10(ish)-week-old kitten suckling on his brother and my other cats

A little under three weeks ago, I adopted two kittens (brothers). Yesterday, Oscar started suckling on his brother Oliver. At first I thought he was trying to suck on his genitals, but I quickly realized he was latched onto a nipple! That happened twice. Then today, he tried to suckle on my 16-year-old Lucky (aka their "uncle"), and he didn't take too kindly too it. Oscar's doing the whole kneading and everything.

I DID notice he got very affectionate the last couple of days, whereas he was rather aloof before that. Not sure what's going on here, but not sure it's quite normal either.

How old is the kitten?  Suckling is usually a comfort thing.  It can also be a sign the kitten was taken away from mom too soon.  You can try to redirect his sucking to a stuffed animal.

Eclipse was 11 weeks old when we adopted him and he would knead when he was hungry.  Maybe your little guy is going through a growth spurt and could use a little more food.

We found Salome when she was about 5 or 6 weeks old. Depending on the blanket Salome was on, some must have reminded her of her mother as she would suck on it noisily and make a wet mess. It was mostly the soft, long fiber blankets that she preferred and she still does it on occasion two years later. I guess it isn't anything to worry about unless it presents a problem.

Jim

Since it is summer here in China and hot, I have been sleeping nude. Bad Baby Charlie and I have a morning routine where he curls up under my arm and we cuddle. Well, one morning he tried to nurse me!! I was freaked out and put him down on the floor, but in his mind a nipple is a nipple. Anyway, this one is going on a cat shaming website. He is 4-5 months old and this happened a few weeks ago. I  think your kitten is doing it as a comfort thing!

The boys went to the vet three weeks ago tomorrow, and the vet said they were probably around 7-8 weeks old. I am not sure at what point they fully stopped nursing, but it was before the 6-week mark (when someone found them at Botanic Garden). Mama had a bad virus so not sure if that caused them to stop nursing early. 

The weird thing is he didn't do this at all the whole last three weeks, and then a couple of weeks ago he started doing that. This morning, I woke up to the sound of him suckling his brother (both of the babies were draped on me with their hot little bodies - no wonder I was sweating!). I tried to offer him anything - even my ear lobe, which I've heard some cats do - but nada.

He is definitely growing through a growth spurt (both are actually) with their gangly legs getting longer. They get a lot of food right now. Free-feeding on the kitten chow and a can of kitten Fancy Feast each every night. Plus whatever their eat of the adults' food (because they have to taste from every one of the five bowls).

It's been about 13 years since I had kittens, and that one was three months old when I got her. I've only had a few that were this young when I got them, and none of them did the suckling thing on other cats. Blankets, toys, yes - not other cats. It doesn't seem to bother Oliver so I guess I'll let him just go ahead with that. Lucky, well, he's a 16-year-old man who makes me think of "Get off my lawn!" the way he reacts.

Just thought I'd re-visit this one. The boys just had their six-month birthday last Sunday (not sure when the actual day was, but at least as far as I'm concerned, it was!). Oscar STILL occasionally suckles on his brother. He has a thing for his brother's armpit the last few months.

I will say that he doesn't seem to do it nearly as much as he used to. He also stops when I say, "Oscar..." in the firm tone. He used to ignore me but now he listens. Oliver also seems to do a better job of telling him to stop it. He used to just get up and walk away, with Oscar sometimes still attached. This morning I saw Oliver put his paw on Oscar's head, and he stopped.

Is this something he may end up doing his whole life though? Or will it just continue to get better the older they get? A few weeks ago, before my Lucky died, he actually looked like he would suckle on him at one point because Oliver wasn't around. I actually said to Oscar, "I DARE you to do that," because I knew Lucky would tell him off in not so many words.

My 18 year old female will still sometimes suck or suckle on certain blankets if they are soft and fleece-y. She has done this since we got her years ago and still does it a little. I would expect your kitty's behavior to diminish, but if he is still doing it in another month or two, then he will probably do it permanently but at a diminished frequency.

Jim