Cat keeps stealing her sisters kittens?

Question

I have a cat which had kittens just over 3 weeks ago. Her sister-Lola- had a litter 2 weeks before that they were early & they all died within a few days.

She showed little interest in her sisters litter of 6 to begin with, then we had her spayed last week and also the mother cat has been spending less & lesss time in the 'box' with them and Lola started to go into the box to lie with them; the kittens were trying to feed from her but i doubt they were getting anything as it had been 4 weeks since she fed her own babies. At the same time our very old boy cat Oscar started going into the box too- all washing the kittens and mum cat didnt seem to mind (they are all really close) and she continued feeding & washing them- but spending less time feeding however it is suggested thsat is normal as the kittens grow bigger and she still goes to feed them several times a day...

Anyway- Lola picked up a kitten off the floor yesterday when it escaped the box & carried her behind the chair which we thought was ok (just prtetctive) but this evening she has been removing kittens from the box and jumping behind the sofa with them- these are not her babies! And they need to be in the box so that when mummy cat comes back they are all there to feed.

I cannot shut her out as she has been spayed & has a plastic neck collar on & stitches in, but i dont trust her if i go to bed not to accidently hurt a kitten! Sometimes she bites them all the way around the neck to carry them or even over the head! ouch...any advice?! And why has she started doing this after 2 weeks of not seeming to even notice them! The old boy cat only lies with them and washes them (and allows them try to feed !lol)

Answer 1

tAs long as they are all in the same area (and it sounds like they are) The kits will be sure to find mama when they are hungry and mama will hear them squealing, too.

Answer 2

if Lola got spayed a week ago you can take the collar off of her it is really uncomfortable for her and her stitches have closed her wound by now

Answer 3

Despite being a cynical old sod, this strikes me as very sweet :)

I've no advice for you, but good luck with it all. Hope the kittens do well.