# Female cat nursing non-related kitten when she's fixed



## hellokitty45 (Oct 8, 2008)

I have an odd situation here that I have never come across before. I am a cat lover and have raised many cats. I now have two wonderful loving babie girls, well they are babies but they are my babies. Anyway, one is 5 years old, mix breed and my other is just over 2 years old, both being females. I just recently had my younger cat, by the way her name is Cudd'Lee, and she's been fixed for like two months now. I took in a stray kitten, at that time she was about 6-7 weeks old. She has been living with me, cuz I gave her to my daughter but my daughter is at the hospital with my granddaughter and I volunteered to tend to the baby while she was away. Ok, here is what is really odd.......that baby kitten is nursing off of my one female cat, the 2 year old. Cudd'Lee has never ever been pregnant and has never had another kitten be with her but she is allowing this lil kitten to suckle her. 

The question I'm wondering is this..........is that baby kitten really getting any milk from my cat? Cudd'Lee will sometimes kick her away but she tends to this kitten like it is one of her own and she baths it and if the baby kitten cries, she will leave race marks trying to get to her to find out what is wrong with her. I'm glad she has bonded with my cat but I know it's gonna hurt them both when it comes time they have to part. I have tried to see if I can get any milk from my cats nipples and none comes out. Her breasts are big like she just had some babies, and this lil baby kitten is extremely attached to my cat and sleeps wherever Cudd'Lee sleeps. I almost want to keep her and tell my daughter she lost her kitten to my cat LOL. 

So can this be milk she is getting and second question is why is this happening? Do you all think she might think this is her real baby even though she has never had kittens nor been ever pregnant?

Cudd'Lee's Mommy 4 ever


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Nothing to worry about. It isn't the adult cat, it is the kitten initiating this behavior. Probably because the kitten was removed from its' mother too early, and nursing is both an instinct and a comfort thing. If the kitten is allowed to nurse quite a bit, the adult cat could produce milk, but I think you'd be okay...and even if the adult does produce milk, it won't harm the cat.

I had taken in three young kittens and two of them would nurse on the belly of our adult neutered male cat. He didn't really enjoy it, but he allowed it. I never saw the 3rd kitten nurse on him. Ever. After about 2-3 weeks, our adult cat was hit/killed in the road (and is the reason our cats are now kept indoors) and the 1st two kittens stopped the nursing behavior, but the 3rd took up thumb sucking. Primarily MY thumb. :roll: He continued the finger sucking behavior all his life (11yrs) and taught me to sleep with my hands covered or I could wake up to him sucking my fingers/thumb.
Heidi


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I have a foster ~ long haired male kitten ~ who is about 12 -14 weeks old. He lets the kittens (9 weeks old) nurse on him also. The kittens had to be removed from their feral moms in an emergency situation, too soon. I also had a kitten who sucked on the end of her tail. She does this behavior to this day the new parents reported to me! She is two years old now.


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