KITTEN: Now you see it...

...Now you don't.

My first post; first question:

Do Mother cats eat their Kittens? -A little gruesome, I know. But yesterday one of our cats had said kitten, went to sleep with it in the spare room, and now, as for the kitten, it is not there anymore. We searched high and low and couldn't see nor ear anything.

Please help/suggest a likely outcome!

Thankyou.

Sometimes a mother cat will eat its kittens..Also the mother might of moved her kitten. They often do that also. Make very sure she hasn't moved it someplace.

Did you change the bedding soon after it was born?

It is instinctive for the cat to move the kitten away from its place of birth as the smells there would attractive predators.

How was the mother acting with the kit? was she feeding it, loving it etc?

Is she a first time mum? How old is she?

Hello. Thankyou both for your prompt replies.

I will answer all your questions as best I can:

For the kitten being moved, the idea is possible. But there is nowhere within the room that it could have been moved. The door was shut and there is noway it could have been opened and closed again. Indeed, there is nowhere within the room where our mother cat (Astaroth) could have hidden her baby (the newly christened Seth).

This I will add was Astaroths first "litter". I spell "litter" such like because there was only one offspring -which, even though I'm not an expert, I found most unusual.

As for the way she was acting with it, she definatley seemed to "love it" as she was licking it and nudging it with her snout, lying down to give it more room to feed .etc. When myself and my lady observed her, she would however leave the box and seem more interested in the both of us. We put this down to something akin to "motherly pride" however.

As for the mothers age, I'm not quite sure. My fiance picked her up when she was six weeks old. That's been maybe, seven or eight months ago at the very least.

Thanks for you help guys. I hope these insights give you more to go on.

and P.S. The kitten was not born in the room where they were kept. It was born outside, in a small patch of long grasses by the house...

I dont mean to sound stupid but are you sure there is no where the kitten could be?

When Maverick had Jupiter (another one kitten litter! ) he would hide all round the house. We found him behind a book on a bookshelf (where we had looked 100 times!), in a shoe, in a draw (he had climbed through the smallest gap ever in the back) and many other weird places.

So many times I was in tears, sure we had lost him, only for Maverick to go fetch him hours later!

She could have hidden the kitten in the smallest, most unlikely space such as behind a curtain, down the side of some furniture, down a gap in the floorboard. Is there any way she could have left the room?
Watch Astaroth closely. Is she leaving the room? Looking anxious? See if she goes into heat again quickly. If the kitten is still alive she will need to feed it at some point.

How long has the kitten been missing for? When was it born? My vet told me that if a mother cat is going to injure her young the most likely time for her to do so is in the first three days.

Thanks again Maverick Kitten!

The good news is...both cat and kitten have been re-united. Astaroth and Seth are together in said room quite happily now, purring away and sleeping.

Silly thing is, having decided the kitten was eaten (or something) and no longer in the room, I let Astaroth outside. Not five minutes later did I find Seth, merely sitting in the corner of the room, where I'm sure we must have checked! Anyway, when I eventually found Astaroth, it was about feeding time, judging by all the happy, hungry squeaks!



Tell me. Is it possible for Astaroth, having given birth some 48 hours ago to Seth, to still be carrying more kittens? Or is that impossible?

Thanks for clearing up my "can a cat only have one kitten" question. It is however, still the case that Astaroth is very plump, and lumpy, as she was when she was before Seth arrived.

Cheers.

**edited as kitten was found**

Originally Posted by Daibh

Thanks again Maverick Kitten!

The good news is...both cat and kitten have been re-united. Astaroth and Seth are together in said room quite happily now, purring away and sleeping.

Silly thing is, having decided the kitten was eaten (or something) and no longer in the room, I let Astaroth outside. Not five minutes later did I find Seth, merely sitting in the corner of the room, where I'm sure we must have checked! Anyway, when I eventually found Astaroth, it was about feeding time, judging by all the happy, hungry squeaks!

Tell me. Is it possible for Astaroth, having given birth some 48 hours ago to Seth, to still be carrying more kittens? Or is that impossible?

Thanks for clearing up my "can a cat only have one kitten" question. It is however, still the case that Astaroth is very plump, and lumpy, as she was when she was before Seth arrived.

Cheers.

Click to expand...

Chances are that she is done...kittens are typically born within a 24 hour window. However if you have concerns, I would recommend taking her to the vet. Make sure that she remains strictly indoors from this point until she weans her kitten and can be safely spayed. Cats are induced ovulators and can become pregnant again as early as a week after giving birth. Plus, we don't want her to bring in anything that could cause comprimise your little kitten's health. Consider it a sabitical...until Seth is older and weaned and mom is spayed. Then she can return to enjoying the outdoors.

Katie

Great Advice you cool Cats!!!!

And thank goodness you found little Seth!!! I have grown up with many a litters...some being only 1 kitten and some as big as 5 kittens! It is natural for them to move their babies...to keep it safe from harm. But do watch closely, she may try to take the baby outside if your not paying attention. Also, she may drop the baby in a place that is not safe, in baseboard heating for example.

I'm so happy you found Seth! Good luck to momma and her new baby!

lol! I knew he would turn up!

Just wait until he can walk by himself, thats when all the fun starts.

I wonder if he will be as confident and spoilt as jupiter being an only child too?