# Nipple sucking a male cat



## edieparnaby (Apr 6, 2012)

I noticed this behavior a while ago and I am not sure what to do about it, or if I should do anything about it. I have a male kitten, Hemingway, almost 5 mos, who likes to suck the nipple of my male cat Gabriel, 1 yr. I was not alarmed at first, but I noticed today that all the hair around the nipple is gone and the nipple itself looks raw.

Gabriel does not seem to mind at all. He loves Hwy and Hwy loves him. They are always together. I also have a 6 yr old female cat Nutmeg, but I doubt Nutmeg would let Hwy do this to her.

So my question is does this behavior mean that Hwy is hungry? Or that he is just missing his mother? And should I let it continue? btw - I feed him whenever he "says" he's hungry, which is often! So he is not lacking for food unless I just can't keep up with him.


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

It has nothing to do with being hungry and everything to deal with security. Abviously he gets security in the way of a parent child relationship with your other cat. If it doen't bother either one of them I'd let it continue.


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## 6cats4me (Apr 30, 2011)

No answer but after seeing the attached picture of your gray kitties I just wanted
to say how beautiful they are!  Hope you'll post more pictures of them soon.


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## edieparnaby (Apr 6, 2012)

Thanks, Penny135 and 6cats4me. I will let it continue and just monitor the situation. 6cats4me, I see you have some lovely gray kitties yourself! My two are Chartreux breed. This is my first venture into pure breeds. I've had a number of wonderful mixed breed companions from shelters. I have their pics at http://hemingwaygabrielnutmeg.shutterfly.com/
Let me know if you cannot see them.

Thanks!
Tracey


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## LaurulFeatherCat (Sep 16, 2011)

I had one mother who allowed her last male kitten to suck on her until the day she died; that means Squeals nursed until he was ten years old. Squeals did not do well after his mom died and only lived two more years.


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## 6cats4me (Apr 30, 2011)

edieparnaby said:


> I have their pics at Message
> Let me know if you cannot see them.
> 
> Thanks!
> Tracey


Hi Tracey,
I tried to look at the pics but the site said it was private and 
could not be viewed. I thought your cats were the Chartreux 
breed because of their head shape and plush coats. They 
really are gorgeous cats.


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## edieparnaby (Apr 6, 2012)

LaurulFeatherCat, Do you know why Squeals was unable to break the bond with his mother? Were there other cats in the litter that lived with the mother and were able to break the bond? I don't think this will happen with Hemingway since he is not physically with his mother anymore, but I am curious. I've never heard of a case where the kitten could not thrive without the mother after making it to adulthood. I feel bad for poor Squeals.


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## LaurulFeatherCat (Sep 16, 2011)

We felt bad for Squeals as well and knew he would have a hard time after Miri left us. Squeals had three littermates, all females and they all grew up normally and weaned normally. Miri would not allow them to nurse after they were weaned, but she always gave in when Squeals asked for her breast. By the time Miri had her third litter (which was an accidental litter), Miri was seven years old and we were getting her ready for spaying. But Miri unlocked and opened the door to the room she was put in in prep for her spay and got pregnant by the new Siamese we had just bought for breeding. I think Miri just was lazy with Squeals, but I never expected him to nurse to the day she died. We even separated the two of them for three months to break his habit of nursing, but each time she allowed Squeals to go back to his nursing. Finally we just threw up our hands and let it go. Miri was almost 17 when she died and Sqeals lived to be 12. Perhaps if we had sold Squeals as a kitten it would have been better for him, but our daughter wanted Squeals as a personal pet and he stayed in the house with his mother. Another reason I felt Squeals didn't do well after his mom died is his owner, Sherry, went away to college right before Miri died; so he ended up without his mom and without his owner. He was a very depressed kitty for about a year and by the time he was getting better, he had developed lymphoma. Sherry and I both elected to not give him chemotherapy for the lymphoma and I had him euthanized shortly after Christmas in his 12th year.


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## 6cats4me (Apr 30, 2011)

I just looked at the pictures in your album on shutterfly. All three of your cats are gorgeous and look very well-looked after and spoiled! Nice cat furniture, too.


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