Confused kittens!

[wiggal]

Ok this may seem like a strange question,
If i cat drinks milk from a cat that is not its mum is it ok?
We have had 3 litters recently (as you may know) The first litter are now in new homes and the mum spayed.
We have 2 litters now, 3 4 week old & 3 6 week old. We introduced them this weekend and they get on great, but they all drink from both mums! I came down the stairs this morning to find one of the mums lying in the hall with all 6 kittens attached!
Also all 3 females, 2 currently mums and the one spayed last week, all look after & bath eachothers kittens, is this normal?
Before any one tries to fire some long lecture at me about how bad of me letting them get pregnant, but i actually had the 3 booked in to be spayed, but they showed signs of being pregnant before their ops, and i didnt have it in me to kill the kittens before they were born!

Ta!

[divegirl]

Hi wiggal, glad to hear they're doing well. They will be fine sharing their mum's with each other......some animals regularly do this in the wild, I keep Degus, and the females in a group will always help each other out with parenting duties....it's quite sweet really. I have also witnessed kittens nursing from dogs and vice versa so I reckon they'll be fine.

Lisa x

[rescuer]

Why not. As far as I know there are still 'wet nurses, - women who have lost a baby or who have excess milk who feed other women's babies. I think years ago 'ladie' did not want to have to feed their own babies and 'wet nurses' would be employed.
And arrangments are made to collect, daily, breast milk from women who have an excess.

[lankeela]

My dog nursed a kitten that had been abandoned, she fed it and cleaned it until it was weaned with her one puppy.

[plessy]

Hi Wiggal,

This is absolutely fine, as the kittens are old enough for it not to be an issue. Cats have blood groups, as do we obviously, but in cats there is A, AB, and B types. The only time when kittens would be at risk from feeding off a girl that isn't their mum, is within the first three days of life, when the gut, which is open when they are born, is starting to seal. If an A kitten feeds off a B girl, then this can cause a violent antibody reaction, which sadly can kill the kittens, but at this age it is fine - I currently have a girl feeding five kittens, only two of which are her own, but as they are old enough, it's not a problem. Some girls are just naturally more maternal than others, and will happily keep on feeding the kittens for literally months unless stopped, which I always do, as it really takes it out of the girl.
Hope this helps to reassure you.

Cheers

Plessy

[garner]

Hi wiggal, hows our little one going on with the Leg? hope everything is ok,can we have an update please