Kittens Refuse To Completely Wean.

[leolion]

So my folks have three kittens. Two of which won’t completely wean off milk.
Mom refuses to stay with her kids (she is spayed but hangs out outside) so they have gone to literally any other animal with nipples. Mostly our other female cat and our dog.
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They are about a month old and are eating wet food and dry food with the other cats with no issues.
How do I get them to completely wean off the nipple?

 

[jen]

They are 4 weeks old and eating wet and dry and not nursing?? Are you SURE on their age?

 

[leolion]

They are 4 weeks old and eating wet and dry and not nursing?? Are you SURE on their age?

I’m not 100% they are over a month I’m just not sure how old. They were born while I was away at college.
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Eyes wide open, colored not grey, eating solid twice daily...

 

[jcat]

Weaning is a gradual process and often isn't over till kittens are 10 - 16 weeks old, depending on how strict mama cat is. I've seen 6-month-old kittens still nursing. Even if the kittens start eating solids between 4-6 weeks, they'll continue to nurse for weeks.

 

[Sarthur2]

Please let mom be with her babies. It is not normal to separate them yet. My cat was spayed when her kittens were 8 weeks old, but she continued to nurse for about 6 months. I also had my kittens spayed and neutered when they were 12 weeks old.

The kittens need to eat wet food 3-4 times a day at this age, and have 24/7 access to dry kitten chow and water. Kittens need extra food as they are growing quickly!

L leolion

 

[di and bob]

Yes, kittens should be fed as much as they want very often at that age. They use a tremendous amount of calories. Even if they are 6 weeks, that is really too young to be without mama. They are either hungry and nursing on whatever they can get, or are doing it for comfort. I have had cats nurse for a year off and on, I had a 6 month old nursing with newborns!

 

[vince]

It does happen once in a while that a cat won't stop nursing. We had one that was a year old and still nursed. Mom had one big teat that wouldn't dry up. Eventually, we had to pull him off whenever we caught him nursing! Hope it doesn't come to this for you.

 

[Willowy]

They aren't old enough to fully wean. I'm surprised the vet spayed the mama since they're so young. As long as they're eating well, everything is fine, they'll stop suckling when they're ready. If your dog or other female cat don't want them to suckle, they'll put a stop to it.

 

[war&wisdom]

I’m not 100% they are over a month I’m just not sure how old. They were born while I was away at college.
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Eyes wide open, colored not grey, eating solid twice daily...

They're still too young to be weaned. This isn't a behavioral issue; they really do need to be nursing, even as they ease onto solid food. Also, whatever else they're eating should be kitten food, not the same as what you give the other cats.