AS a long time responsible breeder of Maine Coon Cats, I can tell you this behavior is not normal. And I have never seen in in response to the mother not having adequate milk.
The basic answer is a cat will eat her kittens if she has an extremely nervous temperment, is in a unfamiliar environment and feels threatened by being continually disturbed, or in some cases if the kitten has some type of seen or unseen deformity. Tho in this case it is more likely the mother will just continue to push it aside and ignore it.
A female who has exhibited this behavior should never, ever be re-bred. AS an addendum, I am appalled at the number of people here who have allowed random pregnancies and not had their pets spayed, which by the way can be done even if the cat is pregnant. You are all doing nothing but adding to the very sad potentially homeless pet population. And PS any responsible purebred cat breeder has all their kittens spayed and neutered BEFORE we ever place them in their new homes.
Nov 05, 2008
I Don't Understand by: Anonymous
OK my sisters cat is about 3-5 months old we don't know because we adopted her from a family that did not know when they where born anyways shes showing some signs of pregnancy except shes being less loving and wants to be outside more then inside I'm pretty certain she hasn't given birth yet because i didn't find any baby kittens or sad to say it bodies of new born kittens why doesn't she want to be inside if she hasn't given birth shes also showing many signs of pregnancy lack of interest for males and an increased diet yet her nipples have not become swollen yet shes sleeping through most of the day awake enough for breakfast and dinner please help me and my sister figure this out i dont want to worry about any baby kittens in our backyard that may be ion danger
p.s. we also have 3 pit bull mixes that my have done something i wont even think of
Apr 26, 2008
My Cat Is Making Noises What Should I Do? by: Ellie
My pregnat cat is making noises, and I don't know
what to do? I think she will be giving birth soon, but I am not sure.Please help me.
Mar 31, 2008
How pregnant is she? by: Karen
i know during human pregnancy you can measure your belly and see how many weeks you are. is there any way you can do this for a cat? is there any other ways you can tell?
Mar 29, 2008
Is it unusual for a male cat to take care of kittens? by: Anonymous
I had a Cat that delivered about year ago. She died when her babies was like 6 weeks old. I noticed that one day My Tom cat had took over taking care of her babies. He would give the them baths and even tho he didn't have milk he would let them suck.
Is this unusual for a Tom cat to take over a mother instinct to take care of them?
Mar 23, 2008
cat biting her kittens by: Anonymous
my cat gave birth yesterday and seems stressed. She is picking up the kittens in her mouth but not round her neck she is picking them up by there bum and seems to be hurting them. she has made one bleed. is she rejecting them?
Mar 18, 2008
pregnant ferral by: Anonymous
I have a pregnant ferral cat who has over the last few months let me close to her n has now moved in with me. she got attacked by another animal a couple weeks ago and her eye was punctured by the animal.her eye is now grey in color and started bleeding today. im very concerned about her but i know she shouldnt be on medication while pregnant. she still eats and acts fine. what should i do ?
Mar 09, 2008
My Cat by: Anonymous
When my cat had her first liter about a year ago (unfortunately all of them died) one went missing and we never could find it. My husband said she probably ate it and I could not believe him because I'd never heard of it. Well she got pregnant a second time but had them too early and they died seconds after birth. I picked them up and layed them together so I could clean it up before the kids saw it. But then she started eating them as soon as she was done with labor. I found out that it's a natural response in nature to avoid predators to protect the live kittens.
Jan 18, 2008
Cats by: Anonymous
That's pretty interesting! I am glad that I don't eat their kittens! That's just plain mean and cruel!!!LOL
