Question on 'nursing'

Two of my 3 month old kittens 'nurse' on my 6 month old male kitty Loco They always go for a mouthful of his fur up above his front legs (his 'bib' area) and suck away, kneading with their little paws. Aparently it is relaxing for all parties involved because Loco lies there with his eyes half closed, purring the whole time. I know the behavior stems from both kittens (from two different litters that I rescued this past fall)being taken from their moms at a very young age. I think its kind of cute in a way, but since Loco has tons of very dense long fur, they kittens seem to be getting lots of hairballs. I assume it from the sucking on his fur and swallowing it. Is there any way to curb this behavior? Maybe Loco won't always be so tolerant and I'd like to correct it while its a small problem before it turns into a big one if he started to get angry at them for doing it. Any suggestions?

Hey Mel,

Don't feel bad. MooShoo sucks on one of his own teats to go to sleep at night, kneading my arm as he does it. I haven't tried to curb it because it brings him comfort, like a kid sucking his thumb.

As long as Loco doesn't mind it, I wouldn't worry about them swallowing his fur. I doubt it would do them any harm.

If you really want to curb it, try stuff called "Bitter Apple". They sell it at all the pet stores and it has a bitter taste to it. Just rub some on each of their gums and a little on the area where they suck. That should do it.

I wouldn't do much about it either. If and when Loco feels he's had enough I'm sure he'll let them know.

As for the hairballs problem, see this article for possible solutions:
http://www.thecatsite.com/care/hairballs.html

I think some kittens just need more than others and my example helps me to realize this more everyday.

We fostered an expecting kitty and she had 5 adorable babies by ceserean (being fixed at the same time). We kept all 6 for 3 months and adopted out mom with 3 of the babies.

The two that we kept just happened to be the smallest and the largest. Pinkie (like your pinky finger)is the small and Gumbie (like thumb with a G +ie) is the big girl.

Gumbie sucks on Pinkie, Sweetie (my 5 yr old cat) and once on my 6 yr old Sheltie dog(Lena). When she is really tired she will search for the first available and got to it until she is fast asleep.

Pinkie on the other hand was the first to wean from her mom and hasn't nursed on anything but her mom. She even quit that earlier than the others (all 5 were girls).

So, just like with our babies I believe some just need a pacifier and some don't. Either way I think it better to let nature work out any issues regarding this behavior just as long as it is not endangering their health.

Good Luck with Sophie and enjoy your Christmas.

Diane - I think that is a nice lesson to remember!