Why did my cat eat her kittens?

Question

i dont understand it. i believe they were kind of ill...their breathing was slow and labored and what not. what makes a mama cat eat her babies? and this just didnt happen to like one kitten. out of her six pregnancies i believe it was three litters that became dinner. when it first happen my mom didnt believe me. but she sure she as h**l believed me when she found a kitten head on her bed and a tail in her closet. all i would like to know is why the mama cat would eat her kittens. was it impossible to save them?

Answer 1

I always thought they did it if they thought kits were in danger

or through instinct felt something was wrong with kits(sick)

I'm very sorry for your loss

Answer 2

Probably mistaken them for mice, they are both small and furry

Answer 3

that sounds just completely horrible and gross i cant believe that your cat would do something like that or why but obviously your cat would know she was eating them because she can smell them and they can identify it. thats really sick and twisted though... "/

Answer 4

with most animals they do that if something is wrong with the babies or if its not the right environment for you cat anything you might wanna take her to the vet something could be wrong with her

Answer 5

heres a great idea. get your cat fixed and stop letting her have liters. the world is filled with already unwanted cats and kittens. specially if your letting her become pregnant, feeding her through the pregnacy and sitting back and letting her eat her kittens. if my cat was pregnant and i knew it i would be sleeping even on the floor or wheever she is when it was close to her delivering so when she did give birth i was right there...

Answer 6

Well, it is known for some domesticated animals that are new mothers to eat their babies because they simply do not know what to do with them.

The same thing happened with my friend's rabbit and its babies.

Answer 7

That is so gross!!!!!!!!!!! but i have seen dogs eat their own puppies. It's really gross. yuck! i can't even imagine .......yuck!

Answer 8

I think your cat is metally challenged.

Answer 9

WOW!! Nature at is worst, or best.  There could be a couple reasons why mama is eating her babies.  First off, please have your cat fixed.  Six pregnancies where babies were eaten at least three times....something is not right.  In nature the main reason for eating her babies would be survival of the fittest.  If mama felt she was in danger physically by trying to feed her young, she would eat them.  The reabsorb the kittens to help promote a healthy body, but usually they limit the eating of the young to either the sick or the very weak.  That in turn helps the odds of the others living beyoun infnacy.  What is disturbing here is that she is not in the wild, and is hopefully recieving all the nutritional necessities from you.  If a kitten was born sick, she would dispose of it to keep her living area clean, and like I said in the wild, she would eat it.  But this is happening repeatedly.  It was not impossible to save them, but extremely difficult.  It would have required constant supervision if you left the kittens with her, or extreme care if you took them from  her.  They would probably not survived at that early age without her.  But please, for mamas health, take her to a vet, and have her fixed....endless pregnancies with dead babies...not a good way to live.

Answer 10

I'm certainly no expert here, but I've heard that cats will eat their kittens if they become really stressed during labor, or if the kittens are sick.  I also heard that cats will do this almost every time they deliver, if they are prone to doing it.

Answer 11

the only cats i know can eat things like that are lions, tigers, and the sort...the bigger, faster, stronger cats

Answer 12

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. They probably would have died though. She could tell they were ill and decided they couldn't make it. You are suposed to get the kittens away from her ASAP for future times. If they look sick or just for their 1st check-up, take them to the vet! Then you can give them away and won't have so much to handle, but you also won't feel guilty to have seen your cat ate her babies. I hope I helped.

Answer 13

Why don't you just PLEASE have the cat fixed?  Why does your family keep putting this cat through the torture?  This cat could have any number of illnesses that are keeping her from being able to give birth to healthy kittens that are able to survive. She could be stressed after birth by too many visitors to her nesting area and if she suspects that any of her kittens are sick, or ill from disease she will kill them herself some time.  There are any number of reasons.

I provided a link below that will give you as much information as you probably need to know on this subject.

But MOST IMPORTANT is the fact that your cat has been pregnant way too many times and now it's time to get her fixed and stop the misery.

Answer 14

awwww! poor kittens! has she been eating well? her behaviour? i would go and ask the vet. tell the vet everything. i would bottle-feed the other kittens and keep it away from the mama until the vet says otherwise (ask him).