mama hates her kitten help!!!

We had three cats. One was Ebony, a black male cat who was 5 years old and neutered. Mainly an outside cat and dominant one in his territory. Then we brought home our Siamese cat Sheba as a kitten and Ebony adjusted to her. We didn't get Sheba spayed in time and she eventually had two litters of kittens. Ebony met up with a coyote about 6 weeks ago, and well no more Ebony. Sheba is 2 years old and her kitten that we kept from her last litter is now 6 months old. Her name is Kiara. They are both spayed now. Sheba and Kiara have been the best of friends until I went on vacation for three weeks. I had been away from Sheba before but this was the first time I had been away from Kiara for such an extended period of time. When I left I guess Sheba went into PMS mode. She hisses and growls at Kiara and is getting more aggressive starting to try and attack her. Kiara just ignores Sheba but does back off. Kiara totally bonded with my husband during my absence and still liked me when I came back home. Sheba is not aggressive towards me or my husband at all. She is still my sweet, cuddly kitty, but when she sees Kiara she wants down and wants to get after Kiara. My husband thinks with the loss of Ebony that Sheba is trying to take over the role as dominant cat and trying to keep Kiara in her place. The cats are basically outside all day. When they are in at night Kiara will sleep on the bed with us... yeah where Sheba used to sleep. Now Sheba will just sleep in her cat bed out in the living room. If Sheba comes into the bedroom at all it is just to get after Kiara. What's happened between my girls? I don't want Sheba to drive Kiara away, I love them both so much! Will they ever be friends again?

It probably is a dominance issue. I would try to keep them seperated for awhile. Unfortunately there are some cats that just do not ever get along.

IMO if the cats are roaming outside in the day, there could be something they or one encountered that has affected their relationship. Sometimes mom cats don't want their offspring around after a certain period of time. And females tend to be more territorial then males, so that might be a reason.

Sudden changes in behavior might indicate something internally wrong. When was the last time mom had a complete physical including bloodwork? Are they vaccinated against rabies?

I'd start supervising their outside time - either teach them to accept a leash/harness or build a sturdy cat enclosure for them to sit out there. A cat enclosure would be better if you have coyotes in the area!

Thanks for your help everyone. Sheba is still acting the same way, and even getting a little aggressive towards me at times, but I still love her. Kiara has adapted well. She bonded well with both of us and is bringing us presents on the steps... grasshoppers and birds, yummy! Sheba stays away more and just comes around a couple times a day for food. She'll only let me cuddle her briefly. Now a neighborhood cat is coming around and Sheba seems to be the fighter and Kiara is the hunter. I just be nice to them both and love them both. Hopefully Sheba will mellow out in time, but if she doesn't well I'll just give her as much loving as she'll let me and continue to be nice to her. If they are both in at night, they are fine as long as they stay away from each other. They each have their own beds on opposite ends of the house.

Originally Posted by lkats

We didn't get Sheba spayed in time and she eventually had two litters of kittens. Ebony met up with a coyote about 6 weeks ago, and well no more Ebony. .. The cats are basically outside all day.

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