Mother "Ragdoll" growling at babies!

slave2_ragdolls

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I just get 3 Ragdolls this week........one mother and her "2" 13 week old sons. The kittens are still trying to nurse on here and she will let them a few times per day. Sometimes she growls at one of the kittens that follows her around the house trying to nurse on her
Is this normal? Or.....is the mother just trying to teach the babies that they are old enough now and to stop it? Would the mother still have milk this long?
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by Slave2_Ragdolls

I just get 3 Ragdolls this week........one mother and her "2" 13 week old sons. The kittens are still trying to nurse on here and she will let them a few times per day. Sometimes she growls at one of the kittens that follows her around the house trying to nurse on her
Is this normal? Or.....is the mother just trying to teach the babies that they are old enough now and to stop it? Would the mother still have milk this long?
They can certainly still nurse...but I'm sure that mom is quite done with providing them with feedings. Were you planning to breed the mom again or are you planning to spay her?

Katie
 

catsallover

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That is a good question- if she isn't spayed, be ready- she may be coming into heat again; that's when my momma cat weaned her foster kitten, on her second "true heat'' (she had a lot of false heats
). But I think that age is about normal for her to wean them- someone with more experience than I will be able to tell you about that, though
.
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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Originally Posted by TNR1

They can certainly still nurse...but I'm sure that mom is quite done with providing them with feedings. Were you planning to breed the mom again or are you planning to spay her?

Katie
She was spayed 30 days ago
 

pami

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I have a spayed Mother cat, who still nursed after she was spayed, up to when her babies were a year old. They are 4 now and one of them still wants to nurse and she will let him maybe once a month, but when he wants to and she doesnt she growls her head off at him.
 

familytimerags

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If she is growling when they try to nurse, and not just random growling, you may want to check her teats, and make sure they are not hot or hard, check each one. It is probably just her in a new enviroment, and weaning her kittens. It seems Ragdolls will nurse forever if one would allow it.
The kittens may have also been weaned prior to being brought into your home, and the kittens are trying to comfort nurse, and Momma Raggie knows that they are weaned.
Just a couple of thoughts. Congrats on your Ragdoll pride!! I saw your pictures, and they are all beautiful! Your other Raggies, and the 3 new Raggies all.
I hope things calm down and peace is found amongst the fur family. Keep us updated.
 

poohandwendy

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I think it is totally normal. I have a mother cat and 4 of her 'children' (who are now over 1 yr old).

In my experience, you are witnessing the natural weaning process. My mother cat allowed nursing up until around 4 months and then gradually would not allow it...and that came in the manner of growling and sometimes swatting them away. It just depended on her mood and I am sure mother cats vary in willingness to continue nursing (for comfort). They were quite persistent at times and she was often seen running away from them as they tried to nurse, LOL.

Interestingly, to me at least, I observed that this was followed by a period of a few months where she would not sleep with them at all and only groomed them occasionally and on her own terms. And if they tried to nurse, she would back away again. Then, a few months later, she started becoming more affectionate again with the two female kittens and was more willing to sleep with them and be affectionate with them. During this process though, she never really lost her protective instinct and would intervene whenever her babies roughhousing went too far (in her opinion, I guess). Or if she perceived a threat from our other cat. It was interesting that she seemed to steer clear of the 2 male kittens and even now will interact affectionately more with the girls than the boys. (she is still protective of all of them, but lets them fight their own battles for the most part)

My theory is that she sensed the boys could present a threat as they matured. (or maybe she was instinctively avoiding a scenario where mating would be encouraged- even though they were neutered and she was spayed)

At this point, she will only occasionally groom one of the boys as he is more eager for her affection. He has learned to approach her by walking by rubbing up against her and then turning around and lowering his head in front of her, and if she is in the mood...she will groom his face and he will lie down with his belly up loving every bit of it, LOL.

The other boy is more independent although he is somewhat protective of her and his siblings. (in regards to interactions with our other non-related cat)

LOL, sorry to go off on a tangent there...it just fascinates me, the inner workings of their relationships. Mainly because this is my first experience with cats who have been raised by their mother to adulthood.

Obviously, these are only my observations of my cats, I am sure the relationships vary widely amongst other feline families.

More to the point, unless you are seeing real aggressiveness (intent to hurt, not warn) with the mother towards the kittens, I wouldn't worry about it. And her milk will gradually diminish as she weans them.

Good luck with your new additions!
 

poohandwendy

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Originally Posted by FamilytimeRags

If she is growling when they try to nurse, and not just random growling, you may want to check her teats, and make sure they are not hot or hard, check each one.
That is a very good point too.
 

pami

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Originally Posted by poohandwendy

During this process though, she never really lost her protective instinct and would intervene whenever her babies roughhousing went too far (in her opinion, I guess). Or if she perceived a threat from our other cat. It was interesting that she seemed to steer clear of the 2 male kittens and even now will interact affectionately more with the girls than the boys. (she is still protective of all of them, but lets them fight their own battles for the most part)

At this point, she will only occasionally groom one of the boys as he is more eager for her affection. He has learned to approach her by walking by rubbing up against her and then turning around and lowering his head in front of her, and if she is in the mood...she will groom his face and he will lie down with his belly up loving every bit of it, LOL.

The other boy is more independent although he is somewhat protective of her and his siblings. (in regards to interactions with our other non-related cat)
Thats very interesting. You have a very similar cat family as me. I have mother with 4 of her babies, too. 3 boys and 1 girl. She is affectionate with them all and they all lower their heads to her when they approach her, but she lays mostly with her daughter. But sometimes shes not in the mood for affection. But they totally submit to her. One of my boys is also more independent and extremely protective of her and his siblings.

Sorry for the thread hijack!
 

poohandwendy

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Originally Posted by Pami

Thats very interesting. You have a very similar cat family as me. I have mother with 4 of her babies, too. 3 boys and 1 girl. She is affectionate with them all and they all lower their heads to her when they approach her, but she lays mostly with her daughter. But sometimes shes not in the mood for affection. But they totally submit to her. One of my boys is also more independent and extremely protective of her and his siblings.

Sorry for the thread hijack!
That is interesting! How old are the kittens?
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by Slave2_Ragdolls

She was spayed 30 days ago
Well first...CONGRATS on getting mom spayed. If she was recently spayed...then it is probably a good idea to check to make sure her teats are still ok...but I do believe that it is very normal for mom to want to wean her children off dependence on her.

Katie
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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Originally Posted by TNR1

Well first...CONGRATS on getting mom spayed. If she was recently spayed...then it is probably a good idea to check to make sure her teats are still ok...but I do believe that it is very normal for mom to want to wean her children off dependence on her.

Katie
She came spayed from the breeder
I got her in a buy 2 get one free sale
I got both boys for $800 and got the mother for free
The growling is kinda random.......but the one boy will be trying to nurse on her while she is walking around......I think maybe she is telling him in her way to get lost
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by Slave2_Ragdolls

She came spayed from the breeder
I got her in a buy 2 get one free sale
I got both boys for $800 and got the mother for free
The growling is kinda random.......but the one boy will be trying to nurse on her while she is walking around......I think maybe she is telling him in her way to get lost
Well...good of the breeder to have her spayed.

Katie
 
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