Looking for her kittens?

Hello, I'm brand new here and have a question I'm dying to know an answer to! It might be a common kitty behavior but I wasn't able to find any other threads on it.

My 5 year old calico carries around stuffed animals and cries her little head off. Some of them are as big as her! She'll get 5 or 6 out of our son's room, one by one, and just cry and cry. When we call her name she drops them and comes running to us.

Does she want kittens? Or thinks she has or had kittens? She's been fixed since we first got her, but she came from the SPCA at a little under one year old. Perhaps she had a litter before we adopted her? We're just so baffled as to why she does this. It's really kind of sad to listen to her.

I found kitten audio waves on the computer and played them for her and she went absolutely crazy! She was looking all around the desk to see where they were coming from. Her behavior has us debating about adopting a young kitten (or maybe fostering some in need if the opportunity arises) when spring time comes around. Any ideas?

Thanks!

I've always had at least one cat that loved stuffed toys and would do this.
Currently, that cat is a male.

I do think she would probably enjoy a playmate, most cats do.

You can see if any kittens at a shelter need a surrogate mother. Your cat won't be able to provide the milk but she'll be like a mother in every other aspect. Lots of people with the same behaviour from their cats fostered orphaned kittens and it all worked out.

Welcone to TCS!

My Pepper has never had kittens of her own, but she seems to want to, just like your cat. She has a very strong maternal instinct, and "mothers" Scooter and Fluffy like they were her own. She would have made a wonderful mommy, but we are big believers in spay and neuter.

I don't think she's displaying a wish for kittens. It sounds like it's more that she's played with the stuffed toys and now thinks they're her "kill" and is strutting around letting you know. It's her being proud of herself. Outdoor cats do the same thing when they've actually killed something. It's her struttin' her stuff for you guys...and when you call her name, she's running over to get her congratulations!

You know that's actually a really good observation. I never even thought of it because she's an indoor cat and hasn't ever had the opportunity to really hunt anything, although I'm sure she'd like to haha. She did catch a mouse once out in our garage, but I was so upset that she had badly injured it but not killed it that I didn't even pay attention to her behavior. I guess I also liked the idea of her looking for these phantom kittens because it really is cute. I think she's just a confused kitty overall.

Originally Posted by Meredith910

You know that's actually a really good observation. I never even thought of it because she's an indoor cat and hasn't ever had the opportunity to really hunt anything, although I'm sure she'd like to haha. She did catch a mouse once out in our garage, but I was so upset that she had badly injured it but not killed it that I didn't even pay attention to her behavior. I guess I also liked the idea of her looking for these phantom kittens because it really is cute. I think she's just a confused kitty overall.

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My Sunny has never killed anything, either...but boy does she do her "I killed it" strut! Its more an instinct thing than a previous experience thing.

Originally Posted by maherwoman

My Sunny has never killed anything, either...but boy does she do her "I killed it" strut! Its more an instinct thing than a previous experience thing.

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I love the "I killed it" strut! My boy Tonka gets one of his toys, shakes it around for a while, then walks around with it growling and mumbling. His back is arched, his head is high, he walks with his back legs slightly apart and his front paws almost appear to be marching. It totally cracks me up.

Originally Posted by gayef

I love the "I killed it" strut! My boy Tonka gets one of his toys, shakes it around for a while, then walks around with it growling and mumbling. His back is arched, his head is high, he walks with his back legs slightly apart and his front paws almost appear to be marching. It totally cracks me up.

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That's what Sunny does, too! Isn't it adorable?