The indoor cats were adorable today, too!

Keith and “grandma” – the mama cat that moved out here with us – cuddling together for a nap.

Keith, again, dropping back to sleep, even as he reached out to grab my phone while I took the picture!

Our old mama cat is turning out to be an unexpected problem with the kittens.

When it was time to wean them, Beep Beep was pretty blunt about it. They’d come hunting for nip, and she’d bat them upside the head. They got discouraged pretty quickly.

When Two Face was first introduced to the kittens, she was aggressively affectionate, hunting them down to groom then, and would allow them to try to nurse. We chalked this up to our discovery that she was pregnant at the time she was taken in to get fixed. She somehow understood that she should have had a bunch of her own furry little worms. That did eventually stop, thankfully. It was rather heartbreaking to watch her.

Then there’s our old mama cat. She and her boy moved out here with us. She has largely been pretty good about the new cats being introduced. When Cheddar came in after having surgery to remove the stick he’d somehow impaled himself with, she flat out adopted him. With the kittens, she was motherly, but not like she was with Cheddar.

Except now.

Once Beep Beep weaned her babies, “grandma” decided she would take over. Not only does she allow the kittens to try and nurse on her, she actively encourages it. Mostly, it’s Turmeric, but Saffron and Leyendecker also give it ago. We discourage it as much as possible, but she’s got two nips that no longer have fur around them, and one of them is looking very red – I can’t imagine how it doesn’t hurt her! Yet she still encourages it. Today, much to my surprise, not only did I find both Turmeric and Saffron trying to nurse on her, but even Cheddar – Cheddar!!! – was snuffling about, hunting for nip.

I’ve tried making a belly band for her, but she gets out of it easily. We’d need to make something that is more like a sweater, but I really would prefer not to force her to wear clothes. I’d rather the whole thing stop! We could rub something on her to make it taste bad, but with how raw one of them is looking, I don’t want to cause more irritation.

Has anyone ever encountered something like this before? Any suggestions?

The Re-Farmer