Has anyone else ever had a kitten nurse this long?

[redhen]

I have! Heres Giblet with her baby.


When he was a kitten...

And now...Hes bigger than her!

Hes getting his bath from mom...

 

[crtrlovr]

Giblet is so cute! She looks like a little munchkin next to him!

I love all cats, but there's something about the ones with the short, cobby bodies that just grabs my heart....

Bec, your cat is doing what is called "wool-sucking". It's a response to a psychological issue, and some breeds of cats are more prone to it than others. If it is just comfort sucking, there's no harm in it. There have been other cases where it progressed to chewing fibers, and that can lead to intestinal obstructions & complications. I knew a woman whose cat had a wool sock fetish, and ate an ENTIRE sock. They had to do emergency surgery; thankfully kitty lived, but they had to be extremely diligent about keeping any and all fibers up out of reach; she even had to get rid of her throw rugs, ESPECIALLY the ones with fringe.

I had a cat who was taken from his mama too soon, and from 6 weeks through the rest of his life, that cat loved to suck on my earlobe.

He grew from less than palm sized tiny kitten to over 18# (and yeah, that looked pretty weird when he'd leap up the front of me and try to get to my ear). It was a comfort/security issue with him.

My friend had a tortie calico who had a litter of kittens, then a second litter about 4-5 mos. later (and I BEGGED her to get that cat spayed, and I even offered to help her with the expense or pay for it myself outright

) The mother cat REFUSED to let the second set of babies nurse until she called the big honkin' boy from the first batch and he settled in to nurse with them.

 

[raroo]

There's something mildly disturbing about a cat that size nursing.

It makes me think of what it would be like if a four year old child still nursed, LOL.

 

[Shared Acres]

Yep!

We once fostered a cat that latched on to my husband's nipple because he didn't have a shirt on! The cat would also grab hold of earlobes, LOL!

Hubby would laugh until he cried with that cat.

 

[Cara]

We have a kitten that nursed from her mom until we lost the momma cat. She was 7 months old at the time! She nursed from our dog when she had a false pregnancy, and still tries to. It's creepy, i'll hear slurping and look up, and it's her bothering the dog.

 

[Ang]

I have a bottle raised cat that is....gosh....7 and will nurse on blankets. I also have a bottle raised kitten that does the same thing. Neither of them nursed off of their mothers so I think it is just a comfort to them. I luver them anyway.

 

[Bec]

Quote:
I have never heard of that!! He only does it if he finds something soft and wool. Thankfully he hasn't progressed to eating anything!

 

[jerseygirl1]

Does anyone else find this hilariously funny??

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Quote:
I laugh every time I walk outside and see him crowding the kittens out of the way to get to a nipple. He's as big as the sister he's nursing off of, and it DOES just remind me of a 4 year old still breast feeding!

 

[TillinWithMyPeeps]

Cats are so funny. I laughed at both sets of pictures!