Kitten suckling on himself

[maziel]

I have a pair of brothers, same litter, born in May.  They were raised without their mother and when found were very ill.

One bends in half and suckles his own penis or the hair on his stomach or his testicles which are emerging.  I have Bitter Apple.  He only does this, it seems, when he on the bed with us and he does this until he falls asleep, kneading the bedspread with his front feet.

Is this dangerous?  He doesn't do this to or when he's with his brother. 

 

[chrystalcar]

My guess is the cat misses the real mama cat teets and has tried to find a comforting substitute, thus the suckling and kneading, he's "content". I would imagine the cat may outgrow/stop this when he figures out why the penis is really there.

My neighbor hand raised a litter when the mama cat went missing, and all of the kittens seemed "off". 

 

[missymotus]

Suckling isn't uncommon with orphans, do keep an eye on it as the penis can become very sore and blistered from the suckling. Try and redirect him when does it. 

The kneading is perfectly normal in all kittens and cats.