Mother ignoring Kitten?

Well I have 3 cats (2 male and one female) and a female kitten. They are semi-wild. They all live outside.

Recently the female cat had a kitten, but only a couple days ago did the kitten show herself. However, yesterday and today the mother cat is ignoring the kitten. Everytime the kitten goes near her, she hisses and strikes out at her. So I don't know if the kitten is able to feed off her seeing as she won't let her near her. The male cats don't like the kitten either.

The mother cat is sick I think, so could that be the reason? Is there anything I can do?

Thanks.

Grab the kitten and take it to a veterinarian before it starves.

Originally Posted by Larke

Grab the kitten and take it to a veterinarian before it starves.

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I am sorry if this sounds snarky but you could have been a little more helpful.

To the OP:

First, How old is the kitten? If it is older, in the 10 to 12 week stage, she might be attempting to wean the kitten.

If they kitten is very small then you will need to get some KMR milk suppliment and see if you can feed the kitten using an eye dropper.

Are the male cats neutered? If not they are going to start fighting with each other and they may attempt to kill the kitten or at the very least drive it away.

The mother cat as well as any others need spayed/neutered ASAP. If the female cat is ill that could very much make her strike out at her baby. She most likely needs to go to a vet.

Post as much information as you can and we can try to give more feedback.

I don't know if this is any help, but my mum's cat rejected her kittens because she got mastitis so was unable to give them milk. It would be worth getting the cat checked out with the vet. We had to hand feed the kittens with a syringe. If the kitten is too young to feed by herself you need to do something about it immediately. However as the above poster said, if the kitty is old enough to feed independently then it is time to get those adult cats spayed/neutered!

Well I have no idea how old the kitten is, but I do know that when I put milk and food out, it started to eat and drink. It has to compete with the other cats though.

While eating the mother cat doesn't lash out so maybe you're right. I kinda feel sorry for the little guy. Seems alone in the world.

The male cats are not neutered. I was planning on having them neutered, along with the female cat, had the vouchers and all, but then we saw that the female was pregnant, so it was put on hold.

Surprisingly, the little kitten isn't at all shy, which surprised me seeing as it's an outdoor cat that has never seem a human before!

Also, should I be worried that the kitten and mother like to spend their time in among stacks of hay? It's quite old hay, as in over 20 years old, and I hear that continued exposure to hay can cause lung problems.

If the kitten is eating and drinking on its own then I would say that the kitten is old enough and the mother is trying to wean her.

The older the kitten gets without being spayed or the others being spayed/neutered the more cranky towards each other they will become.

I really don't know anything about hay. If the hay is that old then I doubt it is going to harm them unless it is damp or moldy.

Since you have the vouchers I would get them all spayed and neutered ASAP. That mother cat can become pregnant again very fast if she is not already.