Kitten Nursing From Dad Cat?

[lillion10182]

In October our female had kittens. The entire family (mom, dad and 5 kittens) was together until the kittens were about 10-12 weeks. Mom slowly weaned them and would eventually hiss at them when they'd try to get more milk. Mom and 4 other kittens went to new homes at the end of December. We decided to keep 1 kitten and the dad. It's been about 3.5 weeks since mom went to a new home and this kitten no longer has access to mom. We've noticed that he's started suckling from dad now. It's really gross. We'll go to pick up dad and he's super wet all over his stomach and smells bad after. The kitten was not orphaned and had plenty of time to be weaned so we know that's not the problem. We currently live in a small place so the 2 cats sleep in our room at night. The kitten will sometimes try nursing in the middle of the night and is so loud that it wakes me up. I would pick him up and move him away from dad as a gentle way to say "no," but the second I'd roll back over to go back to sleep he'd be at it again. I finally had to put him in a carrier for the rest of the night. How do we get him to stop suckling his dad?

 

[war&wisdom]

That's fairly normal. Nursing behavior may fade over time, but some cats do it their entire lives. To try to redirect from dad, try giving the kitten a dedicated microfiber (super soft) blanket or large, soft toy. My two kittens have a "mommy blanket" that they nurse on daily, and they're 9 months old now.

 

[StefanZ]

Agree, excellent answer above. Its even not unheard of males start producing milk in such situations...

But I wonder, why should the male got smelly?? Him becomin wet I could understand, if the kitten has some faulty technique salivating much.
But smelly??

Perhaps a vet should take a look on the teeth and mouth?

Unless you mean he urinates on himself or such...

 

[war&wisdom]

Yeah, I am confused about why it's smelly. That's never an issue with mine.

 

[sabrinah]

When a cat I was given had kittens, we rehomed the mom and a couple of the kittens when the kittens were a couple months old. We planned to keep 2 kittens (I still have my kitty 15 years later) and couldn't find homes for the other 2. Once the mother was gone the remaining kittens (all male) started trying to nurse off my kitten (the only remaining female). Her poor belly got kinda raw and lost hair, so the kittens that my dad couldn't find homes for were taken to a shelter. The kitten my dad kept tried to nurse off of my kitten well past 6 months old. I don't think my cat ever truly got a break from it until my dad's cat ran away (or got hit by a car or eaten by a coyote. We'll never know). From what I can remember, which isn't much because I was like 7, there wasn't a bad smell involved.

 

[lillion10182]

I think I figured out why the dad smells bad. We spread meals out into 3 parts during the day. It's wet food so it has a stronger smell than dry food. The last meal is given right before they go to bed and bedtime is when the suckling starts. I think it could have something to do with the food that has just been in his mouth. Both cats are healthy and we've started brushing their teeth every other week about a month ago. At first this nursing thing was kind of cute and silly, but now it's interfered with our sleep and I'm worried about the dad developing skin issues. I read that apple cider vinegar, unlike lemon juice, cannot hurt cats in small amounts, so I put some on a rag and rubbed the belly of the dad in hopes that the odor would keep the kitten from suckling... it did the opposite, so until we can find a solution we're putting a cone on the kitten at night. I love our kitten, but we need sleep and we don't need the dad developing rashes or infections on his belly. If anyone else has any ideas or solutions please keep posting here. Thank you!