7-8 month old male kitten "suckling"

[sapphire]

Ok, this new kitty we rescued (about 4-5 days ago, old name was socks *how original*, new name Faolan=f-way-lawn, it's irish

)
is about 7-8 months old, He *JUST* got up in my lap, and started suckling on my shirt! Like he would if he were still nursing on his mother! I have heard this is caused by being taken away from the mother at to young of an age, but that could be an "old wives tale".

and what is a good way to discourage this?

Also, he is under "temporary lock and key" until he gets fixed because we have a female that we are not 100% sure she is fixed, is there anyway to tell?

I hate keeping him crated, he gets to be out of crate when we are home, but when we are gone and at night he is crated. And he doesn't like it either!

thanks for your help!

 

[petnurse2265]

I have an almost 2 year old who still suckles on earlobes, and a 3 1/2 year old who suckles on comforters. It is a comfort thing to them. To discourage it I would just put him down when he starts suckling.

There is no way to tell 100% if a female cat is spayed except surgically. Sometimes if you shave the belly you can see a scar and sometimes not.

 

[noni]

Tron nursed on Penny until Penny passed...both are RB now. I always thought it was weird, because Penny wasn't Tron's mom and hadn't had a litter, but he'd get right up into her belly and just suckle away. When she was 18 and he was 16, they'd still go at it. LOLOL!

Take it as a compliment, though. I've never known a cat to suckle someone/thing they didn't really like and take great comfort in.

As for knowing if your female is spayed or not, like was said it's really close to impossible without surgical records or scars. However, if you've had her a while and you know she's NOT pregnant, and yet she doesn't go into heat, then it's more likely than not that she has been.

How long will it be before you are able to neuter Faolan? And get your female checked out? He hates crates, and so do you, so my best suggestion would be sooner rather than later.

Best-
Michele

 

[jennyr]

Ellie suckles on me and on any visitor she likes the look of, and she was not taken away from her mom too early, though some people say that can be a cause of this behaviour. Ellie always does it first thing in the morning and last thing at night, on my hand or arm for about ten minutes. I have tried to stop her (she is 10 months old now) but I have given up as nothing seemed to work. The others seem quite bemused by it, but so far thank goodness have not tried to copy her!

 

[sapphire]

Well,

We have had the female for about 3 months, she is DEFINITLY not pregnant, and has never gone into heat (and I know what a female cat in heat is like

lol) We have decided to let him run, and take the crate down. Though we are still keeping a VERY close eye on it, and if she appears to go into heat, he will IMMEDIATELY be put back in crate (or she will be, or we will rotate, lol)

We are hoping to get him fixed (all our animals are fixed anyways besides the rats

) by the end of this month or the middle of the next month.

 

[petnurse2265]

Funny you should say that, I've even got my 2 female rats fixed.

 

[sapphire]

ya, we have 3 boys. If the need arises, they to will be "altered". The only way that will happen is if they get really agressive or have tumors or cancer in their "nether regions" lol

 

[petnurse2265]

I have 2 boys and 2 girls that all reside in the same cage, so it was best to spay the girls.

 

[yosemite]

Bijou is just one year old and he still suckles on my neck every night before bed. He puts one paw on my face and one on my neck and suckles on my neck and kneads for a few minutes before settling down to sleep curled up with me. He's done this since we brought him home at 8 weeks. I have no problem with it myself and my husband laughs because the bedroom is silent except for Bijou suckling and purring. I have to keep his claws trimmed or he really hurts my face and neck.

He loves my husband and follows him around everywhere, but at bedtime he's mom's boy.

 

[petnurse2265]

My almost 2 year old "slurps" when he sucks on earlobes. We have an intersting time explaining when we have company over, and the cat feels the need to suckle right at that moment.

 

[sharky]

the only suckler i ever had was a snoeshoe that i found at 5-6 weks, i was told that if they dont nurse long enough they will suckle

 

[biogrl]

We rescued 3 cats (a mom and her 2 kittens). They nursed until about 8 weeks but the little boy still suckle and they are now 8 months. The vet said Shadow doesn't have milk anymore so it's just for comfort. They have always been with mom so it's not that they were taken away to early. I'm surprised Shadow still tolerates it.