ive recently gotten two kittens from the SPCA here in blenheim and theyr both 9 week old girls, the thing is the smaller of the two keeps trying to suckle the bigger one as if its trying to get milk, anyone had this with their kittens before or is mine just weird?

Not sure what age they stop that but it can be a sign of them having been weaned too early I believe. She should grow out of it.

Weird. Caryl's idea sounds logical.

Good on you for getting SPCA ones! I love their system of making you pay for the neutering and booking an appt before you take the cat home. Very sensible.

People who don't get their animals fixed should be made to put down the unhomeables at the SPCA :evil:

this is actually normal. i have a cat who at the age of 4 still suckles. anything furry, whether it be a possum tail and furry cushion, they all get suckled. I also used to have a kitten that I homed at the age of 3 weeks and he suckled everything (including ear lobes, weirdest thing to wake up to in the night I tell you!)

It is a sign of being weened too early but its also a comfort thing, very much like when they pad your lap/bed when they are happy. It shouldnt bother the other kitten, infact it will help them bond for life.

again good on you for getting you kittens from the SPCA. every new kitten deserves a chance at life.

My sisters kitten did this too, but to a fake fur blanket. Aparently there are still little hard bits from where Hazel suckled :lol:

actually, thinking now, MOST of adult pet cat behaviour (that we like), is KITTEN behaviour.

We don't let them grow up: we keep providing them with food, keep rewarding them for kitten-like behaviour (playing etc).

Spaying and neutering, aside from the obvious effects, also keep them kitten-like. This is most noticable in males, where the 'entire' male will roam, spray, fight and develop thick-set features, but the fixed male stays nearer home, is less likely to spray or fight, and stays looking 'cuter' (read: non-masculine )

When a cat sits on you and kneads you with its paws, it is doing what it did to its mother to aid the release of milk.

this is actually normal. i have a cat who at the age of 4 still suckles. anything furry, whether it be a possum tail and furry cushion, they all get suckled. I also used to have a kitten that I homed at the age of 3 weeks and he suckled everything (including ear lobes, weirdest thing to wake up to in the night I tell you!)

ild admit that im quite hairy and she started trying to suckle my chest! and now the second cat has started suckling herself, weirdest thing, theyve only recently gotten names too as we had them as foster cats, before that it was number 1 and number 2, now its sprat and didymo

Didymo?

I guess a wet, long-haired pale ginger cat could totally look like didymo....

Am I close?

lol no, except the wet part, likes to jump into the pond outside for some reason, theyre both shorthair tabby females, couldnt really think of a name, didymo stuck, pest at times, hard to get rid of her when shes being annoying and likes to stick to things like your shirt you freshly ironed...

its not normal. its a sign they were taken off the mum too early before they had been weaned proberly. the standards now state that kittens must be 8 weeks minimum before rehoming. why do you think that MOST breeders wont rehome earlier than 12 weeks. my cat had kittens who are now 12 weeks old and ready to rehome. mum weaned them 1 1/2 weeks ago and they are now super friendly. i hope ur kittens grow out of it. dont allow them to do it to you, they need boundaries too.

one of my kittens is a boy and if we were to keep him he wouldnt get fixed, not coz im irresponsible. but i like the "male" look, he is bulking up and looking like a real tom. why make him look and act like a kitten again. but hubby said we are keeping a girl kitten.

goodluck with ur kittens.

unless the mother cat died and there was no foster mum i would not rehome a 3 week old kitten. they take constant hand feeding.

no i dont encourage it and disrupt them whenever i catch them do it. We did foster their mum along with them but she was a bit of a handful for us, and what are these standards you talk of?

As others have said, early weaning and removing kittens from their mothers prompts this kind of behaviour. Sounds like you are already discouraging it which is good, because if it becomes obsessve, I have heard of kittens suckling all the fur off the tummy of the other.

Animal Welfare Code has a section for Companion Cats. Minimum standards are laws, and thus must be followed. One of these is that unless orphaned etc, kittens must not be taken from their mothers before 8 weeks of age. Recommended age is 10 weeks.

http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/re ... n-cats.pdf Page 21 8)

Have fun with your two, where are the photos! lol. I have kept one of my fosters to trial, but not sure whether we should really keep him (3 cats in a flat with 6 people is pushing it...). Hes so spunky, currently black pointed with a silver coat haha. Will get pics up later

heres some pics, tried to post them here but theyr too big so will sort that out another time...

http://s557.photobucket.com/albums/ss11 ... C00805.jpg

Cute kitties

Caper