New birth and older kittens behaviour

Hi, we have 2 six month old female kittens living with us, along with their mum. Today mum has given birth to 4 new kittens. The kittens are safe in a cupboard upstairs and mum is keeping a close eye on them. However mum is now acting strangely towards the older kittens and it looks as though she is attempting to grab them by the scruff of the neck, (she has not bothered with the older kittens since they were about 10 weeks old) we are concerned that mum cat is confused and thinks that the two older kittens should belong in the cupboard with the new litter. Have had a look on the Internet but struggling to find anything in this topic. Any help or advise will be most welcome. Thanks

jo85 said:

Hi, we have 2 six month old female kittens living with us, along with their mum. Today mum has given birth to 4 new kittens. The kittens are safe in a cupboard upstairs and mum is keeping a close eye on them. However mum is now acting strangely towards the older kittens and it looks as though she is attempting to grab them by the scruff of the neck, (she has not bothered with the older kittens since they were about 10 weeks old) we are concerned that mum cat is confused and thinks that the two older kittens should belong in the cupboard with the new litter. Have had a look on the Internet but struggling to find anything in this topic. Any help or advise will be most welcome. Thanks

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There are several explanations possible, and it depends on the exact situation, and ist exact continuation.

My guess is, she does a dominating trick, to be sure they behave, and if necessary, they obey her at once.  Because she is now extra careful with her newborn.  What earlier was a slight nuisance, now may become a potential threat.   And she wants to minimize the risks and troubles.

The second guess is, she may want them / or allow them, to be her junior assistants.   And it may be why she wants them in her nest.

So, if she after grabbing them in the neck, let them go, and returns alone to the nest, its a preventive dominace thing.

If she carriers them with her to the nest, she probably wants them as junior assistans.

OR possibly, remembers they are after all kittens, and thinks they are her kittens too.  But it is my very third hypothesis.

Good luck!

ps.  IF you notice mom feels stressed by them, dont let them near the nest.

BUT if you notice mom wants them near, and they are friendly with the kittens, let them be there yes.

Hi and welcome to the site

Yes this can happen. It's her hormones that bond her with her kittens kicking in. They are really strong in the first few days after giving birth. This is why you hear stories of new mom cats adopting other orphaned animals and bringing them up.

I remember reading a story on here about a cat that had just given birth, and she adopted some baby ducks and brought them up along side her own kittens.

I think once the hormones settle down in a few days time, this should pass and she should stop trying to mother her older kittens.

Thank you for your kind help. We will keep a close eye on the situation over the next few days