Any reason why a mommie cat would hiss at her 5 month old kittens?

Question

Is there such a thing of in a bad mood,cause she is hissing at her kittens now i just got back from having the kittens spayed and neuter and all of a sudden she started to hiss at them.They were playing and eating together a minute ago then she just turned on them will she hurt them.I need some help on what to do,She's also spayed had her for an year now and everything was fine she was a great mom..I know when you bring them home from the clinic they made have the smell on them so i put a dab of perfume on their heads so that they all would smell the same.Any Advise as to why she is hissing at them my husband said that she has PMS Is he wrong??Thank You For Any Help

Answer 1

I think she's just trying to keep them in line after all she is the pack leader! The mother cat teaches the kittens their manners in life. I read where all animals have a pack leader that they all listen to. Were they getting a little too agressive or pushing her out of the way while they were eating? If she had the house to herself for a few days she might have just been letting them know she's still the boss. I love watching cats interact with each other....they are very interesting creatures!

Good Luck!

Answer 2

my cat did the same thing. i think shes just trying to teach them a lesen and deep down inside she still loves them. its natural and i dont think she will hurt them nothing wrong :)

Answer 3

The smells from being at the vet makes them smell like new cats to the mother.  Try taking a warmth wash cloth to the kittens to try to remove some of the oder and then dry them with a towel and a lot of the "house" smells will be on the kittens.   Sometimes mother cats don't always like their kittens but this sounds like a strange smell and the mother is unhappy.  My two cats are brother and sister and have been together every day for 9 years and when I took the girl to the vet cause she had an infection and when we came home her brother went crazy on her.

Answer 4

Its probably because they were spayed and nuetered. They probably smell a bit different.

Answer 5

Cats live in a world of scent, and your kittens came back with that dreaded 'vet smell', so the mother cat considers them strangers.  The second underlying thing is that it is normal for a mother cat to try and chase away her kittens after a certain amount of time, so she can go out an have another litter.  Of course, since she is spayed, it may be a mixed instinctive action.

Rather than perfume, a dab of vanilla above their nose and the base of their tail is the usual method for the vet smell problem.  The other is to take a towel, and rub it all over each of them to mingle the scents.

Answer 6

im sure part of the problem is the perfume.

all the scents from the vet is another

also, it is weaning. "get away from me, find your own food"

Answer 7

She smells Vet on the kittens. Bathe them with what you have in the home that you normally use. That scent needs to go, because a momma cat can even kill her kittens if they're too foreign to her.

Momma cats are hormonely charged for about 2 months after a litter. They are the ultimate hunters and protectors at that stage. They can even turn on their owners if they feel threatened enough (and in the process even kill their kittens in fear).

Why new momma cats have to be watched closely, too.

Answer 8

the perfume makes them smell like a different cat so she thinks that their not her kittens

Answer 9

Cats aren't always like people and just because they gave birth to a kitten doesn't mean they will automatically treat them as their own. Not only that, but having had the kittens spayed and neutered, they will smell different to their mother and she won't recognize them as readily. The perfume may also be something she doesn't care for, so that may not have been the best idea, but instead, try transferring the scent of the mother to the kittens by rubbing them all with the same cloth, or using the same cat brush, etc...something that will transfer her scent and theirs to the lot and help them all to recognize each other as part of the same household.

She should calm down over time, but it may take a day or two for her to mellow out. Just as long as she's not becoming violent with them, it should be fine though.

Good Luck.

Answer 10

Sounds funny but she's being a good mom. She's teaching them. If animals are taken from the mom too early and they miss out on the "child rearing" they can sometimes turn out naughty. So as long as she's not really hurting them leave her be..

Answer 11

The answer to your question is in the facts you've given.

Momma cat doesn't recognize the kits as hers because they don't smell the way they did when they left.  And the perfume certainly didn't help.  She is looking for them to smell like her.

Nice try -- you just need to do the same thing with Momma cat's scent instead of perfume.

Rub a towel or t-shirt all over momma cat, then rub each kit with the shirt.  If you have any of their old beedign material, that would work, too!

Good luck!