Question:
Now this is really quite embarrassing, I brought my new kitten home approx 6 months ago at the same time my female dog was in season, from moment go the kitten took to my dog like a mum, this was ok until I found that the kitten had taken to drinking from her and that she had started producing milk, at first I figured because the kittens mum was ginger and my dog is a golden CockerSpaniel that eventually they would clue on and that it would not continue, I also made it clear to my dog that it was unacceptable, however this has continued 5 months down the track and they choose to do it when I am not looking/around and my dog is still producing milk, I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this and how I can stop the behaviour as i'm pretty sure it's not normal?????

Answer:
Perhaps by spaying her the milk would stop, however the suckling that your kitty is doing, is really hard to stop, I have one cat here (2 years old) who still looks to suckle on the other cats ( males or females)

Answer:
If you get your doggy spayed, the milk and the heats will stop...

Answer:
Yeah I agree with the others, the best way to stop this is to get her spayed

Answer:
My kitten has been doing this with my youngest dog.

Apparently, its brain thing not a hormonal thing. When a teat is being suckled the brain thinks "ooh milk is needed" and starts producing. I did some research and apparently on farms they do put young animals in need of milk with another animal (the ones I read about were dogs who were used to suckle the young).

My dog doesn't mind and my cat has obviously got a great deal of comfort (and milk) from it particularly at that difficult time when she was seperated from her mother and littermates. It's probably more common than we all think.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Daizy
Apparently, its brain thing not a hormonal thing. When a teat is being suckled the brain thinks "ooh milk is needed" and starts producing. I did some research and apparently on farms they do put young animals in need of milk with another animal (the ones I read about were dogs who were used to suckle the young).

it's a neural hormonal thing. Suckling stimulates the sensory neurons in and around the nipple and are relayed via the spinal cord to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus fires in tonic burts, stimulating the posterior pituitary to secrete oxytocin in the same rate of bursts.

Spaying will remove the heat, but if the kitten has the habbit of suckling, your dog will continue to produce milk under such stimulation.

Answer:
Consult your vet to make sure prolonged nursing is not going to cause any problems. I would also suggest getting both of them fixed.
If you keep your dog away from the kitten for a couple of weeks she will stop producing milk. This usually takes place gradually as a litter weans. Ask your vet about this. You may need to do it gradually so that your dog does not become engorged.

Answer:
Placing an other species of animal on a nursing mother to raise is common but it is with an animal that was recently raising young. Not with an animal that was never doing this.

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