Help! My Cat Wont Let Her Adoptive Kitten Wean Off Her.

[MaryChelly22]

So about 4 months ago I adopted a kitten who was already 4 months old, well at first she was treating him like a little brother being mean and pushing him away because she was very territorial and then one day I noticed she was becoming a little to motherly . He would get lost in the living room and she would go running calling him and then one day I seen him feeding off her, which gross me out and shocked me because its not her natural kitten. Ive heard of female cats adopting a kitten as their own but that having him feed of her, I don't think she is producing milk at all for him to eat. Now he's about to be 9 months he eat regular food but it seems like he never gets full, he can literally eat all day and now she has gotten a habit of waking up during the middle of the night and if he's not beside her she will go around the house looking and calling him to feed off her. She has a bald spot where he feeds and his mouth is raw and has lost hair as well . My question is how do I get her to stop calling him to feed off her because if she didn't call and look for him , he would of weaned off already. Thank you in advance.

 

[Espalia]

He's not actually "feeding". Many kittens who were taken from their mothers too early have the tendency to "suckle" on things. For some of them, it's shaggy rugs, their humans' fingers and necks, and one person recently posted about a kitten that manages to suck on his own nipple. Some cats never grow out of this tendency.
I would say it's not that big of a deal, but the lost hair and his mouth looking raw does sound like it's getting a little out of hand. You could try rubbing something that tastes bad to the kitten, like citrus, onto the area that he sucks on. You could also try removing him from her every time you see if happening and redirect him towards food, or hold him and pet him so that he gets comfort from you instead. Unfortunately, it's probably a comforting experience for both of them so they aren't going to want to stop. 9 months is still young, though. He may grow out of it

When you say he never seems to get full from his food, what do you mean? What kind of food are you feeding him? Is he overweight or does he seem healthy?

 

[MaryChelly22]

He's not actually "feeding". Many kittens who were taken from their mothers too early have the tendency to "suckle" on things. For some of them, it's shaggy rugs, their humans' fingers and necks, and one person recently posted about a kitten that manages to suck on his own nipple. Some cats never grow out of this tendency.
I would say it's not that big of a deal, but the lost hair and his mouth looking raw does sound like it's getting a little out of hand. You could try rubbing something that tastes bad to the kitten, like citrus, onto the area that he sucks on. You could also try removing him from her every time you see if happening and redirect him towards food, or hold him and pet him so that he gets comfort from you instead. Unfortunately, it's probably a comforting experience for both of them so they aren't going to want to stop. 9 months is still young, though. He may grow out of it

When you say he never seems to get full from his food, what do you mean? What kind of food are you feeding him? Is he overweight or does he seem healthy?

Thank you for responding and I'll try the citrus if I don't see him weaning off her soon and hes not over weight he is chunkier than when I got him . he was very thin and I feed him purina one healthy kitten formula but once his bowl is empty he runs and eats my other cats food too and she gets purina adult cat , but like I said he eats all day if I fill his bowl up ( it fills 2 cups) he will sit there and eat it all of it by lunch time and then if he sees no more food put out for him in his bowl he will go eat hers and hers fills 3 cups.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Are your cats spayed and neutered?

 

[MaryChelly22]

No not yet, why? Now another of my concerns is once he is fully grown will he try to mate with her?

 

[talkingpeanut]

They are both sexually mature now. You really need to spay and neuter asap. Females can have kittens at 4 months!

You are also going to have fighting as long as you have intact cats in the house.

This is quite an urgent situation if you want to prevent kittens. Separate them now.