Kittens drinking milk?

Question

My girl kitten (Cleo) is about 9 weeks+ old. We got her at about 5 1/2 weeks old and she gets along great with our male kitten (Stormy) who is about 12 weeks+.

Cleo was eating and drinking fine when we got her, she gets clean water and milk daily (which I change a few times) + dry and wet food which I make sure is always available. In the last week she has been trying to drink from Stormy - what would make her suddenly do this?

It confuses me because she was fine drinking milk from her bowl, but now shes trying to drink out of Stormy. Why isn't she stopping when she doesnt get milk? Shes constantly doing it even once I watch her drink milk from her bowl.

Sorry I didn't make it clearer. She is trying to suck from his nipples.

The two kittens are from totally different litters.

I do believe that she was taken off her mother too early, but she was fine up until just now.

Answer 1

A lot of times, when a kitten is weened too early, they will still make a kneeding motion just for comfort. Sounds like your kitten got comfy, and now wants to kneed. Mine does the same thing, it's no biggy just really annoying. My cat sometimes tries to suckle on my neck or ear

Answer 2

I have a cat that tries to or pretends to nurse off the male dogs. She loves them so much. She's been doing this since she was a kitten. She sneaks up on them when they are sleeping. She is an adult now and hardly ever does this any more. The vet says it was like a comfort mechanism. Kind of like sucking on your thumb. I have owned over 30 cats and only a few had weird habits like this. One liked to suck on peoples ear lobes when they were sleeping. That's how he used to get sleepy himself. When we would make him stop doing that he would suck on the blankets and sheets. I thought it looked cute.

P.S. the other post are correct about the cow milk. it is not healthy for cats. it does not provide enough nutrients for them. but you also feed regular food so i don't know how it would affect your kitten specifically. Although i do know that if a kitten is fed only cow milk they may die due to lack of nutrients.

Answer 3

When you take a kitten away from it's mom too quickly, it continues to have a need to suckle.

I have two cats who were born to a feral mama, so when they were just 4 weeks old, my sister "stole" the litter, so as to hand-raise and tame the kittens. The one cat still suckles on pillows and stuffed animals, as though they were suckling from a mama kitty. The great big fat gray cat suckles on his own foreleg. It's really adorable to watch. I think that this activity is called "thumb-sucking."

My sister also adopted a couple of kittens from that litter and one of the cats suckled on the family dog all the time. The dog liked it, so it was a very compatible relationship. :-)

Answer 4

She doesn't need the milk anymore, and as she gets older it will probably give her diarrhea anyway. The suckling on her brother is a comfort thing and is common among kittens who were separated from their mom too early-and 5 1/2 weeks is too early. Sometimes they'll suck on earlobes or blankets too-it's called "woolsucking". Most cats grow out of that, but some don't.

http://www.kittycottage.org/woolsucking.html

Answer 5

Your cat does NOT know whos bowl is whos ..no more that a little child would understand ..she sees food she eats ..simple as that ..and oh ..i hope you arent giving your kitten cows milk it is not good for them

Im sorry i misunderstood ..it is VERY possible that your kitten was weaned to early and still has a need to suck ..its just like a baby with a pacifier ..cats just do that sometimes ..even on males ..or they will even try to suck people ..lol ..i used to have a cat that sucked on a blanket!

Answer 6

Is she trying to nurse on Stormy or just drinking out of Stormy's bowl? It is not uncommon for young cats and dogs to recall nursing on their mother and then suddenly try to nurse on another cat or dog. Try giving the cat a little more of your time, and also get a bottle and a nipple and try nursing her on that for a while. That should get her back to normal again.

Answer 7

Kittens are probably like humans I don't know about the drinking thing from Stormy, but she was probably trying to act good so you wouldn't get rid of her now that she is used to living in your house she's probably not going to try any longer until you train her, and show her what you exspect from her. Good Luck with the new kitten, and I hope my advice will help you.

Answer 8

Do you mean milk as in nursing milk or as in human cow milk? Dont give them human cow milk cause that causes diarrhea which can lead to their death. If they stop nursing and you want to give them a milk like product that doesn't have cow milk...then use a KMR Kitten Milk Replacer or Kitten Formula.

If she is just weaned then she is pry looking for the natural comfort of nursing and I have seen my own loves do that to male cats. The male cat usually just spiss at them. It take them time.

Answer 9

Cats don't need milk as there get the calcium from there fish &if its cows milk then that not a good idea as Cats are lactose intolerant. If you want to feed the cat milk though make sure its specially formulated for cats.

Answer 10

Female cats and kittens tend to be territorial. She might also want to get your attention. I don't know a lot about kittens since I'm allergic to Cats. I suggest you check with your vet on when her menstruation is do. It might have to do with that or the hormones that animals perceive attracts them to others. Which might indicate why she is doing this.