male wild tame mix kitten

Question
The little guy wants to nurse at night. my ear seems to be his favortie way to go to sleep. does he need a bottle

Answer
Amy,

The answer to the question of whether or not your kitten needs a bottle depends on how old he is. If he is under 6 weeks old you can certainly try using a bottle with kitten formula to satisfy his urge to suckle before bed, however this may be a lifelong issue depending on how old he was when he was taken from his mom. If his self soothing nursing bothers you on your ear you could try re-directing him to a stuffed toy, fuzzy blanket or even offer him a finger tip instead of your ear. This kind of sucking behaviour is very common in kittens who were weaned prior to at least 8-10 weeks (kittens really should stay with mom until they are at least 12 weeks old and mom should determine when they are weaned but you should start providing larger quantities of kitten food from the time that the kittens are around 5 weeks old so that mom can begin teaching them how to eat, however conditions aren't always ideal when kittens are rescued). It's important to be aware that kittens who direct sucking towards people or objects or even other pets may do this for their entire lives (I have a bottle baby who I rescued at a week old and she will be 14 shortly - she still nurses on her tummy fur from time to time)... If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again at any time - I am more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

Ali