If you have a female cat in your home, you might have seen it eating a kitten or two when it gives birth to its litter. That can look very gross, but thankfully enough, this is not something quite common. Yes, you may not find it very often. But, it remains a fact that cats eat their kittens. Ever wondered why your cat does it? Let us find the reasons for this cruel behavior.
Mother cats do eat their kittens. This is not cruelty, but a part of their survival process. In most cases, a cat may eat the kitten when it does not have many resources and finds nothing to eat. Cats intuitively choose to eat the kittens that are weak or sick.
Do Cats Eat Their Kittens?
Yes, it is not so common, but cats tend to eat their kitten soon after birth. This can happen for several reasons. Not only cats, but even hamsters, pigs, birds, primates, fish, and lions tend to eat their young ones occasionally. This has a few beneficial reasons and exploring them will help you avoid hating your cat for eating its kittens.
Even when it is not quite common, it is not rare to find a cat eating their kittens. You are not responsible as a cat parent when it comes to why cats eat their kittens. If your cat decides to do it, it is not possible to prevent it either.
Why Does Your Cat Eat Her Kittens – 7 Possible Reasons
Having understood that cats can eat one of their kittens or more, let us try to understand why a mother cat eats one or two kittens.
The Kitten may be stillborn
The mother cat may eat a stillborn kitten. That is something your cat may do instinctively. This is done to help safeguard herself or other remaining kittens from predators. Of course, your cat does not need to worry about predators when she is in your home. But, her instincts have not yet understood it.
If you want to stop your mama cat from eating the stillborn kitten, you may need to keep a close look at your cat when she is giving birth. This will help you segregate the stillborn cat from the litter of kittens.
The kitten may have birth defects
The cat may have severe birth defects. It may also be malnourished. It is a feline tendency to eat her young ones if they have any defects. While this may look quite cruel, it is what evolution does to the cats. This will ensure the survival of the rest of the litter.
You should be able to find it yourself if you pay a little attention to your mama cat. You may notice that your cat is avoiding nursing or ignoring one of the newborn kittens. If that is the case, make sure to segregate the kitten yourself. You may or may not help it survive, but you can make your cat doesn’t eat the kitten instinctively or otherwise.
The Mother cat may feel threatened
The mother cat may be feeling threatened or stressed out. Your cat needs a silent atmosphere when it is giving birth to its kittens. Loud noises, abrupt changes in the environment, and a crowd at your home may also be a cause that may make mother cats eat their kittens.
If your cat may get stressed out as the changes in the environment may make her feel stressed out. Her intuitions may make cats sometimes eat their kittens. This can be a huge possibility when your cat is young or having the first litter ever.
The mother cat may be malnourished
This is one of the most common reasons a cat may eat the entire litter or even one of two kittens. If your cat does not have enough energy and nutrition. It may consume a kitten to regain some of its energy.
Most of the time, the mother cat may eat one or two kittens to help it regain energy and take care of the rest of its litter. If you want to prevent this from happening, it’s best to make sure that your cat does get enough balanced food. This will ensure that the cat will have enough energy before and after giving birth.
The mother cat may have feline Mastitis
Mastitis is a severe illness in the mammary glands of the cat. This will make the cat experience severe pain when it is attempting to nurse its kittens. Mastitis can also cause the kitten to develop an infection.
The mother cat may abandon the kitten to avoid the pain. If the kitten attempts to drink milk, it can aggravate the cat and she may decide to eat the kitten in her frustration. If you suspect your cat has Mastitis, consult your veterinarian immediately.
It may simply be inexperience
The cats are likely to eat kittens during the first litter. Maybe your cat is clueless about what’s happening to it. Unlike us humans, the cat may not have enough knowledge about giving birth. Of course, it will learn it during its subsequent litters.
It is possible that first-time mother cats may not understand what’s happening to them. It may be too rough while giving birth and in the process, the kitten may get killed. The cat may eat the dead kitten unaware of what to do with it. However, while quite possible, you may need to understand that this is quite rare.
It may fail to recognize the kitten
Cats typically use their sense of smell to detect their kittens. A minor change in the smell can make your cat unable to detect the smell. Maybe your cat considers the kittens as a predator and chooses to kill and eat them.
Perhaps you can make the kittens touch each other and the mother. That can make the cat identify the kitten as their own. That is exactly why we recommend not to touch the kittens after birth for at least around 4 to 6 hours. Your touch may later the smell and the acute sense of smell of the cat may make it fail to detect the kittens.
Do Male Cats Eat Kittens?
Yes, cats are known to attack and kill or even eat the kittens that belong to another household. This can happen when the cat may not have the maternal instinct. Whether male or female cat – they have a maternal instinct like we humans do for the little ones. However, if a cat lacks it, you may find the male cat eating the kittens.
Male cats are known to be very much concerned about protecting their territory. They may also be considerate of the female cats that they look for mating. They may see the kittens as a competitor. This can cause the male cats to attack the kittens and thus kill or eat them.
Concluding Thoughts
The most common reasons that a mother cat may decide to eat its kittens can be due to the unhealthy or stillborn kitten. Of course, there may be several other reasons that make the cats eat their kittens. We are sure that the reasons we have outlined above should help you understand why your cat may eat her kittens.
Do cats eat the weakest kitten?
It is by instinct that cats will take care of only those kittens in the litter who are healthy and strongest. By that logic, they will decide to kill and eat the kittens. By that logic, it may be safer to assume that cats eat the weakest kittens.
Will a mother cat reject her kittens if you touch them?
This may not happen typically in the case of most of the cats. However, some cats may reject the kittens if they do not detect the smell of the kittens and may consider them not to belong to them. However, if you have been consistently handling the mother cat, you may not find any issues with her kitten.
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