One Of My Cats is 'Stealing' The Other's Kittens

maleeksdw

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Hello! I've got a few quick questions for you all. I have two sister cats (Susan and Velma), who both have recently given birth to their own kittens. But one of them keeps trying to take the other's kittens as her own. What I mean is, when Velma leaves her kittens to go eat or have a drink, Susan will try to swoop in and take her kittens back to where her own litter is. Why is she doing this? Is it normal behavior?

Velma had her kittens a week and a half earlier than Susan. Velma had six of them and Susan only had four.

One of Velma's kittens wasn't getting enough milk from her (she was really small compared to her other kittens), so since Susan didn't have as many babies to tend to, we decided to let Susan take that one back with her and nurse it. Was that a bad idea? Should I take it back to Velma?

So, for anyone who doesn't feel like reading all of that, my questions are:

-Why does one cat try to steal the other's kittens?
-Is that normal cat behavior?
-Should you let one cat nurse another's kittens under any circumstances?

Thank you all for your time! :)
 

DreamerRose

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Welcome to the Cat Site! There is a long thread about a situation very similar to yours. Wendy Delmo fostered two mom and daughter mamas that shared 12 kittens between them. Everyone  was fine with the arrangements. I would suggest you put both mamas together in the same box with all the kittens and let them handle it. 

Here is the thread which you might like to read:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/317180/this-poor-cat
 
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maleeksdw

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Okay, thank you so much! :)
 

twckittenmom

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From personal experience with fostering queens. As long as momma cats arnt getting into a fight. Let it be. They will sort it out. I have two sister cats similar situation kittens a few weeks apart. The one with the younger kittens actually kitten(we didn't even know she was pregnant[emoji]128514[/emoji]) started nursing the kittens before birthing her own. Not odd to me I mean I had a ale cat produce milk because his kids kept suckling on him when mom left to eat...anywho once she had her kitten her sister still sleeps by th grooms them but doesn't nurse them. She gave the new mom of one the job to nurse them. Also that one kitten was very big and healthy so no nutrients were being robbed. But if they are fighting I'd separate them in two different rooms with their own litter
 

talkingpeanut

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How many kittens is it per litter?  Are you weighing them every day?  You really need to make sure that all of the kittens are getting enough and no one is lost in the shuffle.

Can you keep both moms inside and 100% away from intact males until the kittens are weaned?
 

Sarthur2

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M maleeksdw

I think giving Velma's smallest kitten to Susan to nurse is an excellent idea. Beyond that, I am not a fan of co-mothering when one litter is older than the other.

You may need to separate the two families until all the kittens are weaned.
 

twckittenmom

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The fear of the younger litter wont be able to adequately fight for there share of nipples is a real concern. Sarthur is right on that I don't have the issue since its only 3 older ones and one newborn whom is huge and muscular now. 3 days old and he makes the runty 6 week female(she's tiny anyways) look barely older than him. But they share and never fight for nipples. But in your case I'd atleast pull half of them off and give them back to other mom when you do see this.
 
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