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The cat people contribute their ideas:
- Mother cats sometimes eat their kittens if they are unhealthy or have died. This is nature and I would assume the nutrients are needed to feed the other kittens. But sometimes a mother cat will just ignore the ailing or dead kitten.
- The mother cat might eat her kittens if you mess with them too much when they are little. Cats detect a lot by smell, and if the kitten smells wrong (i.e, of you) it might assume it's unhealthy and kill it.
- Some cats are genetically abnormal, and can't produce the hormones which trigger maternal behaviour. That means they might treat their own kittens as prey. If you see a mother cat kill her entire healthy litter, you probably shouldn't breed from her again. Be wary of breeding from her surviving kittens as well - it's a genetic trait, which means the problem might be passed on.
- Kittens born in winter, when they aren't likely to survive, are sometimes killed to save strength for the mother.
- If you put your cat under too much stress, she might decide she can't protect her kittens and give them up as a lost cause. You need to give her a quiet, dark place to make her nest, and leave her alone most of the time. If she moves her nest, stop bothering her.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoUnfortunately, cats do sometimes eat their kittens. Typically it is because the mother is starving or ill (either physically or psychologically).
My veterinary clinic recently had two sister kittens who were up for adoption, and one of them was missing most of her right back leg, because her mother had chewed all the flesh off. The veterinarians at the clinic attempted to save the leg, but in the end it had to be amputated. They are unsure whether the mother did it because she was starving, or because she was mentally deranged.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoyes they often do , just like other animals. If a kitten is young and has human scent it might eat it. If it is injured it might eat it. If it doest like the kitten it might eat it. If the mother is inexperienced sometimes she will eat her whole entire litter, especially if she is a first mother.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoLONG VERSION
look, any organism that eats it's babies immediately after birth has a very small chance to ever create viable offspring. this means that its future members of it's species will not have this trait. mantises and Spiders eat their young after a week or so, so that the ones that wait too long to leave die. any animal that produces few young that then eats them will not survive as a species.
SHORT VERSION
CATS DONT EAT THEIR YOUNG
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoYes. Sometimes, if the baby kitten is sick or injured, the mother cat will kill and/or eat the kitten to keep it from feeling pain.
There could also be instances, such as my own cats, where the neighbor cats kill them and could eat them for a territorial purpose.
As well as males kill male youth because of competition and they also kill the young they sense problems with.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoNo. It is a myth that is cruel. Siamese mothers give as much of love to their kittens as any other kind of cat. If anything, they may be a little aggressive, but that depends on the cat. They would not eat their own kind because most don't even eat their own prey.
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoA mother cat will only eat her kitten if it dies! She might eat her babies if a predator threatens them. However, in contrast to the mother, any Tom Cat can try to kill a baby. Tom Cats do this so the mother goes back into heat so he can mate with her.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoIf a kitten is born dead, the mother cat will eat it.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoRemove kittens from mother.
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Do kittens eat kitties?
Sometimes a bad mother cat have been know to eat their young but this is rare.
How often does she eat when looking after kittens?
A mother cat should always have plenty of food near by when she is nursing her kittens, she will eat as much as she needs.
Cats eat kittens?
If they are hungry, i supposeAnother Answer:Unfortunately, there ARE cases of cannibalism with many animals- including cats. Sometimes a newborn kitten is seen as prey instead of offspring. Sometimes the problem is the mother, but usually another cat NOT the mother.
What helps a mother cat produce milk for her kittens?
Cats nurse kittens until the kittens are about four or five weeks old. At this age, kittens begin to wean and are able to eat soft kitten food. The mother cat's teets will dry and retract slightly. The only true way to tell if a cat is still nursing kittens is through observation.
Why would your cat kill and eat her kittens when they were about 2 weeks?
Some mother cats do this for many reasons, sometimes it's because the kittens are ill/deformed... or if someone has been handling the kittens and then the mother can smell their scent on them In both cases it is natural instinct. If the mother cat smells quite different scent in her kittens, she may think kill them for protection. If the kittens are ill/deformed, she also eats them before they die and bring diseases to the rest of kittens. Also dying kittens or dead kitten corpse marks the smell for the predators to notice where she lives.
Is it common that a mother cat would kill and eat her kittens?
only if a human touches the kittens right after they are born this is not entirelt true, for unknown reasons cats eat their kittens as well, it is said that cats can sence if their kittens are ill and will eat the sick ones
Your cat had babies and she won't feed them what can you do to make her let them eat?
You can't make the mother cat feed the kittens. Sometimes a mother cat won't lie down to let the kittens nurse because she wants something from her owners. Has she been following you or meowing around you lately?There's another possibility that she has no milk. I strongly suggest to bring her and her kittens to a vet to see that everything is okay. For the time being, you will have to feed the kittens yourself. Use an eyedropper or a small baby bottle. Hope this helps.
What animal would kill a kitten but not eat it?
I had Kittens that were killed same way. And it turned out to be Mother cat. If the kittens were either sick or there is a oder she doesnt know. She will eat them as food.
My cat just had kittens but she still have more to delivery but they haven't came yet what do i do she won't eat she's still bleeding?
Gather up your cat and the kittens and take her to the vet. Seconded. If you don't she will probably/certainly die, and then the kittens will, as the will have no mother to feed them.
Why did my cat eat its only kitten?
This is very sad but can happen. Sometimes the mother thinks that the kitten does not belong to her, or she doesn't want it, in some cases this is even because they are so hungry they will eat anything. If the kittens die of weakness/illness the cat may eat it as it is nutritious, just as they will sometimes eat the placenta/afterbirth. If this continues to happen, you may want to consider getting the mother neutered.
What will the mother do if you hold her kittens?
She will eat you.
What does a mother cat eat after giving birth?
When a kitten is born it is totally dependent on the mother cat. At birth kittens eyes are closed and can't see for about 2 weeks. The purring of the mother cat attracts the kittens to the mother for comfort and nourishment. The mother cat normally will stay with the kittens for about 3 weeks except for going food and going to potty. Shortly after birth the mother cat will check to see if the kitten moves inside of the sac. If it moves she then opens the sac by licking it with her tongue. Then she will clean the kitten. During this process she will cut the umbilical cord with her teeth and eat the after birth (placenta).
