Mother killing kittens

My friends cat is a first time mother. She had her kittens a month tomarrow. In the last two days she has killed two of her kittens. She has four kittens left. My friend is really worried. What should she do? Why is the mother cat doing this?

First time, young or inexperienced queens will sometimes destroy babies if and when they are sick or in any other way Momcat determines they are a threat to the rest of the litter or she is overwhelmed. It is her way of allowing the strongest and fittest of the litter to survive. It is instinctual and while not horribly common, it does happen.

Separate the mom and babies and begin bottling the babies immediately. Get everyone to the vet for an assessment and spay this girl as soon as is possible.

~gf~

www.kitten-rescue.com will help you with bottle feeding. Just be prepared for the possibility that all the litter is sickly. But what you have to do is the very best you can and hope for the best.

I know it sounds cruel and inhuman to some, but in nature, this is the way the litters survive. The weakest are killed off or left for a sacrifice to a predator in the hopes that the rest of the kittens will survive. It doesn't matter if the cat and kittens are indoors, instinct drives her, and so it is either as Gaye said a young inexperienced mom, or the kittens are sick and would possibly die anyway.

Make sure you keep the kittens warm and fed and good luck!

She is no longer wanting to feed her other four kittens. I told my friend to bottle feed them and take all of them, mother and children, to the vet. She is very worried and beginning to hate the mother.

Oh dear ... this isn't good.

Your friend will, of course, need to bottle feed the babies and of course, separate them from the mother as has already been stated.

But your comment about her beginning to hate the mom cat concerns me. It isn't this cat's fault ... she is only doing what instinct tells her to do. Tell your friend (kindly of course) that if she wants to be upset with someone, then be upset with herself for putting this girl through this by not spaying her when she should have. I know that sounds harsh, but sometimes, the truth hurts.

This breaks my heart.

Gaye is right (as she so many times is!) This cat does not deserve to be hated, because she can't understand what is expected of her with these kittens. IF the kittens are sick, the mom will shun all of them. She will also try to dispose of them in every conceivable way because she knows they will not survive. Your friends sounds to me like she is angry that this cat has inconvienenced her and now she has to care for kittens, do bottle feedings every two hours, stimulate bums and make sure the kittens are cared for- when all she wanted was the joy of having kittens with an attentive momcat, and it didn't work out that way.

Well you know what? Sometimes, this "joy" of wanting kittens backfires. The momcat dies, the kittens die, the owner gets frazzled, vet bills pile up, and things can and do go wrong. Your friend should have spayed her cat. If she is going to be mad at the cat for a situation that SHE the owner created, then she should own goldfish. I hope her anger does not translate over to her losing her temper and hurting the momcat.

Please remind her not to give human meaning to cat behavior. Maybe something in the home upset the poor kitty.

I have outside tomcats who were fighting, and started to feel hate towards the wild feral who kept fighting with my beloved Will. But after I thought about it, I realized how foolish it was for me to be angry at young hormonal animals for doing what comes natural to them. I gave a name to the feral (Tommy), and got some cages so I can trap him to take with me to my next TNR clinic. And Will is to go be neutered.

It really is unreasonable for us as humans to hate the animals around us for reasons they cannot understand. I hope she gets the Momma to the vet to be spayed, and that the rest of the kittens live. Best of luck to you and your friend.