Why is my 5-month kitten still nursing her fixed mother? Will it stop?

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.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. As long as the mom will let them nurse she will make milk. I would not call it abnormal but it is not really good for them to nurse after 8 weeks of age. They actually become lactose intolerant after that time and even though they seem OK it could cause them issues in the long run. The mother usually stops the kittens from nursing around 8 weeks of age because they will get teeth and start biting the nipples making her uncomfortable. They must not be doing that since she is still allowing them to do it. The mom continuing to make milk also puts a strain on her body nutritionally and she may get underweight and unthrifty. It is best to separate the mom from the kittens until the milk dries up and then have mom spayed. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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!

It's very common for kittens to continue to try to nurse on other animals in the house. This behavior usually lessens as the kittens mature, so I would not worry about it unless she is causing sores on the other animals or if they are snapping at her when she nurses. If not, then I would just let her grow out of the behavior. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This is not likely a sign that the cat needs more nutrition but is probably simply a preference. Some kittens want to suckle longer than others for comfort, and some adult cats will continue to try to suckle themselves or other things like blankets. I would think that the momma would put a stop to this pretty quickly, but if you see the cat trying to suckle I would try to intervene so that things between them don’t get out of hand.

This is usually not a hunger-driven activity in a 10 week old kitten. It can indicate that the kitten was weaned or taken away from its mother too early. I would definitely continue to prevent this behavior, as it can continue into adulthood and could cause problems like an infection in the mammary gland of your dog. You may have your dog wear a shirt to cover the nipples, or keep them separated unless you can monitor them. Since it can be brought on by stress, you can try supplements for stress such as Zylkene or Feliway/Comfort Zone Feline Pheromones. Here is some more information: https://www.petplace.com/article/cats/pet-behavior-training/wool-sucking/

Congratulations on your new babies! I adopted brother and sister kittens a few years ago. My male also displayed this behavior on his sister (as well as one of the dogs), but that behavior had improved by the time he was 6 months old. There isn't anything inherently abnormal about the behavior, and it's really only a problem if the female decides it's a problem, so I don't know that I would worry about it. I suspect that it will decrease quite a bit as he gets older and more settled in your house. The only other caveat that I will give you is that some cats will also do that on (especially wool) blankets and sweaters to the point that they chew/suck a hole in the fabric, so be on the lookout for that behavior. I hope that was helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.