kittens trying to nurse

Question
Hi, i adopted two 8 week old kittens and one tries to nurse the other and then he tries to suckle my neck.  how should i handle this?  i tried giving a small bottle but they don't want it and they cry when i move them. we don't have any prior history on these kittens.
thank you for any information. jessica

Answer
Hi Jessica, This is a sign that these kittens have not had enough suckling off their mom. Since you don't know their history we won't know why that is?! Perhaps they were separated too early or mom was killed when they were young or ??
The best way to handle this is with the bottle as you have been trying to do. Try it again and you can put some corn syrup or sugar in the mixture to make it more appealing for the kittens. Are they eating and drinking ok? Sometimes they are trying to nurse because they are thirsty and don't know how to lap very well yet. The bottle will not be like 'mom' so they will resist it but keep persevering with them. Try separating them to give them the bottle so they don't see the other kitten as a better option. You can even put a little chicken with broth baby food into the milk. Just try anything and every time you see them trying to nurse off each other offer the bottle.
Good luck ! This is a hard habit to break but you really need to try.
Teresa