# Suckling - ignore or discourage?



## Bonnie82 (May 4, 2011)

As many of you know, our kittens were separated from their mother at 6 weeks old. We have already had the discussion on here about whether or not that was right so I don't wish to discuss that again. I have discussed the reasons for this separation with our breeder and also with the acting chairman of the Siberian Cat Club and don't wish to have another debate on here as we would just be going over old ground.

However, I would like to ask your practical advice about something which I believe MAY be related to this early separation. Having said that, I have spoken to other breeders who said that their kittens were allowed to suckle their mother until 13 weeks and have gone to their new homes and continued to suckle on jumpers / other kittens so it's not as clear cut as all that...

Every evening, we get in from work and give the kittens their dinner, then they generally have a play, wear themselves out and come for a cuddle on my lap. During this cosy time, Monty tends to suckle on Dinah's belly whilst kneading her. It is both the sweetest and saddest thing to witness. Dinah doesn't seem to mind it and believe me, if she did mind, she would let him know about it. She generally leans back and stretches whilst purring. It's different to when he grooms her - anyone who has seen a kitten suckling will know - it's a completely different sound and more "concentrated".

This sort of behaviour can go on for ages and it's very difficult to "detach" Monty from Dinah. I did manage it last night by gently lifting him and then I cuddled him on my chest and he was all sleepy and warm. He licked my face a few times, then tried to get back to Dinah to suckle her again.

After he's been doing this, Dinah's belly is really soggy and you can see her skin. She then spends ages grooming her belly to get it back to normal.

My question is, do I ignore/allow this behaviour or actively try to discourage it - and if so, how? If one kitten is on someone's lap for a cuddle, generally the other kitten will want to be there too, so keeping them apart at cuddle time is not really feasible.

I just don't know if it's something he will ultimately grow out of or if it's only going to get worse as he gets older?

Any experience with this sort of thing?


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## Marley boy (Sep 6, 2010)

aw that sounds so cute, but thats no help. My friends cat would suckle her dressing gown but she grew out of it eventually.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2011)

Maisie use to do this to our dog when she woke up, I think it's more of a comfort thing, she grew out of it in about 2/3 weeks, I found it cute to start with then just a bit icky as Holly would encourage her  I use to just pick Maisie up or say No... she use to suck the edge of my dressing gown aswell alas she does no longer, my girls growing up 'sniff'


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

Most likely this will decrease over time and stop or only happen occasionally. I think trying to stop it may create stress or become an "issue". See how it goes. My one female still suckles her blankey occasionally just before she falls asleep. I just leave her to it. Possibly you can get a soft "fleece" baby blankey for her to use instead of the other kitty?


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## missye87 (Apr 4, 2011)

Awww little babies! However cute it sounds I know it can be quite worrying. We adopted a rescue girl in Sweden who has been orphaned at 4 weeks quite traumatically and sadly she never actually grew out of the habit of suckling, she would suckle her own paw though so was never really an issue, we just let her do it as it was obviously a great comfort for the poor girl. We assumed she never really got over what happened so that was why she continued 

Then we had a kitten that even though he suckled until around 13/14 weeks on mum, continued suckling on all the other kittens but he eventually grew out of it. 

Quite honestly it completely depends on the situation, I shouldn't think it would be much of an issue though and he would slowly grow out of it


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## LisaCHughes (Apr 10, 2011)

My kittens also left home at 6 weeks........ Teazle was very inclined to suckle absolutely everything to begin with and it didn't seem to be a stress thing insofar as she seemed to do it when she was really happy & ready to settle down for the night. Topsy didn't seem to mind at all, although the ecstatic wriggling & purring that went with it if they were on my lap was very hard to ignore. 12 weeks on and she hardly ever does it, except to one preferred teddy bear on my daughter's bed (that is the same colour as her mother), but the ecstatic blissful purring and wriggling has transferred itself to a constant need to be snuggled up to a face that she can rub & purr against - she settles down to sleep and then wakes herself up to come and do it again - meaning that you don't get a very restful night's sleep if she is on your bed. It is however adorable to feel so appreciated!


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## Bonnie82 (May 4, 2011)

Thanks so much everyone.  As long as you don't think it's harmful to allow it to continue, I will just leave him to it and trust Dinah to sort him out if she gets sick of it.


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## broccoli (Jul 1, 2011)

i had one who would suck my sleeves before sleeping - into his teens!


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## wellsandmittens (May 29, 2011)

One of ours likes to do it occasionally to myself or my oh when he is feeling really cuddly and wants to come on our lap. He only does this occasionally, it's a bit gross as you end up with your t-shirt/sleeve soaking wet so I try just to keep my hand under his chin so he can't do it! It's the only time he will voluntarily sit on laps though so I try not to discourage him too much!


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## lechatnoir83 (Jun 24, 2011)

I had a 2 who did this, one of which did it all his life. It seems to be a comfort, I guess related to early separation or maybe stress at a young age. Both those I had were rescue kittens that I had from 6 weeks. Maybe it's like a thumb sucker.. some just never grow out of it. I've got a student who still does it and she's in her late teens!


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

I'd discourage it, but with a heavy heart 

If it happens just gently lift him off as you did before. Just continue to do so, eventually he will stop. So long as when you remove him it's replace with something equally as nice (a cuddle from you) it shouldn't cause any distress.

Poor babies 

If you allow it to continue it could cause problems for Dinah hun. We had someone on here last year who allowed it to continue and the female kitten ended up with a very swollen and sore nipple if I recall correctly.


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## Bonnie82 (May 4, 2011)

Thanks everyone for all of your thoughts and advice on this. 

It's still going on and only seems to happen when both kittens are on my lap. They never do it on my partner's lap... just mine.  If I move Monty away (with great difficulty as he really "latches" on) he struggles to get back and continue with the suckling. Every time, he kneads Dinah (or me) and Dinah purrs really loudly and stretches her paws out behind her head to give him better access. 

I absolutely love cuddle time with both kittens but this behaviour doesn't seem to be getting any better. When I'm sitting at my PC, as I am now, both kittens jump inside my computer desk as a step up to my lap and then get up here together, where they groom themselves and then Monty starts the suckling - every time without fail.  He doesn't do it very often when they're not on my lap though yesterday he was doing it on a dining chair and he has done it once or twice in the snuggly bed at the top of the cat tree.

I'm wondering if he only does it when he feels secure and safe, and that's why he does it in his three favourite snuggle places - my lap, top of the cat tree, and under the dining table on one of the chairs? Bless his little heart. Dinah has never showed any signs of doing it.

It seems like a losing battle trying to "remove" him from Dinah. He doesn't actually suckle on her nipples, just on her fur - sometimes her neck, sometimes her belly - he seems to prefer the softer white fur on her front but never goes for an actual nipple.

Funny little thing!  I hope he grows out of it as I doubt it'll look quite so cute when they're both hefty adults!


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