My female cat gave birth in august of 2023 when she was 1 year and 8 months old (it was an accidental pregnancy). She wasn’t supposed to go outside which is why we hadn’t gotten her spayed yet (and we didn’t have the money) but she did and she had 6 kittens. Two didn’t make it which was very hard on her and me and my family. The four that are left are the sweetest most loving babies you could ever imagine though! Of the 4 who made it, there are 3 boys (Blue, George, and Cowboy) and 1 girl (Lulu). We found homes for Blue and George and Lulu, and we kept Cowboy, who is a lynx point snowshoe which is surprising because his mom is completely black. We have another male cat named Benny who is massive but the sweetest creature I’ve ever met. Percy (the mama) and Benny get along so well that when she had her kittens she allowed him to hang out with them when they were only a couple of days old. Percy is very sweet to humans although she’s a little shy and prefers to hide upstairs when people she doesn’t know are at my house. When the kittens were younger she would bring them to me upstairs to “babysit” while she did mama cat things, and she is very trusting of humans and Benny in general. After we gave away the last two kittens in January, she was still being a sweet mama to her last kitten, but not allowing him to nurse and not grooming him, but at least she wasn’t hissing at him. Only a couple days later, she started hissing at him and swatting at him whenever he was in her sight, whether that be two feet or twenty. He got neutered in March and she was spayed a couple months after giving birth and it hasn’t helped at all. We’ve started letting them go outside now that they’re both fixed and it’s helped Percy be happier in general but Cowboy (the kitten) constantly wants to be outside and I won’t let him since he isn’t the smartest and even outside he won’t leave his mom alone. It’s sad watching him try to go up to his mama and her just smacking him and growling. I know she is probably trying to claim her territory as the owner of this house, but she never had a problem with Benny. She grew up with Benny though, so maybe that’s why. I don’t know what to do because we can’t really separate them and I don’t want to get rid of any of the cats, but it’s kind of a problem now because they can’t be in the same room. She’s started to ease up a tiny bit since she’s been allowed outside, but it’s still definitely an issue.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Grumpy mother cat always hisses at her baby
- Thread starter Ldczpa
- Start Date
This is completely normal and is called weaning. It can start as young as 8 weeks old but is usually around ten-twelve weeks. I knwo how sad it can be, I hate the bewildered looks on trhe kitten's face. I thought my mama cats were going to do it forever, but once the kittens got older, more adult, they stopped and arew friends with them now. So just give it a few months, she knows what she is doing. and just try to give both a little extra attention and extra treats and food.
di and bob
hit the nail on the head. She is telling him as clearly as she can that she is NOT DA MAMA anymore, and to put on his big boy britches and deal with it. It's always hard on the kittens, until they get used to it, but it works. Queens never (even when spayed) loose the instinct to wean their kittens and get them out on their own, because another litter could be coming shortly.
Just because she has been spayed doesn’t mean her instincts are not telling her that she needs to push her big kids off her territory so she can care for her next litter. Give it time.
