10 week old kittens suckling each other suddenly/Rowdy behavior noticed

[jet460]

Oddest thing.
2 boys and 1 girl.
Same littler.
Got them at 8 weeks, and after 2 weeks started suckling each other.
They seem extremely happy, and do everything together.
They are well fed, and I am here 24/7, so they get plenty of attention and pos treatment.
They have a big tower they play and sleep on.
They really go at it with the suckling.
The girl in particular runs right back if I stop her.
I have read it is normal, but why did they just start?

 

[iPappy]

No idea why it just started, but I would video it because IMO it's very cute. As long as there is no redness or irritation on the areas they suckle, odds are they'll grow out of it. One of mine was around a year when he just abruptly stopped doing it.

 

[theyremine]

Where are they suckling? Be careful as sometimes they will suckle another kitten's penis. That's causes issues for the poor little boy.

 

[Sarthur2]

Kittens tend to suckle to comfort themselves, like a baby with a pacifier. Kittens who’ve been separated too young from their mothers tend to want to suckle the most.

Definitely do not allow them to suckle one another’s genitals, or to suckle to the point of skin irritation. In general, I would discourage them suckling one another and instead give them soft cloths to suckle, with corners soaked in kitten formula. I had a cat once who suckled and kneaded on a soft stuffed teddy bear for years.

 

[iPappy]

Kittens tend to suckle to comfort themselves, like a baby with a pacifier. Kittens who’ve been separated too young from their mothers tend to want to suckle the most.

Definitely do not allow them to suckle one another’s genitals, or to suckle to the point of skin irritation. In general, I would discourage them suckling one another and instead give them soft cloths to suckle, with corners soaked in kitten formula. I had a cat once who suckled and kneaded on a soft stuffed teddy bear for years.

Oooh, I never thought of soaking the corners of a blanket or soft cloth in kitten formula! That's a great idea.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Oddest thing.
2 boys and 1 girl.
Same littler.
Got them at 8 weeks, and after 2 weeks started suckling each other.
They seem extremely happy, and do everything together.
They are well fed, and I am here 24/7, so they get plenty of attention and pos treatment.
They have a big tower they play and sleep on.
They really go at it with the suckling.
The girl in particular runs right back if I stop her.
I have read it is normal, but why did they just start?

This is fairly common actually there was another thread where the one suckled on her brother so much he was wet all over poor little guy lol but they are doing it for comfort. You can try to offer small wash cloths or small stuffed animals. Who knows why it is just now starting maybe they took the first 2 weeks settling and maybe exploring and now they are like meh whatever I've seen everything I wanna see now I want to do this lol... seriously though it's hard to tell why it just started

 

[jet460]

All on the belly. No genitalia. I have it on video. I will share a YT link in a bit.

 

[jet460]

 

[jet460]

Grey one is Lucy.
The most orange one is Lemmy. He is the biggest.
Les is the lighter orange.

 

[catsknowme]

It definitely looks like comfort nursing! They are very beautiful kittens . Please let us know if they switch to the milk-flavored cloth. They might also like a plush toy with a travel clock ticking underneath it.

 

[jet460]

 

[iPappy]

Do you know their back story? Were they with their Mom when you adopted them?

 

[iPappy]

View attachment 459186

That is one beautiful kitten family

 

[jet460]

Do you know their back story? Were they with their Mom when you adopted them?

Not much to know. They were with their mom until the day I got them. They just started doing this today.

 

[catsknowme]

Is their mom already in a permanent home? Maybe they needed more time with her or maybe they're picking up on some cat ESP/vibe with her.

 

[jet460]

I have no idea. She's not mine.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I want to start by saying they are absolutely adorable and how cute they are!

This is normal. They are doing it for comfort. I would just try a little stuffed animal or wash cloth with the corners dipped in kitten formula (which I think this is an ingenious idea dipping the corners in the kitten formula) as suggested by Sarthur2 I think this will help especially with the kitten formula.

I will say I have a little girl who is about 2 years old I adopted her almost a year ago now. She had a rough start with previous owners who definitely should never have pets. Anyway she has this thing of licking her stuffy or a soft plush style blanket. She does this and kneads every time she goes to sleep.

I used to think she is almost 2 years old this can't be normal and maybe i should stop the behavior... but I thought about it and settled knowing it is a calming mechanism she has and I respect that. I wash her stuffy once a week sometimes twice a week and the blanket once every other week. I just do this because I don't want any bacteria to grow and her licking it potentially getting sick.

I just figured I'd share an odd similar behavior about an almost 2 year old kitty...

 

[jet460]

I worked in dairy for years. Above 42 degrees, dairy products are bacteria ridden within 24 hours. Completely unsafe to consume.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I worked in dairy for years. Above 42 degrees, dairy products are bacteria ridden within 24 hours. Completely unsafe to consume.

Yea so you would have to wash the little wash cloths often if you dip the corners in the kitten formula.. my cat doesnt get her things dipped in anything I'm just thinking about her licking them over and over... like eeewww... that needs washed little miss. Lol I remember the first time I washed her stuffy she meowed for like 45 minutes until she gave in and started licking it to go to sleep... I really thought it would be that way for ever. So what I did I got 3 of the same stuffy this way after washing them they can sit while she uses a different one and cycle them so they aren't freshly washed idk it seemed to help her accept them easier after being washed which is good I guess lol

 

[Sarthur2]

Bottom line: they do not need milk anymore as they are weaned to cat food now, but they miss their mother. They may have suckled one another at night while you were sleeping, or were possibly too petrified in their suddenly new environment to practice their comfort behavior until now.

Kittens who stay with their mothers will suckle as long as she lets them — even for months — milk or no milk. So your kittens may outgrow this, or not. If they can move this behavior to some sort of lovey item, all the better.