spayed virgin female cat nursing?

Question
Right now I have 5 cats staying with me for christmas, 2 are mine, 3 are my brother's who is home for christmas(they do no usually live with us) my question is this, his female cat(who just turned one year old december 9th) i have noticed is allowing my young male kitten(approx 12 weeks old) to nurse from her and he seems to be getting milk even though she was spayed about a month ago and has never had a litter. Is this possible? He suckles at her for a while as she lickes him(normal behavoir for mothers and kittens) and does indeed come away with a wet mouth, I also saw the area around the nipple was wet. I'm not sure if this is actually what is happening though, any thoughts? does this happen sometimes? Do I need to discourage this? The female cat will only be here for a couple weeks at most anyway, I really appreciate your advice, thanks <3 Katie

Answer
A spayed cat lactating a little is something I have heard of and is generally not harmful. And the kitten is juts doing what comes naturally and is normal; he's not nursing for food really but more for comfort. It is rarely possible for spayed cats to have a "false pregnancy", during which time the cat may begin lactating, may even have a fat belly.  Generally it will stop around the time the cat would've delivered were she really pregnant. Stimulation of the kitten suckling could bring on light lacatation and as long as it remains light its probably nothing to worry over.

But if she's lactating heavily or without stimulation (milk shouldn't be just dripping out), then definitely see your vet.  She may have a hormonal imbalance that should be treated. If her teats are swollen or lumpy at all, see our vet.  This can indicate abnormal cells which might lead to cancer. And if the discharge from the nipples become thick or discolored, it may be mastitis, which requires antibiotics to treat.