Why does my cat try to nurse on me or other household items?

Hello! Boo boo is very cute! He's just a little confused. Many cats will try to nurse if they were weaned from their mother too early. I'm not sure if you know his history but that is the most likely cause. More unlikely, but possible, is that his hormones are giving him confusing signals and he is getting the urge to nurse from that. Hope that helps!

Housecats typically have their testicles descend fully into the scrotum by six to eight weeks of age, but it is not unheard of for this to be delayed for up to a few months in some instances. I would not operate under the assumption your kitty is a cryptorchid (no testicles in the scrotum) at this juncture, but would continue to monitor for their presence on a regular basis. Sometimes one testicle will descend but not the other. In cases where there is no sign of testicles in the scrotum and a client still wishes to neuter, testicles must be found within the abdomen or inguinal region of the body and removed surgically. This is not an extremely common procedure, but certainly one that most veterinarians will do at least a few times during their careers. It is obviously more difficult than a regular cat neuter, since you don't know precisely where the testicles are located anatomically. Anyway, my advise is that you should keep checking and be sure to have your vet verify your findings. Sometimes their testicles can be extremely small at this young of an age. Hope this makes sense.

The kitten is likely still missing its mommy. Kittens normally stay with their mother until 10 to 12 weeks of age, but, unfortunately, humans take them away long before that. So your male's penis is the closest thing to a nipple to get comfort from (suckling is not just for milk but also for comfort).

When a cat licks or chews his testicles it is usually because they either itch or hurt So there is a possibility that he has a testicular inflammation (orchitis), or an infection. You should keep him from licking his testicles (best by putting an e-collar around his neck so he cannot reach his testicles) nd make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam. This may be quite painful and he will likely need pain medicine and antibiotics to clear this up.

Once all the male hormones have left the younger one's body, this should stop. It sometimes takes a few weeks (3+) for all the male hormones to go. Now that the younger one has no more testicles, there will not be any significant testosterone production anymore. Your older fellow is a sweetie and obviously not too worried and might see it just as play. As long as they do not have serious fights, I would not worry about it.

Male cats will tend to do this behavior if they have not been neutered. If your cat has been neutered I would check with the vet who performed the surgery to ensure that both testicles were retrieved at the time of the surgery and that your cat does not have a retained testicle or is what we call a cryptorchid. Some cats fail to descend a testicle and it remains in the abdominal cavity. One of the signs that this has happened is latent "sexual activity such as "masturbation activity" such as your cat is doing. Not all cats who do this have retained testicles, but it can often be the case. If you and your vet know for 100% certainty that he had both testicles removed, then this may just be a behavior that your cat does. Your vet may have some suggestions to dissuade your cat from doing this, but it is generally nothing harmful and the cat is just acting out, will finish and there is nothing else to it. If the cat did retain a testicle, the vet can go in surgically to remove it. It is important to remove the retained testicles because they can become cancerous. I myself have a cat who does this (he had both his jewels removed successfully) so we just call it making "dirty biscuits". There really is no reason for his behavior, he just does it... But I made sure that there was no medical reason first! :) Usually I have a nice water bottle on hand and that seems to work great :)

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.