My 15-week-old kittens are still nursing. Is this normal or unhealthy?

Hello there, Kittens are typically weaned at 8 weeks of age. Kittens that are weaned later in life may chronically suckle on objects through their lifetime. Sometimes this can become an obsessive behavior, lead to ingestions of non-food objects, or can cause injury to another pet. In the wild, most kittens would be quite independent from their mother already. Chronic suckling can only happen in captivity when they are kept together longer than they normally would be- being kept together means there is no natural end to the suckling. I'd recommend keeping them strictly separated for a few weeks to months to try to stop this behavior. They will likely become anxious and vocal at first, but it will be for their benefit in the long run. I hope this is helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Yes, this is normal. All momma cats are different in the amount that they will allow the kittens to nurse. Most kittens will nurse as long as mom will allow it. It is comforting to both parties. The behavior will not likely be changed by the operations for the kittens. If mom is getting spayed as well, she may not let them nurse anymore. There is no harm in the nursing behavior unless you start to notice an area starts to look red, swollen or chafed. If mom is also getting spayed, that does change things. The kittens should not be allowed to nurse or exhibit any type of that behavior as they could compromise the incision. They cannot lick at any of the incisions! I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It's fine that Rocky is growing bigger than his mother and father, this can happen. It isn't normal, however, that he is still nursing on his mother, and at 10 months of age, he should be fully weaned. I would completely separate him from his mother so that he can be weaned and only eat kitten food. During this separation, his mother's milk will dry up as well. It can take at least two weeks for her milk supply to dry up, and I would keep them separated for at least that long. I hope this helps!

This is quite odd behavior, but she is likely taking care of them since her other kittens passed away. I don't know of any ill side effects except maybe becoming overweight or an upset tummy from the change in diet. I would try to separate them so that the 5 month old kittens don't get over weight from nursing and eating regular cat food. Also the kittens could cause some harm to the mothers mammary tissue since they have teeth now. Also I would recommend to spay or neuter the kittens and mom to prevent any additional litters if at all possible. If either of the kittens are male it could mate with the litter mate or mother causing some kittens to be born with some serious genetic defects. Plus if the mother isn't nursing her new kittens then she likely won't properly nurse her upcoming litters. If you are unable to fix all of them, you may want to start with any of the males. I hope this helps!

yes, this is absolutely normal for an 8 week old kitten. You can offer canned wet kitten food frequently as an option for the kitten and he/she will slowly transition to cat food, but for now, nursing at this age is very normal. Thank you for reaching out to Pet Coach.

Hello. There is no immediate danger with this behavior & the male kitten will eventually kick everyone off him as he matures. Because of the self-grooming cats do I do not recommend placing a bitter spray on him. Just anytime you see one of the kittens doing this, just gently remove her & try to distract with a treat. This behavior often gets outgrown. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

the kitten is not getting any milk if that's the question, it's a common behavior which is usually discouraged by the mother. In your case the mother obviously allows it but I wouldn't worry about that, even if it carries on for a long time.