okay so, my cat, who is an outdoor cat had moved her new born kittens a while ago and because she is an outdoor cat, i couldn't figure out where she put her kittens. only today i found out that she ate them. a neighbour of mine told me that he saw her eat her kittens and when he tried to take it out of her mouth, she ran away. Do mother cats normally eat their kittens? even after theyre 18 days old? aren't they meant to eat them (if they do) when theyre born?
i feel so angry with her. i was disgusted that she would do such a thing.
2007-10-25 22:09:28 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
she gave birth to four kittens. i got informed that she definitly ate one of them. im not sure about the other 3 though, but i assume she ate them too......
2007-10-25 22:18:39 · update #1
I've heard that tomcats can eat kittens, that's why cats with kittens are so aggressive. Ive also heard some animals eat their babies when they are scared or feeling jeopardized. I know that dog can eat her puppy immidiately after giving a birth if puppy is not "alive enough"
2007-10-25 22:13:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had no idea that cats or dogs do this. I just came up to my house right now, and there is the "cat of the building" an outdoor cat who gave birth to a few kittens today, and when I went to check on them it looked like she was eating something. So I came up to check if cats eat there new born..
Sucks to find out they do. So if the building cat ate hers, I know how disgusted you felt. Sry to hear that though.
2007-11-01 16:00:57 · answer #2 · answered by Carlos S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They were probably deformed in some way. Cats do this out of instinct, not will. They move them when they think predators are about (from the gooey birth place). It just like the way they clean the kittens after they have been born to protect them from predators and eat the sacs.
The reason why she will eat them because, they were bound to die anyway. She is giving them the easy way out. She was eating it because she didn't want it to rot and attract predators, so she eats it. Horrid, I know, but she is trying to protect her kittens. Even though there are no predators out there like there was when all cats were feral but, what can we do ? ...
It is just best to let her do what she needs to do. Mabey all of the kittens were suffering. I do not blame you are being mad, anyone would be mad, but see it from her point of view. She lost her babies and you need to comfort her. Nature can work is some nasty ways.
Best of Luck.
2007-10-28 13:56:38 · answer #3 · answered by pop 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
one of your answers was right. male cats can actually eat kittens, because they feel dominant in doing so. it is a very rare thing for a female cat to do that. if it was her first time having kittens, than dont blame her. i have had cats who had kittens, took them outside, and after a few day the cat came back without her kittens, and i assumed they were dead. im sorry for what happened to you, but im sure that your vet can give you further information on why she did this.
hope i helped
2007-10-28 16:35:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cats will usually do this if they sense there is something wrong with their kittens. I have had this happen before and on a second litter the mom was fine and the kittens were too.
2007-10-26 05:26:06 · answer #5 · answered by Deborah S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes!! It must be something wrong. How it can eat after 18 days, I may be something like that, If that cat might not get food upto 18 days after it's dilevery of kittens!!
That may only the reason, Because otherwise it will never happen.
2007-10-26 05:14:22 · answer #6 · answered by piyush 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont think that cats eat their kittens.Maybe she put them somewhere that you could not find them as you said she is an outdoor cat.Maybe your neighbor saw her eat a mice or something like that .I just cant believe that cat could do such thing
2007-10-26 09:46:53 · answer #7 · answered by Serena94 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it is a matter of smell rabbits and rats are the same way if the right smell comes up they eat each other and there is no given rule to it at all if in middle of eating the smell changes they stop right there in some cases they even start crying about what they have done and try to nuge the babys back to life
2007-10-26 05:35:21 · answer #8 · answered by Jeffrey M 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She did it because she thought there was some kind of problem with the kittens themselves.
Cats do this if they suspect that their kittens have health problems.
Birds also do this sort of thing to their chicks.
2007-10-26 05:13:31 · answer #9 · answered by FawneMine 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
cats will kill their kittens if she feels there is something wrong with them.
2007-10-26 05:20:44 · answer #10 · answered by lori_patty2003 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋