Why does my cat hate her kittens?

Cats, like human mothers, must teach their offspring many things. They will teach them how to behave as well as how to hunt. Just as a mother may scold a child, it’s necessary for a mother to discipline her kittens.

It can be difficult to tell the difference between discipline and an actual attack, from a human perspective. The mother may hiss or even swat at the kitten. The kitten may even meow as if they have been hurt.

However, there are ways to recognize the difference between actual aggression and discipline, look at the kitten. Do they show any signs of harm? Are their bite marks? Blood? Do they seem to be in pain? These are signs that your cat is actually attacking their kitten to harm them.

However, if the kitten appears physically fine and does not show signs of injury, you can assume that mom is only disciplining them.

Kitten Rejection

Mother cats usually take great care of their kittens. However, on occasion things go awry. When the mother doesn’t care for her kittens, this is known as kitten rejection. This can occur after birth, or anytime while the kittens are nursing.

It is usually easy to tell when a mother has rejected her kittens. When a mother rejects her kittens, she will not nurse or groom them. She may carry the kittens away from her bedding area, or leave the area where the kittens are. She may also be aggressive towards the kittens because she wants to be left alone.

Fatigue

As with humans being tired can make you cranky, and it can do the same to your cat. The process of birth and caring for kittens requires a lot of energy. Your cat is bound to get tired. This can lead them to attack their kittens.

In most cats, this will simply cause your cat to be a bit more short tempered. It shouldn’t lead them to harm their kittens.

Hormones

Throughout pregnancy and lactation, hormone levels fluctuate in cats. Certain hormones like oxytocin increase, to encourage the cat to bond with her kittens. If hormone levels are not in balance, the cat may not show appropriate interest in her kittens. She may also be aggressive towards them. It’s thought that hormones are often the cause of kitten rejection.

Weaning

It could also be the case that your cat has started to wean her kittens. Weaning begins at 3 to 4  weeks of age. When mom starts weaning, she will begin denying the kittens when they try to nurse. The kittens will begin eating solid food during this time as well.

Over a period of several weeks, the kittens get less milk from mom, and more solid food. Eventually, at 8 to 10 weeks, they are completely weaned, and no longer nursing.

The kittens will protest being denied milk from their mother. They will attempt to nurse, and often some can be quite insistent. When this happens, mom may hiss or swat at them. If the kitten won’t take no for an answer, mom may even attack them.

The kitten shouldn’t be injured during this process, but it can look violent. Even after the kitten is completely weaned, they may still attempt to nurse, which can result in an attack.

Stress

Stress is actually a common source of behavioral problems in cats, including maternal aggression. A stressed cat can react in several ways, including attacking her kittens.  If motherhood becomes too stressful, she may attack and kill the kittens as a way of cutting her losses.

Feels Threatened

If a mother feels threatened, she may attack and kill the kittens. Perhaps counterintuitively, this is actually a protection instinct. A mother will do anything to protect her kittens from falling into the hands of a predator. It can seem more humane to kill the kittens than to allow a predator to get them.

Unfortunately, the threat doesn’t have to be legitimate for this to occur. Another pet or even a person can trigger this behavior, if the mother is afraid for her kittens.

Prey Drive

Cats do have a strong prey drive. Unfortunately, kittens are very similar to a cat’s natural prey. Ideally, a cat will recognize her kittens, and her maternal instinct will prevent her from harming them.

However, sometimes wires get crossed. The kitten may be particularly small and vulnerable, or the cat may have a higher than normal prey drive.

This can lead mom to attack her kittens, because her prey drive takes over. This is a common cause of mom’s attacking and killing kittens. However, it is still rare for this to actually happen.

Older Kitten

Once a kitten reaches maturity, it’s a mother’s instinct to push them away. At 6 to 8 weeks old, the mother will start paying less attention to the kittens. She will still keep an eye on them, and may continue to nurse rarely.

However, she will not interact with them as much as she did when they were kittens. At 12 to 14 weeks of age, the kittens are old enough to be on their own. Mom has taught them everything she can, and it’s time for them to be independent.

If an older kitten tries to interact with mom, she may attack them. This is her way of pushing them out of the nest, so to speak. She is telling them it’s time for them to begin their own life, away from mom.

Teaching

It could also be the case that the mother cat is actually teaching her kittens. If the kittens are old enough to begin learning to hunt, the mother will appear to attack them. However, she isn’t trying to hurt them. She’s actually teaching them to hunt. Mothers teach their kittens hunting skills by demonstrating them.

If the cat pounces on the kitten, seemingly out of the blue, she may be teaching them how to attack.

Playing

The mother cat will also often play with her kittens. This is partly to teach them how to hunt, and partly as a way to bond. Playing is a fun activity, and it brings mother and kittens closer together.

It can sometimes look like they are attacking them, when the reality is they are only playing.