Momma and son cat cant get along

Hi,

My cat Boo had kittens last year on june 24th. We decided to keep one of the little boy kittens as he was such a sweetie. Well it has just been a nightmare ever since the others left at about 12 weeks old. They really dont get along. Gizzy ( little boy cat) isnt too bothered by mum at all. He just stays out of her way mostly but its boo we are having problems with. She wont tolerate him at all. Everytime he tries to walk past her or go anywhere near her she growles and hisses at him. She is also much more twitchy than she used to be and if im stroking her and gizzy comes near she will nip at me too.

The problem i have now is Boo is expecting another litter in 2 weeks time. I know i should have had her fixed by now but she is a inside cat and as Gizzy likes going out i thought it best to get him done first.

I really cant see how i can keep both these cats in the same house but really dont want to have to let gizzy go.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks, Emma x

Boo is reacting this way because she is pregnant. Females who are expecting become extremely protective of their litter. I would advise strongly that you keep her son away from her until the babies are old enough to be given away. I've seen this before. She will more than likely attack him while she is trying to nurse her babies. It will get ugly. If Boo had a female daughter from the litter before she would have more than likely been ok. Usually the female mothers will insitute an older female to act as a babysitter. That is typical in the wild. So because she smells males, she will instinctly protect herself and her babies by attacking. Hope this helps. But please, for your state of mind and everyone elses, and hers especially, get her fixed. It is also very painful for the females when they are in heat. Very painful. Hope that helps.

thanks for that. I have the money ready now to get her done as soon as she is ready.

The problems with Gizzy have been going on since about october november time though so although i understand that things may get worse because of her expecting i really dont understand why she suddenly didnt like him anymore. Was it just because he was a growing male and he was in "her" house??

yes, pretty much it probably was. even if the male wan't trying to be the dominate one, the female sees it that way and wants to ward off the male. at times like those it is unlikely that she will see him as her son, just as another guy cat. and yes, it is worse because she is pregnant. i agree wiht catsitterbea.

Part of why she's nasty to him is because it's her job to drive off her kittens. This is an instinct that prevents mothers from breeding with sons. It's a good thing on it's own but naturally it's going to create some problems in your house. You're not going to change her instinct. Keep them separated until you get her fixed and the kittens gone. Give her some time then try it again. Chances are they'll sort it out once she's fixed.

Ok if she's an inside cat, how did she get pregnant? By her son? Is he altered and when?

For starts, mom should be scheduled for a spay as soon as your vet will do it after she has this next litter - there should be no more excuses as to why she's having another litter. BTW how OLD is she?

Second, mom cats want ALL of their offspring to be gone. Sometimes its ok if everyone is spayed/neutered; sometimes they just don't get along. The male should be neutered and kept as an inside cat from now on.

I suspect she may also be reacting cause he goes outside and brings in strange smells and she doesn't like that. I hope you will be more responsible this time around.

She is not pregnant by her son. He was fixed at 6 months. Like I said i only had the money to get 1 done at that time. She is an indoor cat but got out one night when i was sick and hubby was left in charge. She is 2 years old.
I have seen the vet who said she is in good health and there should be no problems. She is provisionally booked in for when the kittens are 8 weeks. I just have to ring and confirm once she has had them.

As gizzy is fixed and he likes to go outdoors i wont be keeping him in full time. We live in a quiet area in the uk and its commonly accepted that cats be allowed out.

Im not making excuses as to why she is having another litter. Even with the best intentions real life sometimes gets in the way. I have had a lot go on in the last few months and the cats had to take a back seat for a while. I have made a mistake and as soon as i can put this right i will.

Many thanks for all your advice

My cat Momita, although she is not pregnant, she's fixed, makes it known to her 3 sons (I kept 3 of her 5 kittens) that she wants nothing to do with them. I agree with CatSitterBea about her being protective of her upcoming litter.

Ok I accept the outside part - and accidents do happen - we'll blame hubby for not watching her better

But she may be reacting cause he DOES go outside and is bringing in strange smells and she doesn't like it.

thanks for the advice,

I have been putting boo in my bedroom when i have to go oout and when she looks like she is getting fed up with gizzy about and its helped a little. I want her to get used to being in there more anyway as she is close to having the kittens and its a quiet room away from the kids.

Things seemed to have calmed a little.

Thanks Again, Emma x x

Originally Posted by CatSitterBea

Boo is reacting this way because she is pregnant. Females who are expecting become extremely protective of their litter. I would advise strongly that you keep her son away from her until the babies are old enough to be given away. I've seen this before. She will more than likely attack him while she is trying to nurse her babies. It will get ugly. If Boo had a female daughter from the litter before she would have more than likely been ok. Usually the female mothers will insitute an older female to act as a babysitter. That is typical in the wild. So because she smells males, she will instinctly protect herself and her babies by attacking. Hope this helps. But please, for your state of mind and everyone elses, and hers especially, get her fixed. It is also very painful for the females when they are in heat. Very painful. Hope that helps.

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I'm actually having the same problem but the other way around. My first cat Missy is pregnant with her second litter and is having a hard time getting along with her daughter Cinderella that I kept. Both are indoor/outdoor cats, we have such large property it would be sad to let it go to waste. I like to make sure they have a little bit of adventure in their lives.

Anyway, back to the point. I'm having a hard time with them getting along. If Cinderella so much as walks 5 ft. in her direction Missy starts looking for a fight. It started the minute she got pregnant, they used to be all cuddle's and kisses before we started letting Missy outside. At first I thought that she just had a bad experience with some strays and didn't want anything to do with cats. But then I realized that she was pregnant.

I'm just wondering if this will go away after she gives birth and the litter is gone. Or am I going to have to just deal with them fighting for the rest of my life, lol.

Since she is pregnant again then the attitude towards her son will continue until she has weaned tose kittens and they are gone.

Please keep them completly seperated after she has the kittens.

After she is spayed then her attitude towards Gizzy may change.

My cat Uno can be that way with her kittens that are now ten months old. After she was fixed she seemed to like them better and she even plays tag with them but there are just times they are walking through the room minding their own business and she will hiss and raise the paw of death at them. To the most part they ignore her and continue on their merry way.

You might want to consider keeping one of the kittens from the new litter to give Gizzy a playmate. Maybe if he has someone to play with indoors that will keep him busy and Boo can have more time to herself.