Mother Cat Attacked Her Own Kitten

[B.harshul]

Today my kittens are 2 month old....i heard a cat fight and rushed outside...I saw the mother cat attacking one of the kittens viciously....i did not understand but separated them....the mother cat ran towards the main door....which is basically a grill ....I saw another cat standing there who ran off as soon as he saw me ....the mother cat came back and started attacking the same kitten again....
Now after 2 hours she won't even stand the sight of the kitten and hiss at her .... They were all fine in the morning before all this....the kittens also feed regularly apart from eating kitten food....this was strange but probably something to do with the stray that I saw....maybe the mother cat is suddenly jealous of her kitten probably intimidated by her...
The kitten is traumatized and won't leave my side ...the other kittens are traumatized just watching all this ...anyway keeping them separately now ...will update

 

[fionasmom]

Just to clarify, these kittens are eating kitten food at 2 months, so there is no dependency on the mother cat from this kitten? I have never had a mother attack a kitten, but have found my share of abandoned kittens. On a couple of occasions I knew who the mother was. I am wondering if this is redirected aggression which would have been focused on the stray if the mother could have gotten to it, but instead turned back around on the kitten.

Feline Behavior Problems: Aggression.
cat-behavior-problems-aggression-redirected | VCA Animal Hospital

Given that these are kittens and not adults who might be able to escape or stand their ground, you need to make some accommodations to protect them, at least until you see how this plays out.

 

[Sarthur2]

Is the mother cat spayed yet? If not, she needs to be ASAP. This will reduce her aggressive behavior.

It sounds like they are all outside. The kittens especially need to be indoors and also spayed and neutered soon. Three months is a good time to do so.

I agree her actions may have been re-directed aggression. Regardless, it’s not good for mom cat to attack her own kittens and traumatize them. Is there a chance she confused this kitten with the adult tom cat?

 

[Alldara]

We had a mum cat do this and we had to keep her separate from then on. We were fostering her for my mum's friend so we gave her back and kept the kittens together until it was time to rehome them.

You could reintroduce the mum to them, but she will need to calm down first. Best in a room on her own with a closed door and some calming music with purring. Couple of hours, let her nap then bring her and the music and lots of treats for mum. See how it goes.