Nursing on each other

cprcheetah

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So I bottle raise a lot of kittens, so I have a lot of experience in doing so.  I got 2 new ones on Monday, but I am also 8 months pregnant and exhausted so I just had them for a couple of days, then they went with a technician at the vet I work for, she's never raised before but wanted to give it a shot.  There are just 2 of them however one of them aggressively nurses on the other (they are completely separated now) to the point the one can't pee easily  as his penis is so swollen, infected and raw....we have him on antibiotics, and are putting desitin on it but it's still looking pretty nasty.  She had them together for 1 night (we didn't realize he was doing this until we checked him while stimulating), then they have been separated since Thursday.  Any ideas?  The one is so bad you can't even let them out together to play as he immediately aggressively goes after the other ones penis to nurse on it.  They are well fed and gaining weight etc.  I have them for the weekend then another girl at work is taking them--she has experience with bottle babies  (if they are okay) as I just can't get up with them in the night right now.  They are about 4 weeks old, they have teeth and are starting to eat canned/mushy foods on their own.   We do have paper litter in the litter box for him as the clay was sticking to his back end.  Anything I can do to help?  I have probably raised about 50 kittens in my day and I have never had one nurse on the other(s) so aggressively.  
 

newkitties

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I'm not too sure how to help you here, I've never experienced this before, and in fact I've never had bottle fed kittens so I can't be much help and I'm sorry! I know someone will have advice for you but I'm just here to let you know if I find anything on the subject I will add it here to help you out. 

I'm sorry about the issue and wish I could help further.

The only advice I have is to keep them separated and surely in time the aggressive nursing will subside as the kitten won't nurse forever and hopefully the aggressive behavior is temporary!

Thank you for helping out with these kittens!
 

catwoman707

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Nature gave kittens a strong instinct to suck, and normally moms are available for this on and off all day and night, caring for her kits, but in bottle fed babies, this is very common that they will turn to each other, because they just don't get enough of it out with a scheduled bottle feeding.

They will suck on genitals as they resemble a nipple somewhat, suck on necks, and even had a pair of m/f siblings, the f would lay down and the m would act like he was nursing from her nipples, sad. 

They need to get it out of their system I guess, so they will find the next best thing.

It is a danger though as you can see, more-so for the males due to swelling, etc.

I have dealt with this many times, separating is not my fave but if need be that's what I do, then allow interactions during the day and rigged a little tie on diaper for the victim, it worked.

I have also used bitter apple spray, that works too, just have to reapply often.

As they get a bit older they will lose the need to suck, by about 6 weeks once weaned it does fade out, thankfully!

Meanwhile they do need separating, but def allow interacting time too, just cover his penis up so that there is no access.
 

Sarthur2

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cprcheetah cprcheetah

Give the needy nurser a soft piece of flannel with a corner soaked in kitten formula to suckle on. Also, drape it over a teddy bear so he can knead on it while suckling. If he does not take to it immediately, re-direct him and make sure his mouth is on the cloth and paws on the teddy. He'll get it and be happier for it. Re-dip the cloth when necessary.

I feel sorry for both the sucker and the suckee. Poor babies.

Let me know if this helps. It's worked for me with kittens in the past! [emoji]128522[/emoji]
 
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cprcheetah

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Sad news.....the little kitten either had a deformity before the nursing or the other kitten caused a deformity from such aggressive nursing.  He is going to need reconstructive surgery to correct it (basically making him a girl kitty essentially.  :(
 
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Sarthur2

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Oh, that's not good! [emoji]128533[/emoji]

Are they sure it's not something that will heal over time? Is he able to pee okay?

Did my suggestion to offer a substitute help?
 
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cprcheetah

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No his brother was a persistent little stinker pot.  They can't even be out together to play, he immediately and very aggressively goes after the other one.  It will not heal over time it's damaged and he is unable to pee normal, it just leaks out of him.
 

Sarthur2

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It's a shame. You should still give my suggestion a try. The suckling instinct lasts a long time. I thought you separated the two of them awhile back?

When is the surgery scheduled?
 
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cprcheetah

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They were separated as soon as we realized what happened.  We are not sure if the damage was already there before we discovered it or if the other kitten caused it.  Surgery will be on Tuesday I believe as we have to have a surgeon do it.  
 
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