A survey-based assessment of risk factors for cross-sucking behaviors in neonatal kittens, Felis catus

•Cross-sucking is commonly observed in neonatal animals who are prematurely weaned.•Being orphaned, male, and younger increase the risk of cross-sucking in kittens.•Caretakers report challenges in managing cross-sucking behavior in kittens. Cross-sucking, or non-nutritive sucking on the bodies of li...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied animal behaviour science 2020-09, Vol.230, p.105069, Article 105069
Main Authors: Delgado, Mikel M., Walcher, Isabelle, Buffington, C.A.Tony
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Domestic cats
Maternal separation
Neonatal development
Stereotypies
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Summary:•Cross-sucking is commonly observed in neonatal animals who are prematurely weaned.•Being orphaned, male, and younger increase the risk of cross-sucking in kittens.•Caretakers report challenges in managing cross-sucking behavior in kittens. Cross-sucking, or non-nutritive sucking on the bodies of littermates, is commonly observed in early-weaned animals. This behavior has been well-documented in production animals, which are often separated from their mothers before weaning. The behavior is less well-understood in other domestic species, such as cats (Felis catus), that can be orphaned due to neglect, maternal death, or accidental separation. Anecdotally, cross-sucking can cause injuries in kittens, sometimes severe enough to warrant euthanasia. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed study of this behavior in domestic cats. We conducted a survey of caretakers (N = 407) of kittens (< 60 days old) with the goal of identifying characteristics of individual kittens, litters, the environment, and husbandry that might be associated with the presence of cross-sucking. The final data set, representing 1358 kittens, was comprised of 301 litters experiencing sucking and 106 litters not experiencing sucking behaviors. Almost all of the kittens represented in the survey (91 %) were orphaned. Results suggested that being orphaned (X2(1) = 42.64, p 
ISSN:0168-1591
1872-9045
DOI:10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105069