one of my cats is trying to kidnap other cat's kittens!

I have two queen cats the younger of the two just had kittens 2 weeks ago, this morning when visiting the cat with the kittens...I found our other cat(no kittens) in the box/condo with them all they seemed fairly content licking each other and care for one another kittens included. The problem is that it is crowded and hard for the mother cat to nurse, and we try to keep the (other) not the mother cat out of box, but this evening we heard kitten cries and upon investigating the other cat that isn't the mother to the kittens was taking one of the babies away to another room, we quickly took the baby away from her and put it with the right mom and litter, we now have the mama cat with her kittens locked in a 2nd bathroom so that they can have peace and safety. My question is why would our other cat act like this or even try to take a kitten that doesn't even belong to her, the original mother cat did seem abit stressed when that happened? ANY IDEAS OR INFORMATION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Pepperjack

Now, to isolate mother cat with her kittens for time being is surely wise, you did right here. But other female cats trying act like fostermother is not at all unusual - it isnt sickly in any way. If all being well the two females (or sometimes even a male - usually neutered but occasionally even whole male) do cooperate and do foster together. And all is swell.

The troublesome is when the second female takes the kittens away...

I have a group of feral cats in my yard and 3 momma cats between them had 18 kittens. It was not unusual for one momma to watch all of them while the others slept or ate or whatever. I saw the babies nursing wrong momma cats all the time. Also the daddy cat checked on the litter frequently. I would look out and there would be this ball of 18 kittens curled up together. I had never seen anything like it. It also scared me when daddy cat (gray boy) would make his rounds several times a day. I guess it's great they trust each other. I am in the process of getting them spayed and neutered. Please pray all goes well. I am nervous. Good luck on your babes

Originally Posted by pepperjack

I have two queen cats the younger of the two just had kittens 2 weeks ago, this morning when visiting the cat with the kittens...I found our other cat(no kittens) in the box/condo with them all they seemed fairly content licking each other and care for one another kittens included. The problem is that it is crowded and hard for the mother cat to nurse, and we try to keep the (other) not the mother cat out of box, but this evening we heard kitten cries and upon investigating the other cat that isn't the mother to the kittens was taking one of the babies away to another room, we quickly took the baby away from her and put it with the right mom and litter, we now have the mama cat with her kittens locked in a 2nd bathroom so that they can have peace and safety. My question is why would our other cat act like this or even try to take a kitten that doesn't even belong to her, the original mother cat did seem abit stressed when that happened? ANY IDEAS OR INFORMATION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Pepperjack

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Pepperjack...welcome.....are these pedigreed cats that you are trying to breed for a breeding program?? If so, it may also be a good idea to pose this question in the breeder's section to find out how they keep their queens seperated.

Katie

When I was little, we had 2 queens that had their litters the same day. One on my brother's bed and the other on my other brother's bed. There were 11 kittens in all. Both mama cats decided to put their kittens in a group. You didn't know which kitten was born to which mama. They didn't have leash laws then, and dogs roamed the neighborhood. Pitty the poor dog that came in OUR yard. BOTH mama cats would attack the dog. There was one dog that was actually trying to climb a tree to get away from those mamacats. It was soooo funny!! That dog never came into our yard again.

The only dogs that the mamacats would tolerate were our dogs and my neighbor's dogs. They were all friends.

Originally Posted by TNR1

Pepperjack...welcome.....are these pedigreed cats that you are trying to breed for a breeding program?? If so, it may also be a good idea to pose this question in the breeder's section to find out how they keep their queens seperated.

Katie

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Hi the queen that had the kittens is manx she had 3 kittens two manx and one w/ tail regardless they are cute the sad thing is the runt of the litter had spinabifida and had to be put down at 1 week of age. The female cat that isn't the mother is just an ordinary cat who has never been bred and probably will never be bred they are both indoor animals(with the exception of the manx getting out for 3 days) I feel bad for allowing it to happen in the first place and we are planning on getting them both spayed, I wonder if I take the one with no kittens now to be fixed would that help her cope and realize that she is not the mama!?

Originally Posted by pepperjack

Hi the queen that had the kittens is manx she had 3 kittens two manx and one w/ tail regardless they are cute the sad thing is the runt of the litter had spinabifida and had to be put down at 1 week of age. The female cat that isn't the mother is just an ordinary cat who has never been bred and probably will never be bred they are both indoor animals(with the exception of the manx getting out for 3 days) I feel bad for allowing it to happen in the first place and we are planning on getting them both spayed, I wonder if I take the one with no kittens now to be fixed would that help her cope and realize that she is not the mama!?

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I think that would help to have her spayed now given that these are not her kittens. It would definately help her cope and it would be healthier for her.

This is what I found for low cost clinics in Canada:

http://www.felinerescue.net/speuter/...ces.htm#Canada

http://www.spca.bc.ca/media/PrinceGe...2005_Press.asp

You can also contact your local humane society regarding a low cost clinic.

BTW...I'm truly sorry about the little one.

Katie

Hi everyone ....well since seperating the mama and her babes for a week or more things have gone well...the cat that is "NOT the mama" has on occasion gotten into the box with the mama and her babes and when we tried to separate her from them, the mama cat would bite her and try to hold her in the nest with her and her babes(it seemed wierd....as first), we watched them for awhile and acually the non birth mother cat was attentive to everyone a very clean cat she accually cleaned the kittens better than the mama would. There was no nipple confusion either the babies knew exactly who to go to for nursing. Well last nite we finally let them just be all together for a night,,,,in the moring upon checking up to see how things were going,,,,no one was there any more,,,they had moved to a different room,(the kids room, my two little girls7yrs-9yrs share a room). When I walked in there, it was cats and kittens everywhere, both adult cats where laying around just watching the babes play and sleep. When the mother want to feed she takes them under one of the beds and goes to town!!! The "other" cat she just goes and relaxes somewhere or she will lay somewhere close by.

So,,,so far we are more relaxed and enjoy our little animal kingdom

I think the "not the mama" is enjoying being the auntie for now.

In feral colonies, it is not at all unusual for females to share kitten care - even spayed females will clean the babies. And Toms will stand on guard to prevent other Toms mind you. It sounds like these 2 have managed their roles.

My YY's mom and her aunt both cared for her too. I think it really makes for well bonded, very secure kittens. Add socialization to people to the mix and that's wonderful!

I know this is an old thread but in case anyone has this same question I will speak from experience with some stray mothers I took in. They all 3 shared their kittens amongst each other and helped each other nurse them. They all were motherly towards them even if they were not their own. One of the mothers had her kittens first and were adopted out quickly and she became even more benevolent in the care of the sisters younger kittens nearly taking on more responsibility than the mother herself. So I believe personally of the 2 cats are close amongst each other it is even a greater possibility they will care for the babies as their own and help especially if they are pregnant , already birthed kittens or even if she is not spayed yet. I think it is a maternal instinct they have and some females are more apt to do so. If she is able and in the condition to nurse I would just let it be. It's lets stress on the actual mother and even allows her some time to take a break. I have a feeling in feral colonies they are prone to do this.

I have a mama cat that had 2 kittens 2 years ago and we kept both well mama got out and got pregnant and had a litter of 4 unfortunately 1 died the other 3 survived the first 2 days it was just mama and kittens then I noticed the female from her previous litter laying with mama and helping her care for kittens until today she kidnapped a kitten and took it into a cubby hole and was hiding it from us I removed the kitten gave it back to mama what do I need to do to keep sister from stealing babies

courtneyharris4 said:

I have a mama cat that had 2 kittens 2 years ago and we kept both well mama got out and got pregnant and had a litter of 4 unfortunately 1 died the other 3 survived the first 2 days it was just mama and kittens then I noticed the female from her previous litter laying with mama and helping her care for kittens until today she kidnapped a kitten and took it into a cubby hole and was hiding it from us I removed the kitten gave it back to mama what do I need to do to keep sister from stealing babies

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You need to keep the kittens away from your other cats.

Are any of your cats spayed and neutered? Do you need help finding a low cost spay and neuter clinic in your area?

Thanks for replying all my males are neutered I have searched girlie cost spay for my females in my area I live in big spring TX and have had no luck thus far locating the help for spay unfortunately sassy and artemesia were way more costly to get fixed so I did my males each one at 3 months old I try to keep my girls in and mama cat got out twice so they are next when I can afford it

Spaying is a much lower cost than raising kittens, ultimately. It is worth saving up for!

I will also look up some rescues and clinics in your area.

Yes I do know that for sure I made appointment for 1 female already to be down tomorrow and the mama cat will get one as soon as the kittens wean I already have homes lined up for the kittens

courtneyharris4 said:

Yes I do know that for sure I made appointment for 1 female already to be down tomorrow and the mama cat will get one as soon as the kittens wean I already have homes lined up for the kittens

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How many females do you have to spay? How much is the clinic you’ve found charging? Would they consider a discount?

I have only the two females it's 135 each one and that's the discount since we have 5 cats we did boys first all at the same time so now my girls are next we are a single income family so we have to budget for it but it will be done