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Kittens suckling on ALL my older cats

Hello,

I have 6 kittens who are weaned from their mother (the mother did the weaning). The kittens are at least 10 weeks old now, but they suckle on all of my older cats. They even suckle on neutered male cats. The thing that gets me, is that all my cats baby these kittens like they were the mama. Yes, even the male cats will curl up around them and lick them, and allow them to suckle, then they all fall asleep together. They all play together, even the cats that would not play, will play and love up these kittens.
The biggest problem is that my male cats now have bare nipples.
Other than pull them apart when I find them, which I do, is there anything that I can do to stop this? Like maybe put something on the nipples that taste bad?
I have been around cats all of my life and have never seen older male cats display this behavior. The older cats ages range anywhere from 10 years old up to 17 years old and they all allow this behavior.
Thanks for your help.
3 Responses
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234713 tn?1283526659
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
It sounds as if the mother of the kittens may have weaned her kittens a bit early.  Mothers don't always wean them at the correct time.  Queens can get fed up with breast feeding, or they may simply feel too drained if there a lot of kitten mouths to feed.  Queens tend to nurse their kittens longer if there are only 3 or less kittens.  Or, if you started the kittens on kitten food before weaning, the Queen may discontinue nursing.

The fact that all the other cats in the household are allowing the kittens to suckle means that allowing the nursing may be fulfilling some need that these other cats have.  The behavior may be disquieting for you but it is not hurting anything.

Do you plan on keeping all of the kittens?  If you don't plan on keeping them, then the behavior will simply go away when the kittens are adopted out.  

If you really want the kittens to stop you can try putting red hot chili pepper sauce on the nipples.  Make sure that the nipples are not irritated or the pepper sauce can burn.  Another choice is Coptis powder.  It is available over the counter or online.  It may also be found by the name Lian Coptis powder.  Coptic powder is extremely bitter and should stop the nursing behavior if the pepper sauce is ineffective.  There are also other over the counter tropicals, such as Bitter Orange that you can try.
Helpful - 1
234713 tn?1283526659
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
God bless you and I hope you can achieve your dream of starting an animal sanctuary!  It is something that I always wanted to do too!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you so much for your answer. Yes, I am keeping all of the kittens. In fact, my husband is selling his motorcycle so that we can afford to "fix" the kittens when it becomes time. I had a brain hemmorage and two brain surgeries (2nd one this year). I honestly believe that the Lord, having a sweet, wonderful husband, and my animals is what helped get me through these trying times.
We tried to give the kittens away, but the people who wanted one, told me first how they hated cats, but wanted kitten. Strange people, they didn't get a kitten. Then I was told if I took them to the local shelter, they would only give them 3 days. Well that was not option either.
We have 12 acres out here and if I keep improving, we're hoping to start an animal sanctuary.
I was afraid to use hot pepper sauce, I know cats have a little more delicate system than dogs. This is not an every day occurence, but it sure shook me up, especially seeing
my male cats mothering the kittens.
Thanks again
Helpful - 0

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