Erratic cat behavior (self breastfeeding cat) and aggressive cats

Hey there~

I got into this forum because I need some advice on raising a pair of kittens (3 months old).

My cat had a pair of kittens (a female and a male), she nurtured them for one month, and then she passed away (somebody ran over my cat)

The kittens are social, they interact with people and stuff, but...

They are very aggressive when I feed them, the growl and run away every-time I put the food on their bowls.

I am 100 % that they are well fed, but they keep acting like this, as if they did not eat anything in the day.

In the other hand, the female kitten sucks itself as if it was looking for milk.

And the male kitten starts sucking the female kitten... It is very disturbing....

Please note that the female kitten is young and it DOES NOT HAVE MILK.

It's the first time I see this, all my other cats did not do such things (they even shared their food).

I need to find a way to prevent and solve this, and also to stop their aggressive behavior when they eat.

Any ideas?

Thank you,

Hi.Q

Being orphaned at a young age does have a social effect on kittens. They didn't get to nurse long enough so they're looking for some way to compensate. They should outgrow it, hopefully.

As for the food guarding, I guess I'd just free-feed until they're older. Just give them more food than they could ever eat so they can see it won't run out. What are you feeding them now, and how much?

Hey there,

Thanks for your comments Willowy, I am feeding the cats with whiskas' kitten food.

I do give them a lot of food in order to prevent 'em from being aggressive, but nothing changes.

Any thoughts on this?

Well, it's been almost one month since I posted this, and to be honest nothing has changed with the cats.

In fact, I brought a new cat home, and it was doing the same thing, sucking milk from the other 4 months old cat.

I don't believe there's something to compensate here.

I decided to provide the cat with a "cat-shirt". This is the second week, and it seems to be working.

One of the cats stopped its erratic practice already, I think it is a matter of time until the other cat gives up.

This is actually fairly common behavior in kittens when mom is gone too soon in their young lives.

Sucking is to compensate the need for comfort, etc. despite the fact that they get nothing out of it like milk, it's still a comfort.

Nature made kittens need to nurse for a period of time, and without it they will find another source.

The food aggression is common as well.

Every litter I have always has at least one food hoarder, who will block the others from eating and growl.

The easiest solution there is to give them their own dishes at the same time.