I have 2 kittens, male and female...they keep suckling on the male's genitals...help!?

Question

This is a serious question. I have two kittens, a couple months old, who have been eating kitten food and water reliably for several weeks (their mom was given away) with no problems. Today the male was licking his genitals, and then the female kitten started in on him as well...I had a feeling that after fifteen minutes of intense suckling that it wasn't normal so I parted them. Now the male is in the corner suckling on himself quietly. I don't have a clue if this is normal or what, or if it could lead to him being infected. It's definitely not the usual "cleaning" --- this is suckling. 10 points to anyone with good info!

Answer 1

This sometimes happens when kittens are taken from mom too early.

It's important that you get them to stop, because the sucking irriates the genitalia.

However, using anything like squirt bottles or punishment will only confuse them.

You'll need to create some sort of comforting 'mother 'subsitute, and work with them to get them to stop the habit. Think of it like being afraid or lonely and sucking your thumb for comfort, then it becoming a bad habit that is hard to break.

You can't replace mom, but you can try a few things-

One- try a big, furry stuffed animal- like one of those furry kid play pillows- for them to snuggle with. A softly ticking clock (like with puppies) mimics a heart beat.

A body temp warm watter bottle wrapped in a thick towel- beware, this will cool off quickly- for them to sleep with.

Gently stop them when you see them do this, clean the area with a cotton ball and warm water, dry it off, and then side track them with a soft brushing, pets, playtime.

The kittesn i have had that have done this did grow out of it, but it was worrysome because they did irritate each other.

DO NOT put bitter apple, or anything bad tasting on them, DO NOT punish them or squirt them. They are not masterbating, this is a comfort thing, not a sexual thing.

Play and love them allot. They are seeking comfort.

Answer 2

In a way, it's cute, huh? When we brought home our kitten (7 1/2 wks then), he was also fully weaned but starting suckling on our other cat's nipples (also a boy). I asked our vet when the little guy went in for his first visit, she says it's normal. (And the adult cat would get up and wander away when he'd been 'abused' enough). :)

For the first few months of a kitten's life, he/she will feel the need to suckle because of a pheromone in the kitten. There are a few ways to deal with it, one of which is to go to the pet store and get some pheromone-nuetralizing stuff. You can also provide the kitten with a fake nipple- a damp towel or a chew toy or something like that. When you see them going for that no-no nipple, give them the alternate to chew/suck on.

The other is to let the cat/kittens figure it on their own. Of course, you'll want to keep on eye on the adult cat's nipples, once those adult teeth come in the kittens could bite without meaning too.

Answer 3

They were removed far to early from the mother. Kittens need to stay with the mother for some weeks after they can eat by themselves. You don't say what age they were when they were removed from their mother. I have a kitten with his mother her. He is 9 weeks old and eats well himself yet he still has a suckle several times a day.
The male will damage himself by suckling like this. I honestly don't know what to suggest since it is not possible to put them back with the mother which is what they really need.
I get so bloody angry with cat breeders who give kittens way far too early and cause all kinds of problems. It is sheer wickedness.
As far as the so called vet tech's advice to have a tiny kitten neutered so that he won't have parts to suck on....you silly mare. Neutering removes the testes not the bloody penis. Vet tech my ****. I'm the queen of England!

Answer 4

Well, I'm reminded of this one study in which a highly territorial bird with red colored feathers was placed in front of a woodchip with similar red colored feathers glued to it. The bird attacked it as it would a rival bird, despite the fact that the wood chip did not look like a bird other than the red feathers. This held true for nearly every territorial animal they used in the study, and even held true for humans (male humans were shown mannequins and got turned on despite the fact they knew it wasn't alive). Which would suggest that animals don't always understand what they are looking at but that certain things (like the feather coloring or the manequin shape) begin a mind process that gets them to do certain things.

Basically the female sees the fur of the male and sees "something" sticking out of the fur that resembles a nipple of her mother, so she goes to suckling on it as she would her mother's nipple. I'm not sure on the male, he may be comforting himself too (it feels like a nipple so he continues to suckle on it), or he may have grown to like it when the female did it and so he continues doing it himself. I don't know if it will cause an infection or not, so you may want to check with a vet on that.

My pug puppies used to try to suckle on their father all the time when they were little, so I don't think this is unique to your cats or dangerous, but the vet would be the better "opinion" to go with on this.

Answer 5

Check out this website for more details :-)

This is normal behaviour, I can assure you. Kittens do this for comfort, rather like a child sucking on a dummy (pacifier) when they need to feel content. Your kitten would have suckled on her Mum when she needed to feel comforted, not necessarily feeding, but suckling purely becuase it made her feel good.

If she was removed from her own mother a bit too early, then she may well be doing this as a replacement for Mum.

Answer 6

I assume they started this because they weren't fully weaned when the mother was taken. Even after they start eating kitten food, the mother will nurse them for a while until she's ready to wean them.

It's not abnormal or unheard of for this to start, but it ISN'T a good thing, and it can cause damage to the male's genitals and urethra. He probably thinks it feels good NOW, but he can hurt himself. Don't allow the behaviour by the female, and buy some bitter apple spray from the pet store. Spray it on a cotton ball and swab his genital area with it to discourage him.

Answer 7

The poor babies were weened too soon and are consoling themselves. Don't let this continue, but NEVER squirt them! That seems to be their safe place and it would traumatize them if they were punished for it. See a vet and get them spayed and neutered. Keep them indoors and they can live to be 20! :)
P.S. My baby suckled my earlobe until he was ten years old! Ha Ha!

Answer 8

Sometimes when kittens that are taken away from their mothers before they are 8 weeks old, or if they are weaned to fast, they develop a habit of sucking on stuff. Usually people's fingers, or earlobes, but, they inprovised something else for themselves didn't they? Silly kitties.
It's relatively normal, but not really healthy. Like you said, he can get an infection.
Best and easiest thing to do is have him neutered. That way the parts aren't there. It's not expensive either, less than $100.
To get them to quit, get a squirt bottle set on stream and let them have it when they suck on stuff.
Good Luck.

Answer 9

I had a male cat and he did that to his own lil man all the time asked the vet why and he said he was just cleaning it even if he did do it all day but as far as the other cat doing it to I have no idea why

Answer 10

You are the owner of 2 very perverted kittens. Ehcch