Cat nursing questions

by Kim
(NY, NY)

i have a 3 year old cat who has adopted my sister's kitten. my cat has never mated therefore has never had a litter of her own. the kitten nurses on my cat. can my cat produce milk even though she's never been pregnant?

Answer by Kate

Well milk is produced by an increase in a certain hormone in the cats body usually triggered after giving birth. However I have heard of cats who become so attached to a kitten not there own that they begin to produce this hormone and so milk. Although this may be rare.

the kitten will have a natural instinct to try and nurse even if he doesn't get anything.

I would make sure that you are feeding the kitten yourself. I have some web pages about kitten care and feeding etc which you may find of interest.

here is the first page

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/kitten-care.html

best wishes Kate

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