Suckling His Sister

Just looking for some input here! So Jack likes to suckle / lick my lips, which he is quickly being broken of. Davy I noticed tries to "suckle" my neck, only he doesn't suckle at all, just kind of holds some of my skin in his mouth...

Now I've noticed Sao having some suckling issues! (Funny how the girls are the ok [so far- knock on wood!] ones!)

He likes to suckle his sister, Tortuga. So my first question, why do you think he suckles her? My husband seems to think it's because she looks the most like mom (both torties). Do cats / kittens think like that? She is the only one he suckles, and he suckles under both her arm pits. I don't agree with hubby, so would love a tie-breaker opinion on this!

My other question is, upon doing a search, I read a lot of people have cats that suckles themselves, blankets/toys, or their brother's privates. In the case of themselves and blankets/toys, the general consensus is to allow it, as long as they are not hurting themselves (no rashes, redness, swellening). Of course, if it's a brother's privates they are suckling, they must be separated. But, I didn't see anything saying if the kitten is suckling like Sao is, and not on privates and with no sign of irritation. Tortuga lets him- she just sits or lays there- and so far, her skin looks fine. So my conclusion would be to not separate them, because he isn't hurting her, but to check constantly and if it ever shows sign of irritating her, to separate them.

So my second question is, would you all agree with that? Or is it better to be safe than sorry and separate them anyway?

Thanks!!

My kittens are four months old and Pixel has suckled on Bamf since the night we brought them home. It irritates him sometimes, and he swats her and runs off, but that generally does not deter her from chasing him around while she purrs very loudly and trying to suckle/knead him.

They are very silly. I keep a close eye on his skin and he seems to be fine. She suckles on his side or shoulder, and has yet to hurt him, only mildly irritate him, and when he gets mad enough, he makes her quit.

I think it is ok as long as no one is getting hurt. I was worried at first, but my vet said not to worry about it. Plus, it is kind of cute.

Coco had a Kitten with a hernia and the other kittens sucked on it. Its normal for kittens to do that. Who knew Midnight would go from being a runt to a huge Cat.

I'm sure it is just normal behavior. My best suckling story is from when our adopted feral's kittens were 3 months old and my younger brother was laying on the couch in just swim trunks. The kitten who took forever to wean and was generally obnoxious to mom jumped up on his chest and latched onto his man nipple XD causing my brother to jack knife to a sitting position and the kitten scampered away. Some of the most hilarious seconds of my life.

That cat is 4 years old now and as far as I know is not trying to suckle my brother anymore, hahah.

one of my kittens does the same thing as well. At first I thought I'd just let them be. But then I walked in once and even though she wasn't batting her away or hissing , her little leg was shaking and I looked in her eyes and I could tell she didn't like it.

Now I'm not an expert in cat behavior or anything so maybe cats don't operate like that. But I've decided to try and discourage it. My sister suggested spraying some of the biter apple stuff on her belly and seeing if that works

but as for your cats, as long as the other one isn't bothered by it, I don't really think it's a problem.

Thanks guys! That's pretty much what I thought, and it's always nice to have your agreement!

Originally Posted by zorana_dragonky

I think it is ok as long as no one is getting hurt. I was worried at first, but my vet said not to worry about it. Plus, it is kind of cute.

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It actually is rather cute. And I'm the same, as long as she's not hurt, I think it's ok.

Originally Posted by mews2much

Coco had a Kitten with a hernia and the other kittens sucked on it. Its normal for kittens to do that. Who knew Midnight would go from being a runt to a huge Cat.

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Poor baby! The hernia was able to heal with them sucking on it? Was Midnight the one being suckled? It's funny, because Tortuga, the one being suckled, is the biggest of all 5 kittens!

Originally Posted by abunaisakana

The kitten who took forever to wean and was generally obnoxious to mom jumped up on his chest and latched onto his man nipple XD causing my brother to jack knife to a sitting position and the kitten scampered away. Some of the most hilarious seconds of my life.

That cat is 4 years old now and as far as I know is not trying to suckle my brother anymore, hahah.

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That's GREAT! Did your brother ever live that down? Too bad you weren't recording that!

Originally Posted by cgeiser

one of my kittens does the same thing as well. At first I thought I'd just let them be. But then I walked in once and even though she wasn't batting her away or hissing , her little leg was shaking and I looked in her eyes and I could tell she didn't like it.

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Aw, poor sweetie! She is lucky she has you to help her out! Is she still being suckled? Have you tried the Bitter Apple yet? Let me know if you find anything that works! If Tortuga gets bothered by it like that, I will do anything to make them both happy!