New here- new to cats- Mom/kit question

Hi everyone! I am new here and looking for some help! My neighbor moved 3 weeks ago, leaving her Momma cat/3 kittens with me to drop off 2 days later at the humane society. They were full. We found homes for 2 of the kittens and decided to keep the 3rd one (Male, Merlin!) and momma (Oreo). She had the litter about 9 weeks ago, and I can tell she is almost dried up because her stomach is almost back to normal- not flappy looking anymore. My problem is that she STILL lets that kitten nurse! He has been on solid food forever (the previous owners had gone the beginning of June on vacation for a week, and the then 3 week old kits learned how to use the litter and eat solid food then), and eats like a horse, but momma I think likes him suckling still, so she will roll on her side, expose the teats and he just has a hey day! So, my question is this: Do I need to do something, or will she finally dry up on her own, or do I need to get some meds from the vet (no, we haven't been yet- they were an unexpected expense and we are planning on spay/neuter/shots when we go, I can see $$$$$$) to dry her up? Or is there another way to discourage it? He has never had wet food, and I don't think Oreo has either, so I don't want to get into that habit either! Not until we move and have more $$$ to spend on them. Please tell me it is ok to let him suckle for now and they will stop on their own! This pulling him away every time I see him suckling is getting to me! LOL Any advice is welcome! (btw someone told me I can't get momma spayed until she has been dry for 3 weeks?)

some vets will spay while she is still nursing, speak to your vet and see what he says. its fine for him to nurse unless you need her to be dry before spaying her. fluffy was spayed a week ago and the kittens are still nursing fine from her (they open up on the side here) so it dosnt affect the milk sacs, but she should start drying up soon now that shes been spayed.

Originally Posted by XxtashaxX

some vets will spay while she is still nursing, speak to your vet and see what he says. its fine for him to nurse unless you need her to be dry before spaying her. fluffy was spayed a week ago and the kittens are still nursing fine from her (they open up on the side here) so it dosnt affect the milk sacs, but she should start drying up soon now that shes been spayed.

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Thank you, I planned on calling the vet monday and seeing if they could give me "free" info! lol I also wanted to say, your "missy" looks like my "merlin"- does she have the black on black stripes too? DH says those are " baby stripes" and won't be there when he gets older is he right or wrong? Momma (Oreo) is a black/white mix if you couldn't tell!

Usually the mother cat weans the kitten in her own time. From personal experience, I'd say that it's best to let her do it as she thinks is appropriate. They're still a bit young, so I don't think it's totally unusual for the kitten to still be nursing.

I'd make an appointment for her to be spayed as soon as it's possible for you to do so.. from what I understand it's possible for them to get pregnant very quickly after giving birth to a litter, so until you get her spayed, I'd make very sure that she's not exposed to any unneutered male cats, or able to get outside. I don't think that she needs to be dried up before she goes, as I've heard of people spaying them within a few weeks after they have a litter.. and before it would be natural for kittens to have stopped nursing.

As far as the coloration, I've noticed with my several fairly recent additions, that their coat/pattern changes and becomes more.. apparent as they grow older. I don't know if that means the same for domestics as my recent kittens are pure breeds, and I honestly don't remember back to the time when Noel was a kitten. She's my only domestic at this point.