[Kitchen Cottage]

No not a variation on suckling pig (though i'd consider it)... but the strange habits of Macavity.

He is a neutered three year old cat, born here and I still have his mother, Twinkle.  Not weaned until he was about 3 months old.

He's a feisty tough cat, but he suckles on Misty, my three year old working cocker spaniel and has done since he was a kitten. 

They are not particularly close, but every day he comes for his suckle, during which she cleans his bum like he's a puppy.

She's had one litter, they weren't weaned young, he wasn't weaned young (he still lives with his Mother ffs!), I thought this was quite common but having looked at t'internet,,,, it seems rare.  No harm is being done to either of them.

Have you lot heard of this with a cat so old?

[jaykay]

Lol, that's unusual, but as you say, it does neither of them any harm and I guess if they didn't like it they wouldn't do it 

[Fleecewife]

When I was a kid we used to warm up runts in front of the AGA, (or sometimes in the bottom oven), then put them in a box with our cat Daisy, who would suckle them.  She had never had kittens and had no milk, but it seemed to help the piglets to make a go of life.
 
Many years later we had two queen cats - a farm cat and a Siamese.  Although the Siamese was weaned when we got her she nonetheless sucked from the other queen.  The funniest thing was that when the Siamese had her first litter it was at the same time as the other cat had had a litter.  We would see the strange behaviour of a Siamese cat feeding her kittens at the same time as she fed from the other queen, who was also suckling her own litter - although the kittens just latched on to either.
 
But no, I've never seen a cat trying to feed from a dog 

[SallyintNorth]

I've had very young kittens suckle on anything they can find that'll take it - I had a male dog absolutely adored kittens, so was in heaven when my two new arrivals suckled on him!

I had a pair of kittens had lost their mum - the two of them both used to suckle on the female one.  Yes, she suckled her own teeny teats.   It took months to break her of the habit.

[in the hills]

I had a mog that used to do the suckle action on my dressing gown!!!!! ..... sucking and kneading.


Came from his mum at 9 weeks and did it from them until he departed this world. 

[Kitchen Cottage]

Jasper, my other neutered Tom who is about 18 months does that on my dressing gown too.... I thought that was normal...

I LIVE IN FREAK CAT WORLD AND I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT!!!

They are all perverts....

[funkyfish]

It is actually quite common. Its usually a comfort thing and I find its the sensitive types who do it the most. Lots of cats and dogs suck things/other animals. its like a child sucking their thumb.

[waddy]

Our cat (a 14 yr old oriental) has always sucked the end of her tail. Not pleasant when you stroke her and get a handful of soggy tail. She is also in heaven if she can find anything wooly to suck and chew. We have lost no end of gloves, hats and jumpers!


Helen

[SallyintNorth]

My first cat used to suck the leaves of my spider plants - just in the same way as I used to suck on my hair when I was at school. 

The spider plants did not enjoy the attention, all their leaves turned brown and straggly from about halfway along!

[Kitchen Cottage]

Compared to Fleecewife's and sallyinthenorth's... .Macavity seems almost normal!  

I love the idea of the Siamese cat suckling while suckling on a cat who is also suckling.... and as for acrobat cat suckling herself...

[sokel]

A friend of mine has a manx that sucks on her daxi  always done it and he wasn't taken away from her mum too early,
also have a yorkie who sucks and paddles on her vetbed to go to sleep and again she was 10 weeks old before she was taken from mum

[Kitchen Cottage]

 

Sad to find this because Macavity was found on the road by my entrance.  He'd been hit by a car and was dead.  Poor Macavity 

[happygolucky]

  ..how upsetting........Cats always cross roads...even if on their side there are acts of fields.......I read all through the thread with interest only to hen see such a sad ending.......I bet the dog will miss  Mcavity

[darkbrowneggs]

So sorry - loosing any pet is sad and your mcavity certainly sounded an individual.  You won't forget him and I am certain he had a lovely life with you and the dog. 

[shygirl]

poor you, what a shame