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/Why does my cat kill her kittens only to get pregnant again? This time they were around 4-5 weeks when she killed them. Last time they were around 8-9 weeks. It’s happened twice and we don’t know why.
Because she’s an animal. It’s in her nature to reproduce.
A more relevant question would be-WHY ARE YOU ALLOWING HER TO GET REPEATEDLY PREGNANT WHEN SHE CLEARLY HAS UNDERLYING HEALTH ISSUES?
Get her spayed ASAP.
EDIT: This question was merged. The original question asked about a cat killing her kittens at 4–5 weeks of age and at 8–9 weeks of age, not a cat just “killing her kittens.” Obviously, different factors are involved depending on the kittens' ages.
Honestly none of the answers provided so far make total sense to me. What you've described isn't a situation where a kitten dies or is killed shortly after birth. In those cases it makes sense to talk about conserving resources like milk and eating the corpse to avoid predators. But at 4–5 weeks, the kittens are close to weaning. And under normal circumstances, they are definitely weaned by 8–9 weeks. If there was something so “wrong” with the kittens that the mother could sense, I doubt it would take even 4 weeks for that to happen, much less 9 weeks.
Since you say the cat you describe as “my cat” is semi-feral according to information you posted in a comment, it's not clear to me you really know what has happened to the kittens. You say one kitten was found emaciated and the mom didn't seem to care, and you seem to say another litter was never seen…I'm just not clear on how you know the mom killed all her kittens. I think it's just as likely her health didn't allow her to nurse them properly and since the kittens were outdoors it's also possible they were victims of a predator.
I do agree with the other answers that she's not “choosing” to get pregnant. She needs to be spayed.
Katie, in your response to the people who responded to get her spayed, it's because you're question says “my cat" so you're claiming the cat as your own. If she's semi feral, lets you pet her but not carry her, you might need to be a bit more aggressive in your approach to capturing her. What I mean is if you are able pet her, will she sometimes rub against you too? If she does this, you could get a firm grip on her by her scruff, then quickly scoop her up and put her into a secure carrier or box, or bring her into a small room such as a bathroom until you get a carrier. Just provide a litter box, food and water. She must get spayed as you already know. Some mother cats are simply not cut out to be moms. I foster pregnant cats and kittens for an animal shelter. I've fostered many mom cats through the years, and I can tell you that a few of these moms were not the best moms. I've had young mothers who did not know how to care for them from birth on. Their instincts didn't kick in. One mom had 9 babies and the poor girl was so stressed because they all came very quickly. I found 5 cold, wet and not moving in my daughter's closet. I thought they were dead! They were still attached to their placentas. I had to cut their umbilical cords, clean and warm them up, then assist the mom who was in the middle of having another in the litter box! In the meantime, she coughed up a huge roundworm and blood….she was sick and bled quite a bit too. It all happened so quickly. All the rest of the babies were born in under an hour and that is very unusual. I had to cut all their cords as she did not. She also didn't eat the placentas as most cats do. Everyone survived except the runt who died at two weeks old. I had another foster mom cat who simply would not clean her babies! She fed them, but would not clean them. I literally had to bathe them every other day so they wouldn't get so caked in waste. My point is there are some moms who just don't know what to do. A mother that is killing her babies or not caring for them will likely only continue that behavior with future litters. I hope by now the mom is caught and the cycle of deaths is stopped. Semi feral cats can still find a loving home with a caring family if you don't want to or can’t keep her. Btw, have you seen her kill the kittens? The kittens may have been very sick as many outdoor kittens born to outdoor mothers are. They might have died on their own and the mom was “cleaning up the area" she claims as her own space. I hope she's spayed and being loved inside a home somewhere by now.
Okay so to get the story straight I’m putting everything that has occurred with this mother cat on here.
Before that though can I just clarify, I KNOW WE NEED TO SPAY HER. I’m not asking what should we do. We have ordered a trap and are working on it, we have tried to catch her but she doesn’t let us pick her up. I came on here asking WHY she is doing what she is doing. I appreciate those who have answered and have provided me with this info.
She is semi-feral and is outside, she lets us pet her but not pick her up. We have a trap coming in so we can catch and spay her but in the meantime, she is roaming. She did have her litter outside however we have a kennel with a bed that she kept them in. Next minute they’re gone and found one dead in the front yard 2 days later (today).
The litter before however she had them in the kennel and took them somewhere else when they were about 3 days old and then never brought them home again. She’d let one orange come and eat but eventually, we stopped seeing that one and then one day I saw it under our car, it looked about 5–6 weeks at this point and was literally skin and bones and she didn’t acknowledge it. We took it in but it eventually passed away not long after. She killed a grey kitten (8–9 weeks old at the time) from the same litter and we found her eating it on our doorstep.
Might I just note she has had and successfully raised 2 litters prior to the sudden change. (we took the kittens when they were weaned completely and when their mother didn't really care for them anymore).
Because she can keep getting pregnant as you haven't spayed her. The real question is why are you allowing her to repeatedly have kittens. Very irresponsible. There are low cost options for spaying and neutering. I take mine to a place that charges a lousy $40 and cats get a year rabies vaccine and a checkup. P L E A S E start being a responsible pet owner.
You should get your cat spayed!!!
You said that the first time she killed her kittens they were 4 to 5 weeks old. She should have started weaning them by that time. Are you sure that she killed the kittens ? You didn't say but it seems like she is an outdoor cat, considering she got pregnant again and she supposedly killed them when they were 8 to 9 weeks old. My guess would be that a male cat is killing the kittens, not her. Why haven't you had her spayed? Why are you allowing her to keep getting pregnant? Excuse me, but that just not make good sense. GET HER SPAYED and save her the pain of having litter after litter and the kittens being killed either by her or wandering male cats that want to breed with her.
Naturally thats not the way nature works unless she is so hungry or she feels very threatened for them, thats my opinion.
How do you know it is her that killed them as a mom killing kittens is rare in of itself? When it does happen, it is usually newborn kittens, and she will mistake the kitten for afterbirth. A mom cat does not eat or kill a kitten after she has raised it for weeks. The only thing I can think of that could cause such a thing, is if the mom is starving, severly malnourished, or extremely stressed. Do not feed generic cat foods for starters as they don’t get the nutrition they need from that crap.
There is a remote and, I mean remote possibility that you have a rogue mother, that for some reason, goes crazy when she smells other cats, or when she comes in heat again. I certainly have never heard of it, nor experienced this however. Again this would be stress related. It is not even real common for toms to kill kittens.
Even when small kittens die, moms don’t typically eat those. They usually scoot them to the side and cover them up. It is possible the kittens were ill, and died becaue they became dehydrated. Kittens die quickly if they get dehydrated. They can seem fine and then a few hours be dead, all from dehydration. They could have been weak and something else have killed them. They also could have gotten too cold and died.
However, I want you to seriously consider that it is something else killing them. I mean, you could not have seen it happen, or a rational person would have saved the kittens and then separated them, so it could be something else. Maybe the family dog is not as innocent as you think, and it has you fooled. Dogs kill cats and kittens all the time, and will eat them. They also know when they are doing wrong, and will do it behind your back. If the kittens are outdoors, a dog would be a common problem, and so would lots of other things such as coons, coyotes, fox, owls, hawks. Even rats might do it. So if you did not see it happen, you have another culprit. Never leave a cat out around the neighborhood pit bulls either. If there are loose dogs, that is the #1 most likely culprit.
Now, to prevent these senseless deaths in the future, keep the cat inside, and get her spayed. Several kittens had to be born just to suffer a horrible death and die. This is totally senseless. You have the power to prevent that in the future. Why are you letting this happen? I bet your one of those against tethering a dog for 15 minutes, but you will throw and keep tiny defensless kittens outdoors.
Again, doubtful you witnessed it, or a person with some sense would have saved the kittens. So there is no way of knowing what REALLY happened to those kittens.
Such a messed up world!
I read your answer and I still don’t think her killing them is the primary issue. It sounds like the kittens are getting ill and both her and the kittens are malnourished. She probably did not kill the one you seen her eating. She was probably eating it becaue she is malnourished. She is in desperate circumstances and that is why she is doing unusual things. Catch her, spay her, deworm her and feed her correctly. It is also possible that something else killed that kitten,, and she started out carrying it around, and just started eating it because she was stressed or very hungry. You are also expecting a cat to always know what to do and how to take care of her young. They don’t often know what to do, especially when they are desperate. A cat on the street, is equivilent to a homeless person living in extreme poverty with little resources. Sometimes they have to do things out of desperation, but I still bet she did not kill the kittens outright herself. They probably got sick and died on their own first.
She gets pregnant again because she’s unaltered and has no control over heat cycles or what males have access to her during heat cycles.That is your job to control. Is this a purebred queen being bred intentionally with another purebred? Are you just not spaying her and letting breeding occur whenever? If so you are putting her at risk for Pyometra. It would be extremely rare for a cat to purposely kill her own kittens at any age BUT if she’s going into heat again (which can happen as early as 4 weeks) she may be accidentally doing it due to hormone changes. Her milk may be drying up and she may be unable to feed them. She may fear a Tom cat is going to harm them and in an attempt to protect them is hurting them. Either way it sounds like you need to get her to a vet and have her spayed.
Please desex your cat! It’s just too cruel to let this keep happening. Even if she didn’t kill them she would still be having litter after litter until she’s so worn out, it’s not fair. Sounds like she’s left to roam too which is so dangerous.
Many reasons as to why she might be doing this and it would take a vet to tell you why. If you have any kind feelings for your cat at all then please help her. It’s certainly not normal or natural and your cat’s quality of life is extremely low.
Your cat, like many other females hasn’t any maternal instinct.
She is letting you know it’s time to get her spayed. ASAP !
Unless she is a valuable purebred cat and you are a reputable cat breeder this animal should not be procreating. Hundreds of thousands of unwanted cats and kittens are euthanized annually. I implore you to not hesitate— please get her spayed.
:::exiting soap box:::
Cats don’t think of having babies like humans do. They get pregnant when they are not fixed, they are outside, and they get jumped by at least one tom cat if not more. It’s not a sweet, loving thing. It’s pretty much the female is heat and she gets all but raped by every tom that comes around until she’s not in heat anymore because she’s pregnant. Your cat keeps getting pregnant because you don’t take her to get her fixed. If she’s truly semi-feral., then call your local shelter and they will get you a cat trap so you can catch her and take her to get fixed. It may not even be her killing the kittens. Sometimes tom cats will kill kittens because they see them as rivals. Bottom line. Get her fixed.
I don't know why, but PLEASE neuter your cat.
It’s obvious your cat is mostly feral and you asked a question about something you where curious about. I think you’re doing the right thing by planning on getting her fixed. Please let us know how things go. Good luck.
natural selection, nature takes care of itself when making a genetically inferior animal kill its own litter, to keep the gene-pool healthier.
otherwise it could be outward circumstances that make a perfectly healthy animal do that, those circumstances need then to be identified and ended, the animal will then nurture its offspring. from a distant, without knowing anything about the circumstances that animal lives in, its to hard to tell what it would be.
when having a cat or dog in the home, then the human takes the responsibility to care for the animal, maybe it will be better to now get that cat to the veterinary to neuter it, to not have tiny helpless baby animals suffer that much.
Okay, I had written another answer on the assumption it were the questioner's cat. I don't exactly know who is writing this question though, since someone else answering said that this was merged with another question.
I have no real idea what is going on here.
SO I have erased my first answer to the question (and I thank the people who upvoted my first answer!)
But now, having read that the questioner is trying to trap the mama cat, which happens to be a FERAL cat, so that she can be spayed, that changes everything in my mind and I have to put a different kind of answer here.
My feeling is the mother cat is just not getting enough to eat to sustain taking care of kittens past a certain point.
Even the most pampered housecat fed triple portions of kitten food during pregnancy and while nursing her kittens will begin losing weight as the kittens grow to 4 weeks and beyond. That is why kittens definitely have to be weaned around that time. So it would be extra difficult for a feral mama to keep successfully nursing multiple kittens, it is a heavy task!
My feeling is also that since the mama cat had a couple of successful litters prior to the ones where she began losing kittens, she possibly now may have an abscess, a virus, or an infestation of parasites that is causing her to feel too unwell to properly take care of kittens past a certain point.
She may not herself be killing the kittens, but she may not be protecting them either, as well as leaving them alone for long stretches of time to seek food to sustain herself. The kittens would still be too young to fend for themselves and would weaken and expire, probably also having parasites as well as lacking nourishment. And, depending on the location, some of the kittens may have been killed by predators.
In any event, I hope the questioner will be able to trap and have spayed the mama cat soon and end the tragic cycle of lost litters.
First of all: addressing the part of “just to get pregnant again”- WHY isn’t she spayed!!?!?!?! You should have gotten her spayed after stupidly allowing her to get pregnant the first time.
secondly: get her spayed NOW.
Well Katie YOUR CAT KEEPS GETTING PREGNANT BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T GET HER SPAYED BEFORE SHE GOT PREGNANT. TAKE HER TO GET SPAYED IMMEDIETLY BEFORE SHE GETS PRGNANT AGAIN.
Because you didn't get her spayed. She's sending you a message. She doesn't want to be a mother. Heed it and get her to the vet to be spayed.
Get your cat to a veterinarian immediately, and get her spayed.
Unless you’re a licensed breeder there is no good reason why you should allow your cat to suffer the cycle of heat and pregnancy, and there is clearly something very wrong happening here if your cat is killing her own babies.
Your cat isn’t choosing to become pregnant. She’s obeying a powerful biological urge, an all-encompassing urge that can only be sated by mating because you haven’t had her fixed yet.
I don’t think anyone can give you a definitive answer to this question on , and certainly not without examining the cat, which is why you need to take her to a veterinarian immediately.
Most importantly, she should not have any more kittens. Two dead litters is a lot of needless, heartbreaking suffering on the part of innocent baby animals. Please don’t let this happen to a third litter. When animals are in our care it’s our responsibility to ensure their safety.
not all female animals are good mothers.. this can happen with dogs, rabbits etc. either they kill their pups/kittens or just abandon them, dont nurse them and let them die. this cat doesnt want to be a “mother” so please have her spayed. when she goes in heat, she just follows her instincts and mates with any male nearby. she is not aware of what she is doing is resulting in an unwanted pregnancy.
I feel badly for you all! That sounds so very hard on everyone.
I wish you the best in getting her trapped and spayed. That sounds like the perfect solution.
A feral momcat had kittens in our shed, and it took us till the kits were 11 weeks before we successfully trapped them all (we didn’t know about them until they were about 8 weeks old). At least one kitten hadn’t made it- we saw her with 3, but only trapped her an 2 kittens, though we tried for over a week.
But we took them all to the vet, and mostly tamed the kittens, and the momcat had a good life as a housecat. She never really warmed up to US, but she adored our elderly dog!
She was lucky, though- and even so, while the kittens were healthy, SHE was emaciated caring for them. The babydaddy was not at all hostile, and indeed came around a few days after we’d trapped them all, trilling and looking for them. (He, at least, had a home!)
I think you are doing very well in a very difficult situation, and I wish you and the momcat the best.
Spay her for godsakes!
Perhaps you should consider getting the mother cat spayed??? - clearly she has a problem with having kittens and it’s up to you as her carer to look after her and do the right thing - quickly!
Please get your pets spayed and neutered. There is an epidemic of abused and unwanted animals. Do you ever think that perhaps the mother is in pain having these babies over and over.
Please be a responsible pet owner.
The majority of feral or semi-feral female cats come into heat approximately 3–4 weeks after giving birth. When that happens, unneutered male cats will be drawn to her, and will mate with her, regardless of whether or not she ‘wants” to be mated with. My personal observations are that most do NOT want to mate. The males force themselves onto her, driven by their biological drives.
The ONLY safe and permanent solution, as mentioned, is to have her spayed.
However, the answer as to why she has killed her own kittens may not have a single answer, but again, based on my personal observations, my best guess is that it is a form of resource guarding. If the mother has become pregnant again, her biology may be telling her that the existing kittens have become a drain on available resources, usually food, particularly if the mothers nutritional needs are not being met by the food provided by the feral feeder.
There are a multitude of ways to overcome resource guarding, beginning with offering plentiful and nutritious food for Mom. Wet pate style food mixed with unflavored Pedialyte and/or KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement) added to create soupy / slurry consistency is a great start, and will also be good for the kittens to eat. Mom should be eating Kitten Chow or other kibble specifically formulated towards kittens during her pregnancy, especially near the end of her pregnancy. Kitten food has extra nutrients that will help the developing babies, and give Mom an extra nutritional boost. The kibble should be available to Mom 24 hours per day, and wet food 2–3 times per day, or as often as Mom will eat it. Adding raw food (mix-in’s, dehydrated, frozen, or fresh) for Mom will also help her get the extra protein her body needs.
The other likely reason is hormonal. If Mom becomes pregnant again, something in her specific biology overrides her instinct to care for her living kittens and she views them as a threat to her unborn kittens.
If she has another litter before she can be spayed, the kittens should be handled by the feral feeder as soon as Mom starts to leave her nest, usually to eat, so the feeder should offer Mom a large & yummy meal! IF it’s possible, try to wait at least 5 days, but not much more. You want the kittens to learn the scent, sensation, and comfort humans can provide before their eyes open.
For the first week or so of touch, it’s best to wear medical gloves, so that your scent doesn’t get on the kittens. Quickly take a photo of the kittens in their “pile” and then as you gently pick up each one, write down gender, markings & any other info you get from your quick check, and get a photo of each one, so you’ll know if any go missing.
This is POLAR OPPOSITE from usual cat mom, kitten & human interactions!!! But because this Mom has already demonstrated that HER sense of self-preservation overrides her maternal instincts, the humans involved must be prepared to remove the kittens from the mother at the FIRST indication that Mom may not want to care for them. Keep kitten bottles, KMR or Goats Milk on hand in case you need to move them indoors with you to begin bottle feeding them.
If you have the ability, a WiFi video camera, old phone, or webcam that aims into the nest that will let you watch from a distance is very helpful, especially if it can continuously record, so you an scan the daily activity and see how Mom is acting/interacting with the kittens, and step in if necessary.
Kittens get some of their lifetime immunities from Mom’s milk during their first few weeks of life. If you must remove the kittens before that time, you’ll need to keep them isolated until they are old enough to get their shots at 6–8 weeks (depending on your vet) and you MUST get their follow-up shots on schedule (usually 3 weeks apart) and discuss with your vet about additional vaccines that are not as common but may be warranted if the kittens were not able to get at least 3–4 weeks of milk from mom.
STERILIZE THE CAT. Spay her asap. She clearly does not want motherhood and the world certainly doesnt need more kittens
HOWEVER IF FERAL it may be a local tom cat killing her babies and not her, this is his way to get her into heat sooner so he can mate with her and getting rid of other tom cats taking over his territory
OMG. Why don’t you spay your cat????
She is probably stressed out or has health problems. For some reason she believes kittens won’t make it.
And from your question, I am guessing you never visited a vet. :(
There are free or really discounted spay surgery services in most of the USA. Please do a quick search on Google and get your cat spayed asap.
If a kitten is born sick/unfit to survive or becomes so, the mother cat will kill and probably eat the kitten so that it doesn’t take resources from the healthy ones. This also saves her from expending the energy of hunting while she’s already weakened from nursing. If the kittens from both litters were not healthy, she would likely know, even if you couldn’t tell.
There are probably other reasons a mother cat would kill her kittens. If she herself feels starved or unwell and can’t abandon them (did you put her and the kittens together in an enclosed area), she may have killed them for nourishment and to preserve future resources.
Are you breeding this cat? Does she have the kittens outdoors? More information would be needed to really give a solid answer about your particular cat but it is clear that she should not be allowed or made to get pregnant again.
Get your cat spayed IMMEDIATELY. Call a local animal shelter and ask for neutering information.
There are many reasons why a cat might kill her kittens. She may not be getting enough food to nurse them.
Get her spayed.