New Member With Intriguing Question

[sandyandjamie]

Hi!
I've scoured the I ternet but haven't found a concrete answer, so I'm hoping y'all can help.

We have had cats for years and never came across this....one of our furbabies...has definite testicles but just today one if our kittens started suckling on him...well maybe her. ??? I know humans can have both make/female parts, can cats too? We were wondering why he was being "harrassed by a male...thought maybe gay. But then we saw him ribby rubbing against stuff like a female in heat. We were very confused? Now extremely confused. He/she is being neutered next month as is our other male. So will he/she also need spayed?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! and welcome!!
Geez - your vet will be a rather busy person with one cat, if such is the case.

just today one if our kittens started suckling on him

Kittens have been known to suckle on just about anything so I'm not sure that this (by itself) is an indication of a hermaphrodite feline...and sometimes male cats aren't clear in their heads about what/who they should be interested in....
but -- wow. You could have one for the record books.

 

[Kieka]

It’s not a sexual behavior. Does not indicate gender or any sort of sexual inference that you may be thinking. Cats are not humans and only mate for reproduction when in heat and only for the purpose. Not for any sort of pleasure or emotional reason. It’s a comforting behavior, your kitten is suckling on the other as if it was suckling on a mother cat. The kitten doesn’t care that it is genitalia, just that it is a raised surface on a warm body. Kitten have been known to start on a flat part of a siblings body until suction and force cause deformities to the area too.

It is actually an extremely dangerous behavior as it can cause inreversable damage or even death to the suckled kitten. You should immediately separate the kittens and only allow them together under strict supervision. It’s usually seen in kittens who are taken from Mom too early. Once a kitten starts the behavior it is extremely hard to break; when I had a kitten start doing that we had to keep them separated for four weeks before he stopped (they were 3-4 week old kittens abandoned in a box).