What would make a cat kill her kittens.?

Question

My cat had a litter of 5 kittens 2 weeks ago. This week she seemed to fall asleep on one of them and it died. we thought it was a accident but now she has done it again. To be honest the kittens are not thriving anyway they do not seem to know how to feed. We have been trying to give them kitten milk and water.

Answer 1

It could be one of many things. Perhaps you handled the kittens before she had a chance to get acquainted with them. Perhaps it was simply a first time mother making a mistake. Perhaps the kittens where "runts." I would suggest taking the mother and the kittens to the vet and see what can be done. If you can't get them to the vet then monitor her with them for the next four weeks and then separate them from her.

Answer 2

Many reasons, including

* Some females cannot switch off hunting behaviour in response to the presence of kittens.

* Some have poorly developed maternal instincts or may have a hormonal imbalance so that the maternal behaviour is not triggered by pregnancy and kittening.

* Some kittens are born with abnormalities that humans cannot detect. For this reason they may not thrive, they may even act or smell 'wrong' to the mother, thus she "puts them down".

* The kittens were born at what the mother considers a 'bad time of year' e.g. early spring/late fall/winter where in the wild state, they have a poor chance of survival due to lack of prey, or,

* If they have been handled too much by people (or another animal) the mothers own scent has been obscured and she either no longer recognises them as her own or she feels threatened and unable to escape, or

* She is simply a bad/overwhelmed mother ... who simply chooses to cut her losses!

  

Answer 3

if you were handling the kittens the cat may have turned on them

Answer 4

If the kitten is too weak to live. It can happen.  

Answer 5

Ive heard that animals sometimes kill their young if they feel they are threatened in any way. But i've not heard of them sleeping on thier young to kill them so thats a bit odd. Is it her first litter? It's normally best to just leave them for a few days and let the mother take care. If you have worries contact a vet for advice.

Good luck

Answer 6

It sounds more accidental than deliberate.

Is your cat very young ? Sometimes young cats don't make great mothers first time 'round (although most do).

Keep an eye on the kittens, and keep up with the hand rearing - it'll be worth it in the end.

One of our cats had to be hand reared after being found abandoned as a tiny kitten - she's 16 now and still going strong !

Answer 7

Perhaps she's not very maternal. It could be that she doesn't really understand what they are or what to do with them. My parents' dog did this when she had puppies, she just kind of looked at them like "What the h**l are they?" and they had to be fostered by their other dog.

Answer 8

If this is her first litter she may not know how to properly care for them. Have you taken the kittens to the vet, since they're not thriving?  

Answer 9

Sometimes kitties don't make it. I know you are doing your best.

You said she fell asleep on one and it died. Most likely it was the opposite; it died first and then she fell asleep on it. Normal kittens wiggle around and momma cat would feel them and move for them.

It seems that there is something wrong with this litter. Exactly what, we can't know without a necropsy. And paying for that would be silly because it won't change anything. Keep trying with the three that are left. With any luck maybe one or more will live. If they don't, you did your best. Don't beat yourself up over it.

Please spay momma as soon as the kittens are weened. There aren't enough homes for all the kittens being born.

Answer 10

Sometimes when poeple handle the kittens, the mom cat freaks out and kills them. idk why they do it tho. maybe it's just a cat thing

Answer 11

Nature is not always kind, and very often kittens die at birth or shortly after.  Given what you've said about the kittens not thriving, I doubt that mom killed them.  Many times, unfortunately, the entire litter will die due to some unseen genetic problem.  As soon as the remaining kittens are weaned, it's time to get mom spayed to avoid future heartbreak.