Two subjects I need advice on

I have two situations that I need advice on.

Male cat suckling on non-related older male cat
First being that we have a young cat, Harvey, who was introduced to our other 3 cats when he was 6 weeks old. Harvey gets on with our other 2 male cats (Gizmo and Ben) like a house on fire - So loving towards eachother. They play together, curl up and sleep together and groom eachother. But one thing that I find very odd is that Harvey tries to breast feed from Gizmo. Gizmo being a male cat obviously has nothing to express, but non-the-less Harvey sucks and sucks on Gizmo's nipples! I try and discourage him everytime I see him but he just keeps doing this. - This cant be normal behaivour can it? Maybe he misses the warmth of his mum and has found a replacement in Gizmo but I wonder if it hurts Gizmo? ie: makes him sore or hurts? Gizmo doesnt seem to mind at all, he will just lay there calmly whilst Harvey is sucking and kneading away. His nipples look a bit red, but nothing major. - Has anyone else ever had this problem?

Mother cat hates its 2 sons and our other kitten
My second problem is my 2 year old female cat. She had a litter of 4 (two of which we kept, Ben and Gizmo). Now she was a perfect mother, really great... but once Ben and Gizmo reached a certain age she turned on them. She wont be around them anymore, she will hiss at them and run away from them. She growls at them if they dare come near her and just generally cant stand them. - It is such a shame because since this behaivour started she has been spending ALL of her time outdoors. She only comes in to eat and then goes straight back out. Its as if she hates them now

It is really sad that Gemma is like this as she used to be so loving. We had her spayed recentley as we didnt want any more kittens and also hoped that at the same time it would improve her behaivour as we wonder if the only reason she was scared of them was because they havn't been neautured yet. - Which I can understand, but what I dont understand (AND THIS IS THE BIG PROBLEM) If we stop Gemma from going outside, close the doors/windows and make it clear that she is not going out she will poo on the carpets! Its as if shes saying, 'You wont let me out? FINE! Im going to poo on your carpet then!'. This behaivour is awful and has made me want to get rid of her at times because I cant stand the smell/having to clean it up. She has also weed on the carpet a few times.

Why does she do this? How can we make her get along with her kittens? It may also be worth mentioning that she shows the exact same behaivour towards our other male kitten (no-relation) called Harvey. She cant stand him either.

Ben and Gmizo are 8 months old and will be neuterd this week. I hope this well make a difference to Gemmas behaivour but to be honest, I doubt it will.

What else can I try?! We've tried cat calming scent plug-ins but they dont really make any difference. The vet has recommended behaivour training but Im sure it will cost a lot!

Any ideas? - Getting rid of Gemma is not an option as when she is on her own indoors and the boys are outside or out of sight, she is fine! So loving. I just want a happy medium!

I take it no one can help then? All is lost! lol

Hi Andrew

6 weeks is too early for a kitten to be taken from it's Mumma, so that probably explains why he is sucking your other cats nipples - it's sort of like a comfort thing. If Gizmo is bleeding or getting upset it may be best to separate them for awhile but there's not much you can do about that - except understand it happens to a lot of cats and sometimes it's not just kittens that have left their Mumma early.

Unfortunately Mumma cats aren't human and they don't generally want to know their off spring at that age [8 months] - it's really good you got the boys fixed because they were probably trying it on with her. Is it possible you keep Gemma as an indoor/outdoor cat?

Hope this helps a little.

Sam

I have male cats that were orphaned and hand raised. One suckles on a blanket and the others do not. If the other cat were sore I think he would not allow the behavior.

After all are spayed and neutered the attitudes may well change also. It takes some time for the hormone levels to adjust afterward so some patience will be needed.

I have talked with an older retired vet that explained his opinion on how the mum cat will push away the male cats of her litter after a certain age. Maybe that is natures way of controlling interbreeding. But I do know that I have witnessed that behavior in some of the feral colonies that I manage.

Maybe see if keeping them separated as much as is practical and letting the mum cat be inside/outside until everyone has had spay/neuter. The sooner you get this done the better. I hope that helps some. Just my thoughts.

Her behaviour will probably change once they are neutered. In her view, they are not her kittens any more but young male cats and a threat. But apart from neutering them, I do not think there is anything you can do to change her attitude towards them. She may become more friendly, but it may take some time. I also have a cat who pees (on the fireplace) if he can't go out, which he can't on hunting weekends. I put something in fornt of it and he pees on that. So now I watch for it and rush him to a litter box as he is about to start. But it is difficult and not always possible.

On Harvey, try redirecting him to a large but soft stuffed toy, or a clock wrapped in fleece. He is simply looking for comfort, and the behaviour will stop eventually. He is very young to be away from Mom.

Originally Posted by AndrewFeline

once Ben and Gizmo reached a certain age she turned on them. She wont be around them anymore, she will hiss at them and run away from them. She growls at them if they dare come near her and just generally cant stand them.

Click to expand...

Actually, that's a good thing. She's doing the job she's programmed to do. Mother cats are supposed to run their male offspring away from them to prevent inbreeding. It's pure instinct that can't be fully satisfied since the cats are pets and indoors. In the wild, the boys would get away from her.

Originally Posted by AndrewFeline

It is really sad that Gemma is like this as she used to be so loving. We had her spayed recentley as we didnt want any more kittens and also hoped that at the same time it would improve her behaivour as we wonder if the only reason she was scared of them was because they havn't been neautured yet. - Which I can understand, but what I dont understand (AND THIS IS THE BIG PROBLEM) If we stop Gemma from going outside, close the doors/windows and make it clear that she is not going out she will poo on the carpets! Its as if shes saying, 'You wont let me out? FINE! Im going to poo on your carpet then!'. This behaivour is awful and has made me want to get rid of her at times because I cant stand the smell/having to clean it up. She has also weed on the carpet a few times.

Click to expand...

Don't be too rough on her. This isn't entirely her fault. You've got a little of the blame to share. You've asked her to do something that's the exact opposite of what her instincts tell her to do. Pooing on the carpet isn't punishment. Cats don't think that way. It may be more simply that she's stressed by being in close proximity to the young males and just isn't comfortable sharing litter space with them. That's very normal.

Getting all your cats fixed is the number one priority to correcting the behavior. After that it will take some time for things to settle down. Consider giving Gemma her own room so she has some private space. That's partly why she likes being outside. Give her her own box and consider using Cat Attract litter until she's reliable again about using the box. Also, consider trying Feliway. It will help everyone chill out.

Good luck! I know how frustrating mixing personalities can be, especially when you've got one or more going outside of the box. Chances are good though that you can work through it. Don't despair yet!

I have to disagree on the pooh on the carpet issue. It is my opinion that she is using it as blackmail to get her way, especially with pooh. I had a pee-er for 18 years who would poise herself in position, wait for me to look, then let go. It was very obvious that she was disgruntled about virtually everything. This all started when she was 3 yo and I added a kitten to the household. All I would say is to try and break her of it any way you can before it becomes an ingrained behavior.

Eventually with Kitty (my pee-er), I closed her up in a bedroom with a plastic tarp on the floor where she could pee to her heart's content anywhere she pleased. I never did break her of it.