Father Cat

Is it safe to let the father cat by the 3 day old kittens. He keeps mewing to get to them when shut him out of the bedroom. When he is near them he just licks them the mother cat doesnt seem to have any problems with it. Sometimes he just lays down behind the mother I think he misses the mom. Any advice?

Unless you are there the whole time to supervise, I would keep him out of the room. Two things to be concerned about are the father playing too rough with the kittens as they generally don't have the motherly instincts, and the other is that mom can go back into heat at any given moment. You don't want her to get pregnant again.

Let him meet the kittens under supervision, don't leave him alone with them. If you have the cat family under supervision you can also avoid the parents from mating again. Males can be really sweet with their babies or they can be a bit to rough with them.

But I would definately let him see the kittens as soon as possible so that he recognizes the kittens as his own babies. Some males will attack and try to kill kittens they don't know (often kittens with another father).

Well, we have always let our daddy-cat - Hamlet - meet and spend time with his kittens straight away. He's pretty much walked up to their box, sniffed, hissed and walked away. He's not very interested until they're a bit older. And even then, he feels that his main role is to make sure they behave - he doesn't play rough with them, but he's not very gentle either. The mommies have both been fine with this, and has kept a close watch on him.

It helps that all our cats are very close and always together. (By choice). I suppose it'd be up for discussion in any given situation though, and it all depends on your particular individuals.

Good luck!

/Anne in Sweden
S*Hufflepuffs British Shorthairs

I agree with others saying he should be supervised... some males are great, and some kill. They can seem like the sweetest pappa kitty in the world, but even if they are his, males will sometimes kill kittens to bring the mother back into heat just to make sure the next ones are his.

I have been letting the father supervised see the kittens he just licks them when the mom leaves them or lays by the mom. Seems to be no problems thanks for advice.