The good news: more progress on Cabbages’ socialization!

She has been going around us more often, and the other cats are tolerating her more. Those that don’t, she typically just ignores. It’s rather funny when Fenrir hisses and growls at her, and Cabbages just looks at her with this “gives no f***s” expression!

The bad news is, she has joined the group of older kittens that keep trying to nurse on Grandma.

Also, that picture?

That’s my side of the bed.

At almost 3 am.

She claimed my spot as her very own Cabbages patch! 😀

Normally, I have no problem shoving aside any cats that are in the way of my going to bed, but Cabbages is still learning to trust humans, and I didn’t want to chase her off.

I needn’t have worried. She ended up spending most of the night with me. Or, more accurately, Grandma! That did mean I was repeatedly awakened by loud slurping noises, after Grandma slithered out of her belly band. I kept having to pull her off, and block access to nip. She did not like that, but eventually curled up next to me and went to sleep! I do wish our old mama wouldn’t encourage the kittens so much!

I finally did some looking, and it turns out that yes, like humans, cats can start lactating with the stimulation of nursing. It’s entirely possible “grandma” is actually producing milk again.

With the older kittens, they were well mothered. I’m tempted to let Cabbages nurse. Butterscotch mothered them well when they were small, from what we could see, but I think she forcibly weaned them pretty early, and stopped being the least bit maternal with them, not much longer.

It would be hard to allow one kitten to nurse, but not the others!

The Re-Farmer