You know Why Do Cats Eat Their Kittens ?
Eating a kitten, the cutest living thing in the world, seems completely bonkers and dastardly at the same time. And yet, this is what some females do after giving birth to their young. Rest assured right away, this act of cannibalism is not uncommon among our feline friends and it always takes place for a (good?) Reason. So don't reject your cat if she killed one or more of her kittens.
Kittens are too weak
If, in a litter, one or more of the kittens is born with an illness or any handicap (too small, too weak, deformed…), its mother will immediately sense it . If she thinks that her baby has no chance of survival, she can quickly make the decision to kill him in order to reserve her milk and care for the healthy ones and avoid contaminating the rest of the litter. And to end her life, she is forced to “eat” it.
They have no maternal instinct
It happens that some cats are completely devoid of maternal instinct. In this case, they will not hesitate to kill their young because they represent more of a burden for them , or because they do not know how to react in front of these small moaning beings.
They don't recognize their kittens
It is thanks to maternity hormones produced during birth that cats are able to recognize their kittens as their own. If the latter had to have a Caesarean section to give birth , they may not have had time to produce these famous hormones and will not know that these kittens are theirs and that they belong to the same species. Likewise, touching a newborn kitten is condemning it because you are depositing your own scent on it and its mother might not recognize it.
They have mastitis
Mastitis is first and foremost an infection of the mammary glands that can prove fatal to the female cat. Very common, this disease can be quickly treated and cured. The only small problem: if a cat with mastitis has just given birth to young, a powerful pain will occur when the kittens make their first feed , causing the mother to reject them or kill them to avoid suffering.
They are too stressed
Cats rarely kill offspring just because of stress, but it can still happen. An environment that is too noisy or too hectic during childbirth could put a strain on your kitten's nerves. The latter could then be afraid that one takes her young and will kill them before that happens. Likewise, if other animals are present , the cat might be afraid of what might happen to her babies and eat them to prevent them from being eaten.
A litter of a kitten that is about to be born is always the cause of great nervousness and excitement in the household. Most certainly you have already anxiously awaited the arrival of new family members, wondering what life will be like with the little kittens. However, on some occasions these questions remain unanswered once you find out that the mother (your cat) of the kittens has decided to eat some of her babies and sometimes even the entire litter. For the human family this event tends to cause frustration but above all disgust and rejection.
However, this is a behavior that is (to some extent) normal in the animal world. Continue reading our article Why Females Eat Their Kittens in order to get all the answers you are looking for and know how to cope with such an event.
Why do females eat their kittens?
There are several reasons that can lead cats to eat their kittens:
Because they are weak or sick.
Because of the stress.
For lack of maternal instinct.
Feline mastitis.
She doesn't recognize her kittens.
We invite you to continue reading our article Why do females eat their kittens because in the next paragraphs we will develop in more detail the reasons that we must cite.
Weak or sick little ones
In order to answer the question Why do females eat their kittens, it seems important to us to clearly explain that when an animal devours a member of its own species it is considered cannibalism. The word is strong but it is not about strange behavior in nature.
Sometimes some kittens in a litter may be born with a disease or impairment that cannot be noticed at first glance and that the mother can detect through her strong sense of smell. In these specific cases, the cat assumes that the kitten will not be able to survive, so she decides to eat it; she ends the day of her little one so that it does not contaminate the rest of the litter. The same thing happens with little ones who suffer from some deformity.
It's pretty much the same thing with weaker kittens. In all litters and especially those of 5 or 6 kittens, there are larger, stronger kittens and others smaller and weaker. Although this does not always happen, some mothers find it smarter to get rid of weaker kittens so that you can reserve milk and care for those who are most likely to survive.
These behaviors may seem cruel to you, but it is only natural selection that governs all species in one way or another.
Stress
Usually a domestic cat will not kill her kittens due to stress, but this possibility should not be excluded either. An environment that is too noisy during gestation or childbirth, an incessant flow of people, harassing your pet for care and attention, not offering him a peaceful space to give birth are all reasons that can trigger nervous behavior. If your cat is about to give birth we recommend that you read this article.
The cat is stressed not only for herself and her own safety but she is nervous because of the fear of what could happen within her reach (that they will be taken from her, that they will be eaten by predators) and times this sensation causes the mother to eat her babies. This sad event can also take place if there are other animals around and the mother sees them as possible threats.
This behavior is more frequently observed in new mothers, when stress is able to override her maternal instinct. In fact, it is essential that you offer the mother-to-be the best possible care during the entire period that she is pregnant. The more stress you avoid for her and the more you offer her a relaxed and peaceful environment, the less likely she is to eat her kittens.
A lack of maternal instinct
It is also possible that your cat lacks maternal instinct, in which case she will have absolutely no interest in taking care of her babies or she will simply not know how to do it, which can cause her to get rid of them by eating them.
In order to avoid this tragic event and to manage to save the greatest number of babies, we recommend that you observe the behavior of your cat after giving birth and if you see that she lacks maternal instinct and that life des petits is in danger, you will have to take care of it. If this is your case, we recommend that you consult our article how to take care of a kitten, especially do not hesitate to seek professional help if you feel you need it.
We invite you to continue reading our article Why Females Eat Their Kittens to find out all the reasons for this strange behavior.
Feline mastitis
Mastitis is a common infection in many mammals that affects the mammary glands. This infection can kill both mother and kittens, but it is a very easy infection to treat. The problem is that it causes great pain and especially when the babies suckle, which can cause the mother to reject or eat them in order to avoid suffering so much. If you think that this could be the case with your furry companion, we recommend that you consult a specialist very quickly to prevent things from escalating.
She doesn't recognize her kittens
The cat is likely not to recognize her kittens as her own or as members of her breed. This usually happens in cats who have needed a Caesarean section because they haven't produced the maternal hormones that normally activate during birth.
In the same way, in certain breeds or with new mothers, it happens that cats confuse their kittens with small preys instead of seeing them as their children. For this reason it is recommended not to touch the kittens (unless it is absolutely necessary) because the human odor eliminates the aroma of the cat which could cause her not to recognize them.
How to react if your cat eats her kittens?
The first step is to stay calm. We know that attending this event can be very impressive for us but you should not get carried away by your emotions and you should especially not despise your cat. It is simply behavior that has its reasons and that is natural (even if it is not for us).
Instead of rejecting your cat, based on the reasons we have just given you, we recommend that you try to understand what is the reason for this behavior. If these are health or stress issues on your cat's part, you should resolve them as soon as possible by consulting your vet.
If any of the kittens in the litter are still alive or you realize in time that your cat is biting her kittens in order to get rid of them, we recommend that you take care of the kittens yourself so that nothing wrong. does not happen. Do not hesitate to take him to a specialist so that he can assess his state of health.
Likewise, if all the kittens have been devoured, we recommend that you sterilize your cat to prevent this from happening again. Remember that you are going to have to always offer the same affection and love to your cat despite what you have seen and it is together that you will be able to overcome this tragedy.
The animal world is full of secrets and mysteries that we may not know much about, and one of these secrets is eating cats for their kittens because it is one of the strange things, especially since the motives that make cats do this are more than just a motive of fear for them as it is said, and we will explain the reasons behind doing this behavior.
Cats eat their Kittens
Although you may see the mother cat taking care of their kittens and playing with them, and do not allow anyone to approach them, you may be surprised when you know that the cat may eat her children !
In fact, cats do eat their kittens in some cases, and for some reasons, but not because this is a reflection of their instinct.
Just as a mother cat is one of the worst mammal mothers, many maternal cats may eat their kittens for many different reasons.
The Reasons Why a Cat Eat its kittens
1 - The mother cat may carry the mother at a young age before the maternal instincts have been completed or developed for her, so she will eat her kittens or devour them just because the voice of the young causes her an inconvenience or provokes the predation instinct in her hand, and she did not understand because of her kittens age that these young should be She has to take care of them and protect them.
2 - Another reason why a cat eats its kittens is that the mother may appreciate that the little one's chance of survival in life is weak or non-existent, so she decides to have mercy on him from this life and kill him, and she does so until she saves her energy and does not waste her milk in vain.
The mother performs this behavior, especially if her health condition is weak and she cannot raise the kittens, so instead of her dying, she prefers to kill her children. So that you can regain activity and be able to reproduce again.
3 - One of the reasons why cats kill their children, if she fears them from a place that is not safe enough or if the place is not safe for the mother herself, she may need to run away and carry the kittens in her mouth that may hinder her from escaping, so she kills them.
In general, before the mother gives birth to the kittens, she tries to find a safe place so that she can give birth to the babies, and if she does not find, she may resort to killing them after birth because of her fear for them, so she eats them, believing that she protects them from danger.
4 - One of the reasons behind this is also: If they procreate at the wrong time of the year, then they have more chances of breeding during the breeding season than in the year.
5 - There are some cats that give birth in the winter, so getting prey that they can eat at that time is very small, so they eat their young.
6 - In the case of wild cats that live in groups, female leader kills the babies of other cats from the same group so that their young people have a better life and a greater chance of survival.
7 - If someone touched the kittens after childbirth while the mother was absent from them, then there would be a smell of this person in the cats, and the mother would be unable in this case to know whether these cats were her children or not because their scent changed, so she would kill them.
8 - When one of the kittens gets sick, it punishes eating it for fear of infection.
All of these things mostly happen to wild cats or cats that live in the street and stray cats, while domesticated cats that live in homes do not have such matters. Because she ensures the constant presence of food, and her children are always close to her, and she is not afraid of danger for them; And be not motivated to do this; So domestic cats don't do this unless it is genetic.
