Expert: Marcia Owen - 6/30/2009

Question
About three weeks ago, my cat gave birth.  Unfortunately, my family and I were on vacation, and were unable to be present during the big event.  We told nearby relatives to peek in on the new mom and kittens daily.  Each day, they counted 6 kittens, though it was hard to make a tally because my cat kept moving her new brood to different parts of the house.  On the day we returned, two weeks ago, we found her in a quite secluded place- with 5 kittens.  What happened to the 6th?  There is no odor, so I cannot believe that the dead kitten is in the house.  What could have happened?  Thank you.

Answer
It is not unknown for cats to eat a kitten if it has died or is weak - quite often Bengal cats will do this, though it is not totally normal.  It may have been that the kitten was not as strong as the others or it might have been the relative strangers that spooked her.

Marcia.