Kitten suckling on other kitten

Hi, my husband found 4 orphaned kittens and brought them to me to take care of. I think they are now about 6 weeks old. They are doing great and developing well except for one kitten. It is much smaller than the rest and is not eating solid food like the rest. I also noticed that it's anal area is now very swollen and irritated and I had no idea why until I noticed another kitten suckling on this kitten in that area. No matter how many times I take it away from this kitten it always goes back. I know that the sucklilng is a normal behavior but it is hurting this poor kitten. Is there anything I can do? Thanks in advance.

Hi and welcome to TCS. You need to separate the kitten that is being suckled on straight away. Make sure he can still hear and smell the others but that they do not have access to him. A kitten suckling on another can cause serious damage. Also the kitten doing the suckling can become ill from ingesting urine and feces.

Please visit this page to see tips on how to deal with this. http://www.kitten-rescue.com/kitten_suckling.html

Also, I know that page says to never separate them but it's fine to do so if you really need to.

I had six that were suckling and so I had to separate them all- you can see how I did it here in this link:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...7&page=8&pp=12

Today they are strong and healthy and only one Oliver, suckles- he suckles his siblings ears- I am still working with him to break him of this.

Thank you so much for your replies. Last night I put some petroleum jelly on the area and today it isn't so red. I guess I will seperate this little guy from the rest. Thanks again.