason for trying to nurse
after momma has weaned them off and been spayed? The kittens have been
neutered. advice, chocolate and aspirin appreciated.
Cyndi

QuiltsWithCatFur wrote:
Well, he's 4 months old, and nursing on his brother's fur and his spayed
mother's tummy fur where her nipls are.
Should I worry, separate them or will he grow out of it? Will this behavior
cause psychological illness in the poor host cat? The kitty/leech is not
ever stopped or dissuaded by either the host brother or mother.

Because the other felines are tolerating the behavior, I wouldn't worry
about it. I'd been more concerned if he wanted and they rebuffed him.

Sounds like someone was weaned too young. He'll either grow out of it
eentirely or focus the need on other things. Lots of small stuffed
animals to chew on might be a good thing. Pepe loves little stuffies he
can carry around with him.

-georg

will he grow out of it?

We have a cat who eventually substituted her right paw -- she sucks her
"thumb"

Elizabeth in Spring, Texas

QuiltsWithCatFur wrote:
Well, he's 4 months old, and nursing on his brother's fur and his spayed
mother's tummy fur where her nipls are.
Should I worry, separate them or will he grow out of it?....
Is there a good reason for trying to nurse after momma has weaned them off
and been spayed? .....

Some kitties who were weaned properly at an appropriate age will
still display this behaviour. There's nothing all that unusual in it.
I've known cats that would "nurse" on all sorts of things for their
entire lives!
As for the thing kitties do with their front paws to make the milk
flow that someone else mentioned??? The official Technical "Queen of
Kitties" term is "snurfing" and all of my cats have done it their whole
lives. Yes, it starts off as a behaviour to help make milk flow when
nursing but once weaned, it becomes a comfort thing. The Babies have
told me that it's necessary to get really relaxed so that they can fall
asleep instantaneously :-)! CiaoMeow ^;;^

It's perfectly normal for cats to do this their whole lives, even old
crochety geriatric cats. Some cats do it a lot, some don't do it at all.
They do it to anything they love - their family (feline), their family
(human), even inanimate objects. Over on rec.pets.cats I believe they
call it "smurgling". It's a sign of affection and security. But I know
what you mean - it worried the heck out of me when I first noticed my
cat doing it. Relax, and feel the lurrrve!
--
M Rimmer

lisa skeen wrote:

Once upon a time, we got a kitty from some women at a show I did (that's the
short version of the story). The women CLAIMED the cat was 6wks old, but
the vet said if it was 4wks he would be surprised. Anyhoo, it was fairly
small. We brought her home and she slept in a bowl between our pillows.
She would crawl all over my Yorkie trying to nurse (and Yorkie allowed this,
which amazed us all). She did eventually stop that, but she never did stop
the thing they do where they mash with front feet to make the milk flow -
she would mash around on the bed or the floor, or on lap, wherever she
happened to be.

Oh, they never stop kneading. I've never met a cat that didn't do that.
But eventually most stop the sucking: it seems to be a bit like thumb
sucking - they need something else to do and some discouragement.
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

I have a semi-feral cat named Steve that we adopted many years ago. He
has always done that "kneading" action before snuggling for a long nap,
but he does it with all four feet. I wish I had a camcorder to record
it. I'm sure that if it was shown in fast speed, he would look like he
was dancing. This "dancing" can go on for 15 to 20 minutes, till he
settles down.

Denise

Hi Cyndi, Both my spayed QIs "knead" the blanket before they settle in for
yet another nap. Sometimes Sugar will "knead" my lap before assuming the
slumber position. It always amazes me how quickly and how deeply and how
much sleep they get. My Vet said cats sleep at least 8 years of their
lives. Linda in Tx

I have a kitty that is nearly a year old that still "ninnies". She was a
handraised kitted (orphaned at 2 weeks of age) and I do see a higher
tendency in handraised babies for doing this than kitties that Mom raised.
Her object of choice is a fleece pillow I made that went with her and her
'sister' to the vet last week when they got spayed. In your situation, the
only concern I might have would be if he has a higher chance of trouble with
hairballs.
Hope this offers you some peace of mind
Debi (kitty mom to four)


"QuiltsWithCatFur" wrote in message
. ..
Well, he's 4 months old, and nursing on his brother's fur and his spayed
mother's tummy fur where her nipls are.
Should I worry, separate them or will he grow out of it? Will this
behavior cause psychological illness in the poor host cat? The
kitty/leech is not ever stopped or dissuaded by either the host brother or
mother. Everyone involved seems to be okay with it except for us
concerned human onlookers. I have heard of kittens trying to nurse human
earlobes, but not each other. Is there a good reason for trying to nurse
after momma has weaned them off and been spayed? The kittens have been
neutered. advice, chocolate and aspirin appreciated.
Cyndi