why did my friends cat eat her kittens?

Question

she had the kittens under my friends bed early housr of morn, at lunch time we moved babies n mum in the other bedroom, by about 5pm her son called her at work to say there was only 1 kitten left and the other 2 were missing?? there was no mess on the floor to say maybe she ate them so strange as they were fine and looked realy healthy can anyone answer this its as if they dissapered

Answer 1

She may have been upset that you moved them. You should have left them where they were for a few days. Not the same day they were born. You said they were fine... There is a possiblity that if they weren't she might eat them. But I think it was the first thing I said here.

Don't think of her any differently. And remember all cats are not the same. Not all cats will do what she did. Oh. and don't feel guilty either. You didn't know. Next time you will.

And that is true for what some of the others here are saying... She may have only moved them. Cats are very good at hiding their babies. She may have been upset when you moved them. She may not want anyone around them for a little while. Listen closely and if/when you do find them remember to giver her space. Don't spend too much time around them when you do love on them and remember to love on her too.


My mom had a cat that was real young when she had kittens. Everytime she would birth one out she would bite one and kill it. My mom started taking them away as she was having them. After she had all the kittens in the litter. My mom gave them back to her. She was fine after that. She cleaned them and took care of them.

You see. She was in pain when she was having them. She didn't understand that pain. Like I said she was really too young to be having kittens in the first place.

She had many litters after that and she never killed them in birth again.

Answer 2

This sounds quite weird, but is not exactly a rare case. This case happened too to a aunt of my mom. Her cat had three kittens, and a week later, the cat ended eating her own kittens, and I saw it with my own eyes when she did it. I was stunned. I was 10 years old when it happened. I`m guessing it was caused by hunger as her owner never feed her correctly. She has always been irresponsible. She was only using the cat for mouse hunting. Maybe this is what is happening to your friend`s cat. Is the cat been feed correctly? If not, then let her know. If the kittens were not eaten, then check around the house carefully.

Answer 3

i dont know about a cat eating its newborn kittens, but i do know of a case when one should have.

i found a kitten under my front porch that was about 6 weeks old n abandoned by her mom. it was almost dead. a neighbor told us shed been keeping an eye on em n the mom had 4 n moved 2 n left 2. the neighbor took 1 n we took 1. the neighbors died. we nourished ours back to a healthy kitten. we took it to the vet cuz it wasnt right. problem was it was severely retarded. should of had it put down right there, but tried to raise it. what a nightmare. eventually just had to put him down, he couldnt take care of himself at all. would just wallow in his excretions. so i agree w those that have said that if she did she probably had a good reason.

n cats can eat bones n eat an animal n leave almost no signs. i had a cat that would bring home rabbits n eat the whole thing. there was a little blood left, but surprisingly very little.

but moms will also move their kittens, sometimes in a hard for u to find place. we had a mom that moved her kittens 4 times. funny thing was each one was closer to the litter box (funny if u know how the mom takes care of the kittens excretions till theyre litter trained).

Answer 4

A mother cat does not eat her kittens. What they do is they will move them to another spot shortly after birth. This is because the smell of the birthing process might draw prey animals who would feed on kittens in the wild. I believe with some time and patience, just watch momma cat, you will find that she has begun moving her kittens to a more secure spot.

Answer 5

Domestic cats rarely eat their young, and if she had, there would be some sort of sign that she did, cats cannot eat bones.

Mom may have moved them to another location, if she felt they were in danger, I would be scouring that house looking for the kittens or some sign of them, before its too late. I work in rescue, and have known mother cats to move kittens in between walls, in heating vents etc... and then she cannot get them out.

I highly doubt she at them, and then cleaned up the evidence.

Answer 6

It is because the mama cat felt threatened somehow (could be because they moved her into another room...). When the mother cat feels threatened she will eat her kittens so as to protect them from harm/pain. I know it sounds really weird and gross but this is how they go about protecting their babies--guess cats feel it is better for them to be dead than to endure pain.
Another reason may be because the mother cat knew the kittens were ill/sick. Although it may not seem that they were sick to the human eye, animals have an instinct and have a very easy way to tell if something is internally wrong with their offspring.

Answer 7

maybe the momma is moving them to a different place too, some cats like privacy when they have little ones and want a safe unknown place. Watch the momma, does she go anywhere else? Follow her if she does and she may lead you to the kittens.

Answer 8

Well, when that happens it's usually for a good reason. The mother cat can sense if there is something wrong with the kittens & that they probably won't survive. And if there is (even if we don't think so), she might eat them. The same happens with Ferrets as well.

Answer 9

I seriously doubt she ate them, let alone without a trace. That just goes against nature. Female cats will care for another cats kittens. She has them stashed somewhere else.If she can get outside she may have taken them with her.

Answer 10

she must have moved them. i have never heard of a cat eating her own kittens. and u said there was no mess so she must have moved them.