new mother cat - change in personality

Hi

I have a beautiful cat who gave birth to 6 kittens a week ago! She is quite a young cat herself so I am a bit worried that she has had so many, but so far so good.
One thing that I am a bit worried about though is that she has become much less affectionate and doesn't wanted to be petted and fussed too much, even when she is away form the kittens (actually, she seems to purr more and like it more when she is with her litter, but I wonder if this is because whe doesn't want the kittens to be alarmed with my presence?). Now when I try to pet her as she walks, she crouches away from my hand. I guess it has something to do with her being a new mum, but we used to spend ages cuddling and sharing affection with eachother and now she wants little to do with me. As selfish as it might sound, I miss my old best friend! I wonderered if anyone else had experienced this, and if she might go back to being her old self after a while?

I also wondered if it was noraml for mother cats to spend periods (of up to an hour) away from their kittens - the kittens are a week old. And if its ok to let her go outside - she started wanting to go outside 2 days after the birth, and I have allowed her to but I really don't know if its the right thing to do - especially as I have seen a Tom hanging around - the 2 hung out together alot before and we think that he is the father.

Any advice would be much appreciated - I've spnt ages looking on the internet but all info is about looking after kittens, and not so much mother cats!
Thanks
Marilyn x

I know, my cat Mika has an extreme personality change! She used to be great with other animals! And now, she is a vicious monster with them!! And I am worried.. And don't let her outdoors!! She proably is in heat. Because shortly after birth, they can come into season again, and my girl, Mika did. And she loved going outdoors, and when she got back, she wasn't crying!!! Or being annoying. Of course I love her, but thats the words to describe their heat cycles. And Mika was away probably long enough to mate with another tom. My fault, because I was watching, and had my foot in front of the door! Because I was taking the puppy out. But, don't let her out, and yes, they do tend to purr more when they have kittens. I have heard when they give birth, with their babies, and when they are nursing their babies, they purr. So don't worry about that, its normal. And, she will be with her kittens more than you, I don't want to let you down, but she had babies, she needs to tend to them as much as she can. I hope this helps you! Good luck!! And congrats on the safe delivery!

Please dont let her go outside........She is wanting to mate.

She should be kept strickly indoors untill she can be spayed when the kittens are around 8 weeks old. Cant can become pregnant again within days of delivering their litter.

As for her behaviour I would say that all she thinks about at the min is her kittens. She doesn't have time to stop for a fuss. My cat became much more affectionate during pregnancy but at the min she isn't all that bothered.
I think she will settle again once the kittens have homes and she has been spayed.

As for leaving the kittens im sure its fine. If they were hungry or they needed her you would soon hear about it. They are noisy little monsters when they want something. As long as they are fed and satisfied then she is fine to take a break.

Have you tried weighing the kittens to make sure they are all gasining weight as this can help reassure you all is well.

Hope that helped a little.

Emma x x

My cat Smudge had her kittens 11 days ago and always used to be by my side. it's funny really because when their always there for cuddles you don't really notice it but when their not you miss them. Smudge hasn't had a single cuddle from me since she had her babies and she does the same thing leave the babies for periods of time, infact she tends to go into them to feed them and give a little attention then she sits on the bedroom floor infront of my wardrobe (she had them in the wardrobe).

Smudge has been wanting to go out and i haven't let her. i love the babies to bits but no more thankyou.

Hi and welcome to TCS , you came to the right place , we have loads of experinced members here who are happy to help.

first of please dont allow her access to the outside or near any uneutered Toms, she can/will become pregnant again as quickly as a week after deliverying her kittens , and not only for that reason , something could happen to her then you will have 6 little kittens without a mamma to feed and look after them.

its fine for her to leave the kittens for periods of time , they need their space just like we do. so dont be to alarmed , as long as she goes back to them its fine.

its very normal for her to not want as much attention now that she has her babys.

remember she can be spayed when the kittens have weened about 8 weeks. and the kittens can go to their new homes when there 10-12 weeks old.

btw we love pictures here so when you get the chance we would love to see your fur family.

Originally Posted by Ringclan

Smudge hasn't had a single cuddle from me since she had her babies and she does the same thing leave the babies for periods of time, infact she tends to go into them to feed them and give a little attention then she sits on the bedroom floor infront of my wardrobe (she had them in the wardrobe).

Click to expand...

Try again! Thats better - Pixie did the exact same thing!

Hi,

thanks for the advice, I now feel reassured and don't take it personally anymore. When she is having a break she just likes to lie on the floor, she doesn't want to be fussed, I guess that she just wants peace.For those of you that have experienced having a few litters, did your cats return to their affectionate selves after the kittens were gone?
I have been lettting her out but I will now stop and hope that it isn't too late. It's gonna be torture keeping her in-she likes to roam free, but I guess she will get used to it. Gotta be cruel to be kind!
thanks again, marilyn

Hi there,
I don’t know if you will reply to this as it was posted over 10 years ago but it’s worth a shot... just wondering if your cat ever went back to being loving and affectionate?

I adopted a cat around a month and a half ago not ever realising she was pregnant as the change to her must have already happed before the adoption. She gave birth three days ago and has been distant with me ever since.
She used to always come to what ever room I was in and we would both just enjoy each other’s company, every morning as soon as she would see me she would meow like crazy and run all around out of happiness and rub up against my legs when I gave her food. Now she moves her head away from me when I pet her, she has never been aggressive and Still isn’t, nor Does she mind me petting her kittens. She meowed at me at the start out of distress to hide her kittens perhaps because theplace she gave birth was too out in the open? After setting up a box with blankets etc she stopped meowing or coming to me at all.
I understand that her kittens require all her attention for the moment but I’m a little devastated thinking she may have only been so affectionate because she was pregnant and this may just be her.
If anyone has had a similar experience, do you know if it will pass?