Why does a female cat sometimes eat one of her kittens which has died.. It was a 3 week old kitten.?

Question

At first I thought my cat was a sadistical freak, Then someone told me they do it for a reason..... Any ideas anyone????

Answer 1

Before cats were domesticated they ate the young to keep the body from decomposing drawing predators to the den. It was to insure their safety. It's gross and morbid by human standards but animals don't think as human do.

Answer 2

The reason is that the kitten is dead and she needs the nutrients. It's an instinct of the wild. She knew she still had other kittens to feed, and so she wanted to take back in the nutrition she had given to the kitten by birthing and feeding it.

Be sure to get her fixed as soon as the kittens are weaned.

Answer 3

"Sadistical frEAk"!!?? LOL!!! I

I had a dog and a cat that did the same thing.
It keeps the other babies from getting sick and also keeps predators away because of the decomposing body.
Animals in the wild do it all the time.
Your cat's just showing her wiLd SidE.....rOWr!!!


Edit:

My apologies to CatLady (2 answers below me)
I meant to give her a "thumbs up" but I accidentally clicked the wrong side .
So everybody, count that thumb down as one up! :))

Answer 4

i have been around a lot of mother cats i have never seen a mother cat eat her young
now the males will they will kill em the mother must have been very upset at some thing for her to do such a thing they might do it cause people or other animals keep bothering them

Answer 5

it's kinda hard to explain, but the hen does the same thing. They do that well for reasons such as ppl touching the kitten while the mother cat sees it. It's akward, but it is true. If you come to think about, put yourself in her place and what would you if your baby resulted dead? would you keep it to yourself or would you @ least put it into the grave.

Answer 6

Many animals eat their young when they know they are compromised health-wise. It is a natural instinct to prevent other predators from eating them or attracting attention to the ones that are healthy.

Answer 7

It's to prevent predators from smelling death, finding the nest and possibly killing the surviving kittens.
Rabbits will do that too.

Answer 8

It's an instinct. They do this to keep other animals from finding them.

Answer 9

There may have been something wrong with the kitten!!

Answer 10

along time ago some human cultures ate there children if they died so they wouldnt go to waste

maybe thats what some cats do