my cat just had two baby's and my grandma say's that nowon should touch them because if you touch them in the first week they were born the mom cat get's mad and kills the new born baby's and i want to know if this is true?
2007-03-26 15:41:23 · 17 answers · asked by tink! 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
Absolutely not! Mom cat knows your scent. Grandma is wrong. That idea only is true sometimes with totally wild critters. Domesticated animals don't count. Just don't interrupt the kittens and the mother. Wait until their eyes open. In the mean time it is alright to stroke the kits provided the mother cat doesn't protest. Talk to them. They might be blind for a week or two, but they can still hear. If you stroke them when new-born they will get used to your scent also. Their noses work absolutely fine like their hearing. Guide line: If it's OK with mama cat, have fun bringing those baby furrys into the world, then tell Grandma "I told you so" but don't rub it in. Respect with mom cat and Grandma can go a long way!
2007-03-26 16:43:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not in my experience. If the mother does not trust you she may move them afterwards to a place she feel that you cannot find but I have never had any of my cats kill their own kittens and I have handled them the day they were born. Just don't handle them too much because it is not good for them and it might upset the mama cat.
2007-03-26 22:46:25 · answer #2 · answered by fargone14 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No this is not true, but you should only handle them if you have to for the first few weeks. If it were true think of all the money wasted by people taking their cat into the vet when it was having trouble delivering the kittens.
2007-03-26 22:46:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, it's not exactly true. But, what *CAN* happen is that the mother will see you messing with them and will smell you on them and hide them from you. They can easily die if they are moved to a less safe place and discovered by predators.
Keep them inside and once they are old enough, get the entire lot fixed. It's incredibly irresponsible to allow a cat outside, but even worse to let her out unfixed.
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2007-03-26 22:49:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don;t think they would kill them cause of that 'but she will go and hide them and when you find her she will move them again...i waited till they were 2weeks to hold them and mama cat was OK with that.If the babies cried when i was holding them'she would come running to see what wrong with the kittens,In a few weeks the kittens will be looking to find you and want to jump and play,,,,kittens are the cutest ever,,,,,good luck always,.,.,.
2007-03-26 23:24:11 · answer #5 · answered by Cami lives 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's not that she will kill them, but she will ignore them, they will have a strange scent on them and not smell like her, so to her they are no longer her kittens. And I think that you have to wait until the kittens open their eyes before you can touch them. I would check with a vet about all the information you need to know. It's very important at this stage to keep Momma and her kittens close.
2007-03-27 03:57:07 · answer #6 · answered by lochmessy 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I have picked up my cats kittens right after they have been born and still wet and always have over the years. I have yet to have one killed by mom.
2007-03-26 22:46:59 · answer #7 · answered by elyag43 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
NO its an old wise tale. My cat had kittens and I was there for the birth and had to help her with the last one. Me and my two older children held the babies from hours old and the babies were raised into wonderful affectionate kittens. The kittens need to be with mama for warmth because they can not regulate their body temperature until about 10-14 days old and they need to nurse frequently. So don't remove them but yes pet them talk to them so that they will always be used to you loving on them. If the mama cat trust you around her kittens she will do fine if you pet or even hold them. Congrats on you new babies.
2007-03-26 22:46:39 · answer #8 · answered by April 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It could cause the mother cat to move or abandon the kittens. So wait till she is ready for you to touch them. This is the time where the mother needs to bond with her kittens. Good luck with the babies.
2007-03-26 22:49:24 · answer #9 · answered by DONNA T 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, really it is like that for dogs though. It's because dogs have such a keen sense of smell and if you touch the puppies, your scent rubs off on them. They'll smell your scent and not recognize the puppy as theirs. The mother (or in one case, the father) would sense it as an intruder and then kill it to protect her and the others. Cats don't have such a keen sense of smell, so they don't take that into account.
2007-03-26 22:54:57 · answer #10 · answered by brittany 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋