3 yr old cat with bleeding nipples

[1800XP]

I recently introduced a 6 weeks old kitten to my 3 yr old cat, and the kitten sometimes sucks on the cat's nipples. I discovered yesterday that the cat's lower 2 nipples are hard with some dry blood on them. The other nipples are fine. Is this normal or should I stop my kitten? Does this post any health threats?

Also, my kitten keeps scratching and biting the cat playfully, and the cat sometimes fights back. Is that ok?

[mikemike192]

Sounds like your cat is a very sweet one that doesn't tell the kitten to butt off :razz:

Usually a queen (mother cat) will start kicking or hissing at the young kittens when they start biting, even when they are still nursing them. It's kind of a nature's way of weaning them as well as protecting herself from their teething.

Is your cat the mother of the kitten?

Is your kitten eating solid food by him/her self?

If the kitten is eating by his/her own, it's ok to prevent it to keep trying to suckle the cat's nipples by moving him to the food source or giving him something to bite (like a soft toy). If he's still in the weaning stage and do need to eat milk from his mother, then you can wait 'til the queen to kick him out herself a week or two later.

Oh wait, you just introduced the kitten to your cat .... so I'm guessing that isn't her child (lol). Is the kitten eating well by his own? 6 weeks seem to be a little too early to be completely eating on his own ... some of my foster kittens do not wean 'til 8 weeks (they do start around 6 to 7 weeks). Maybe he's doing that 'cause he isn't doing too well from the food he's getting (= he still needs/wants milk). You could try canned cat milk from petstore (use a dropper or a small dish) and help him in transition.

[1800XP]

The kitten is eating very well and have adjusted to solid food. We have bought canned cat milk from pet stores for him, but have stopped since he's fully capable of eating solid food without it being dipped in milk. I guess I will give him cat milk again and hopefully he won't bite the older cat's nipples.

Now, since the older cat has reddened nipples and had dried blood on them, how should I treat her? Should I apply anything on the nipples? Or is wiping the dried blood off sufficient?

[mikemike192]

The kitten is eating very well and have adjusted to solid food. We have bought canned cat milk from pet stores for him, but have stopped since he's fully capable of eating solid food without it being dipped in milk. I guess I will give him cat milk again and hopefully he won't bite the older cat's nipples.

Now, since the older cat has reddened nipples and had dried blood on them, how should I treat her? Should I apply anything on the nipples? Or is wiping the dried blood off sufficient?

Yea, give the milk a try and see if the behavior continues or not. If he stops, that probably means he'd still want to drink some milk (for a week or two, then he should be fine without it); if he doesn't, then maybe he's teething and wants to chew on something (give him a toy and encourage him to chew the toy, not the cat).

You can also try moisten the dry food with warm water, he should be able to eat it easier.

Sometimes our foster kittens do that to our own cat, and our cat usually hiss at them :twisted:

For your cat, it's better to clean her wound with some antiseptic wash like hydrogen peroxide (alcohol works too but it burns the wound a little and pets tend to be like wtf :evil: when you apply it) to prevent infection. After washing with antiseptic, you can wipe it with warm water again if the kitten will go bite on your cat again, just in case he licks off the remaining chemical.

Hope it helps :)