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  #1  
Old October 14th, 2009, 03:17 AM
chloe_close chloe_close is offline
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Vampire Kitten

Hey all, it's been a long time.
I have a new kitty, my fat old Big Kitty adores her, as do I. He's really good with her, maybe a little too good... here's the problem...

New kitty (Abbey) suckles on my old boy's nipple(s).
At first I thought it was just kneading and cuddling (he's a big warm ball of fur so who could blame her) but nope it's nipple-age. *shudder*

Big Kitty doesn't seem to mind at all but I'm worried about it.

At first his nipple just looked kinda red and irritated but now it's huge and white on the end. When I pulled her off this evening I darn near threw up.

I realize this is probably because she was likely weaned too early or had a bad mommy or something. I suspect the owner may have been less than forthcoming about age and what have you... anyways, too late for that now, unfortunately.

I've tried just pulling her off with a firm no, tried putting bitter apple on him, I don't like doing that because a) it might sting and b) why should he suffer for her problem?
I'm thinking kitty T-shirt or tape, not very seriously... obviously he won't be thrilled with that either... but I'm really at a loss here. I don't want to positively reinforce the behavior either by offering toys or food and such.

Is this harmful to him or her? Will she stop? What else can/should I do?

Thank you!
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Old October 14th, 2009, 10:05 AM
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Your kitten is acting pretty normally (although your male is EXTREMELY patient to put up with it). Kittens suckle off their mom long after they are no longer getting any milk, just for comfort. When my stray had kittens, the one we kept suckled for months, he was almost 6 months before Misty finally got thoroughly fed up and weaned him completely. Misty had no milk after the third month, but he still wanted to nurse for comfort and closeness.
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  #3  
Old October 14th, 2009, 11:14 AM
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Yes, this is normal. I had one foster kitten suckle her mom until she was almost 6 months even though momma had no milk since the kittens were 3 months. If it was bothering your boy, he would stop the kitten, I would allow it to continue unless it starts to become bothersome to your older kitty or a health issue.
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Old October 14th, 2009, 11:19 AM
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This behaviour not unusual. One of my stud cats (when I was into breeding) used to let his weaned kittens nurse on him. He was very gentle with his kittens. He didn't mind and the kittens loved him. They eventually went off to new homes. If your old boy isn't bothered by it, why should you be? If he's getting sore or bothered he'll let kitty know and that will be the end of it. Some kittens just enjoy nursing longer than others; it doesn't always mean they were "weaned too early" or he "had a bad mommy".
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Old October 14th, 2009, 11:21 AM
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I have a six month old who is still suckling off his mom. She was even producing milk for him up until a few weeks ago. I have another male who suckled off his "aunt" for quite some time. He is a huge boy and she is a very petite gal so to see it was quite humourous. As long as the male is receptive to it I don't believe it is harming either of them.
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Old October 14th, 2009, 01:14 PM
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We got a little "female" kitty who was "8 weeks old" which turned out to be a little boy kitty who couldnt possibly have been more than 5 weeks old, and instead of suckling off kitties, he was always finding a soft and fuzzy blankie to nurse off of lol. We rehomed him due to not having the proper funds to have him fixed at the time, but apparently he still does it, the new owners tell us. He is about 10 months old now..
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Old October 14th, 2009, 08:15 PM
chloe_close chloe_close is offline
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Thank you for the replies.
Just wasn't sure if it was harmful to Big Kitty or not. Guess it's not, good to know.
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Old October 15th, 2009, 12:18 PM
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I remember I had one kitten that was a real "sucker" and she went after one of my dilute tortie spays, who had had several litters previously which she adored, and the kitty's sucking made her milk come back in....not a lot mind you, but she did have some. Both kitty & the spay enjoyed the interaction. Never heard this happening with males producing milk tho.
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