absorbing

I hope this isnt a stupid question.. But I've read on this forum many times about cats absorbing their kittens... What does this mean exactly??

thanks guys!

Originally Posted by ReBeX

I hope this isnt a stupid question.. But I've read on this forum many times about cats absorbing their kittens... What does this mean exactly??

thanks guys!

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Sometimes, when there is a problem and a kitten in utero dies, the fetus is reabsorbed by the queen's body instead of aborting it. That's all it means. It isn't a stupid question.

LOL, don't worry about the spelling,I'm sure most will know what you mean. Absorbing is when a queen has definitely been confirmed as pregnant but then the signs of pregnancy dissappear and the cat may even go into heat. Or the queen is confirmed as having say, 5 kittens, gives bith to 4 and, despite thorough examination, there is no body or remains of a 5th kitten in the uterus. The cat has reabsorbed the kittens, meaning that if kittens have died in-utero, her body absorbs the remains of the kittens and placenta, so there isn't dead material sitting there in her uterus, which could set up an infection. This often happen with kittens that would have been born with defects.

oh okay thanks!
thats what I figured it meant, I just wasnt sure if it was that self explanitory
thats pretty amazing!

thank you!!

I knew a dog that absorbed the whole litter :s

I know it's weird but it sometimes happens when a woman is pregnant with twins. One of the twins doesn't develop properly and the body absorbs it.