cat attacking kittens

my cat had kittens 12 days ago and she has been good with them but now she gets in the box to feed them and she grabs them with her front paws and bites and kicks them with her back paws ,she bites them right over their heads and they cry then she drops that one and grabs another.why is she doing this and what should i do. thank you

are they getting a bit active for her liking? Maverick got upset with her kitten when he got big enough to climb out the box.

check and see what they are doing to her. she also rabbit kicks the baby when he's naughty eg. wont stay still when shes trying to wash him or when he bites her. just to show him whos boss and teach him some respect.

unless shes hurting them, eg drawing blood leave her to it. unless you want a house full of unruly kittens who have never been disciplind!

thank you,that makes sense.it is just a bit scary seeing her bite and attack them like that ,she is real rough,she also sits outside the box and when one moves she pounces on it as if it was a mouse.

yes Maverick did the same! the vet said she was trying to either make sure it stayed in the safety of the box or later when she kept patting it with her paw lure it out.

later when the kitten was a bit older i changed the type of box so the kitten could get out and wander around an area of the room i had fenced in for it.


i'm not a kitten expert of anything, but i did ring my vet or pester gayf every 5 mintures when i was worried about the kitten! so if anyone else has any better advice?

If she actually wanted to hurt them, those kittens would already be dead by now. So just take it that your mamacat is "ruling the roost" and directing traffic according to her maternal instinct. It might seem like rough treatment, but that is just how mamas are with their babies...I've seen it with other pets.

Originally Posted by Nano

If she actually wanted to hurt them, those kittens would already be dead by now. So just take it that your mamacat is "ruling the roost" and directing traffic according to her maternal instinct. It might seem like rough treatment, but that is just how mamas are with their babies...I've seen it with other pets.

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oh my vets also told me that if the mama cat was going to seriously hurt her kittens she would have more than likely done it within the first two days. shes invested too much in them now to damage them.