Need advice from others Mom cats and old kittens

captiva

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I guess I should say "older" kittens. I'm sure this is just a personality thing, but thought I'd post anyway. Mama cat about 2-3 yrs old and Megan about 7 mos old now are starting to really fight now. For what ever reason Mama is taking the submissive stance and Megan will tower over her, and attack her neck. Mama starts crying and I have to pull them apart. Mama seems to be growling at her when she comes around, but then at other times, I catch her giving her a bath. Megan follows her Mom around the house most of the time. So for the rest of you who have a Mama and kept a kitten or two, is this just a phase you think????
 

zoe'n'misskitty

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I have had a few mom cats who, after their kittens were grown, wanted nothing to do with them. They always seemed to be more hateful towards the female kittens than the male kittens, but they didn't much like their own babies after they were grown up.
 

fwan

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i cant help you as i havent been in that situation
But i used to have a cat who fought with another female cat, and Dotty used to make cutey away. So cutey ended up finidng and another home but came back every so often. Usually afterschool she would sit there and meow at me so i would go and pick her up and take her inside so dotty wouldnt attack her.
They werent related though.
 

kathryn41

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Mollie was a stray cat, cautious around people but used to me. She had her kittens wild and I knew when she had given birth but thought the kittens hadn't made it since she still hung around just as much. 9 weeks later she showed up on my doorstep with three kittens. She was an excellent mother, taught them their 'cat' skills and was always on guard. She brought them to me at the time she couldn't feed them anymore on their own and knew I was a good source:-). It took about a month before I could get the three kittens indoors - Mollie wasn't a problem - and get them safely ensconced in a box in the kitchen. One of the kittens went to a new home when it was about 4 months old, and Mollie continued to nurse and mother the other kittens until they were about 18 to 20 weeks old and then she became very aggressive towards them and wanted nothing to do with them. She was happy staying inside the house but any time one of the kittens came near here she would hiss and growl. I found a new home for Mollie a few weeks later and kept the two kittens. It all seemed a normal part of weaning - she knew they were alright and she had taught them everything they needed to learn from her and it was time for them to be on their own.

Interestingly, my mare did a similar process with her daughter. The filly was a late born fall foal and so we delayed full weaning until 7 months old. By that time Kassan was quite happy to spend time with the herd and away from her daughter. The night we separated them for the first time overnight, Kassan just put her head into her daughter's stall, looked around, then happily walked back into her own stall and that was that!

Nature has a way of taking care of these things, it seems.

Kathryn
 
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captiva

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Thank you for your responses, everyone. Megan stopped nursing quite a long time ago so I'm not certain why the aggression all of the sudden. I think she just plays a little too rough. It's not like Mama doesn't start it either. She will try to get Megan to play and then cry and hiss at her when she starts to wrestle with her. I guess Megan plays like a boy. Since it's disrupting the house (yet) . I guess I will let it run its course and see if it gets any worse.
 

momofmany

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I swear kittens hit their rebellious teenage years about 7-9 months old. Mine have always gotten stubborn and testy about that age.

I've seen feral mom's totally reject their kittens as early as the minute they are weaned and as long as a year old. Depends on the nature of the mom cat. It sounds like the daughter has hit that magic age of rebellion and mom just wants to be left alone. Nows the time to help teach your youngster what behavior is acceptable or not - I think if you leave it alone, it only gets worse. Over time they should rebond - not as mother/daughter but as house companions.

Just my opinion!
 
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captiva

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Amy,

I don't really leave it alone. I break them apart and tell Megan to settle down and try to direct her energies to toys. It's funny - she doesn't do this with the other cats - just Mama.
 
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