Why does a mother cat eat the kittens food and leaves her own?

Question

It is like she is going back to being a kitten herself. She's making growling noises, begging for food when we are eating, waiting for the children to drop food when at dinner table. She is also eating the kitten food, drinks their milk and she turns her nose up at her own food. Her stomach has also been a bit off. Is this because she is eating kitten food or something else? Sometimes when we walk past her she tends to hiss especially when food is dropped on the floor. What should we do? Thanks for any advice.

Answer 1

A mother cat that is nursing needs kitten food! Her body needs the extra nutrients. If she keeps it up you may want to call the vet and ask their opinion.

Good luck

Answer 2

Having babies is hard on a cat's body, and they need extra nutrition, especially as they're producing milk now. I don't wonder that she's been looking for something with higher protein levels. Cats need to get about 35% protien even when NOT feeding kittens and most cat foods only supply 30%. She knows she needs more.

But eating higher protein foods suddenly like this can cause upset stomach in about half the cats, so if you can offer her a bowl of 3/4 kitten food and 1/4 her old stuff, she'll do better on it. The milk may be too much for her though, as a lot of cats can't tolerate cow milk, it upsets their digestion. Take her off the milk and do the food mix, and see if she's got less problems in the litter box.

Answer 3

I think she's extra hungry. That would explain the hissing when you walk past her when she's eating -- she is warning you not to try to take her food.

Actually, mother cats who are still nursing should be fed kitten food. They need the extra nourishment and vitamins and minerals it contains, to help them produce ever-increasing amounts of milk for the growing kittens, and to replenish them calcium that was depleted the developing kittens before birth.

In fact, some nursing mothers become so calcium-deficient that they develop seizures, heart problems, and paralysis, all of which can be cured with extra calcium.

Her stomach may be "off" because she gulps down her food too fast because she's hungry.

It's hard to overfeed a nursing mother cat. I'd suggest giving her more food, and make it kitten food. You can also supplement her meals with cottage cheese, which is a great source of calcium but won't upset her stomach like milk often does.

Answer 4

while your cat is nursing put her on kitty food got loads of protein in better for her