Expert: Ali - 9/30/2008

Question
For over a year now I have had two cats, Mitzy and Kirara. They are both very friendly with each other, playing, cuddling even giving each other the occasional bath. Both cats are inside cats but sometimes escape if the door or a window is open. Kirara had gotten out which was no big deal because they would come back, but she had gone missing for a good two in a half weeks. During that time my other cat Mitzy had a kitten (just one...how weird is that?). About a week and a few days after the kittens birth, my friend Aubrey found Kirara outside by my shed and when I called to her she came running at me purring and happy to be home. Instantly I took her inside, got her some food and let her eat to her hearts content.

Mitzy was in my bedroom with the kitten and came running out to where Kirara was, sniffed her and for a few mintues i thought she was happy she was home but then out of no where Mitzy attacked Kirara, chasing her across the house. Cat fur went flying everywhere and Kirara sound like she was in a lot of pain.

After about three minutes of Mitzy attacking Kirara I finally got a hold of Mitzy and put her and the kitten in the guest bedroom. Kirara was fine, lots of scratches and missing fur but nothing was broken or bleeding. She was shakin up and hid under the bed for a few hours but soon calmed down and was back to her normal sweet loving self.

I tried switching them from mitzy being in the room all day and then Kirara in the room at night hoping they would get use to the smell. But the other day Mitzy escaped from the room and attacked Kirara again but this time my husband intervined and caught Mitzy in time from doing real damage.

Now whenever i go to the room to play with Mitzy, Kirara will hiss at me because I smell like her and stops about after an hour. If she hears Mitzy meow she runs away from it and when she passes they door Mitzy starts attacking it.

I don't know what to do and I can only assume mitzy is trying to protect her kitten but even this is over the top. I can't keep them seperated forever, and I can't keep Mitzy locked away in the room either. I love them both very much, they are a big part of my family and I hate seeing them act like this. Any help would be amazing at all because I just dont know what to do. Mitzy is the only aggressive one in this situation and Kirara is scared to death of her.

thank you for you time.

Answer
Kayla,

Your hunch that Mitzy is just trying to protect her kitten is spot on. In situations where a number of female cats are in the same place and one has kittens it isn't uncommon for a more dominant female cat that isn't the natural mother to begin producing milk and try to steal the kittens away from the natural mom and raise them. I would recommend that you allow Mitzy to stay in the room with her kitten until the kitten is at least 5-6 weeks old. This will allow Mitzy to settle down and concentrate on caring for her little one and prevent any further heated discussions between the girls. By the time that the kitten is 5-6 weeks old Mitzy will be a bit less protective and the kitten will be starting to eat solid food. Domestic house cats normally wean their babies between the ages of 6-8 weeks. Kittens should remain with their mom at least until they are 10-12 weeks of age so that they learn how to be a cat as well as some valuable skills like bite inhibition and following rules. Isolating Mitzy doesn't mean that you should ignore her or her kitten, be sure that everyone gets their fair share of attention every day. It's very important that you wash your hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water prior to handling the kitten because of the fact that newborn kittens tend to have very immature immune systems which makes them vulnerable to bacterial and viral infections. Another concern I have about Mitzy is that she may potentially have other kittens in her womb that weren't born for one reason or another. This can sometimes happen in cats so if you are concerned that the personality change may be an indication of a medical issue it would be a good idea to have Mitzy examined by a vet fairly promptly so that medical issues can be ruled out. It's not very common for a cat to have just one kitten, although it does happen from time to time.

It sounds as if both Mitzy and Kirara are a bit off balance with the change in Mitzy's behavior. It's perfectly reasonable for Mitzy to react the way that she has because she may feel that Kirara may steal her kitten or even harm him/her. Kirara is understandably upset by Mitzy's odd behavior. In order to help restore calm between the two girls I would recommend that you try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a blend of flower essences designed to calm and reassure. I would suggest that you use a dose of about 8 drops in each girl's water bowl with fresh water every morning. Rescue Remedy is very safe and is used by vets and pet parents worldwide to help calm pets after a traumatic situation. This remedy is generally available at health food/natural health stores and costs about $15 CAN.

Sadly there is a serious pet overpopulation issue affecting animal shelters and communities worldwide. There are a number of good medical and behavioral reasons to have a cat surgically sterilized.  Medical benefits to spaying and neutering household pets include the decrease in certain types of cancers like those which commonly affect mammary tissue. Surgical sterilization of cats also prevents uterine, ovarian, testicular and prostate cancers. Cats who haven't been spayed or neutered are at an increased risk of contract serious infection that affects their mammary glands called mastitis (queens only), urinary tract (toms and queens) and reproductive system (toms and queens). An infection of the womb in unspayed female cats is called pyometra, it's also quite common. In the case of a female cat with a uterine infection the only cure is emergency surgery to remove the pus filled uterus as well as the ovarian tissue. There are significantly higher risks of surgical complications in a case of pyometra because the uterus could burst which would spread infection throughout the abdomen. An infection in the abdomen carries a very poor prognosis.

Many people believe that spaying or neutering a cat changes their personality. The most common changes in a cat that has been surgically sterilized are related to the fact that mating and giving birth are not the primary instinct any longer. Some cats are naturally more high strung than others as a result of territorial instincts and the hard wired instinct to reproduce. Most cats will settle down some, but there aren't really any changes in their actual personality. Having cats spayed or neutered also decreases the potential for serious behavioral issues including aggression, being an escape artist, late night howling and caterwauling to advertise her availability to mate as well as urinating and defecating to mark her territory. The reason that the behavioral changes matter so much is because the number one cause of death in cats is behavioral issues. Cats that have been surgically sterilized usually become less preoccupied with instinctive territorial behavior and the urge to reproduce after she is spayed which can certainly mean that your kitty will be more focused on bonding with her human family members.

Many animal loving vets and staff within animal shelters are forced to make difficult and heartbreaking decisions to euthanize perfectly healthy, adoptable cats and kittens simply because they just don't have the resources to hold onto them indefinitely. In North America it is estimated that only 3% of cats and kittens admitted to animal shelters are reclaimed by their human caregivers, this suggests that cats are seen as disposable pets. Millions of pets are euthanized every year, simply because they ran out of time or the shelter ran out of space, spaying and neutering saves lives. Spay/neuter surgeries are quite routine and although any surgery carries a small risk technology, newer anesthetics and constant monitoring have made the risks of sterilization minimal. Veterinarians provide pain medication to ensure that the pet is kept as comfortable as possible after he/she wakes up from the anesthesia. Staff in vet clinics often recommend that you try to keep a pet as quiet as possible so that they can recuperate from their surgery. In my experience most cats are certainly not concerned with following the doctor's orders, running around during playtime is more important. Pets tend to live longer and healthier lives as a result of the routine spay/neuter surgeries. Sexually mature cats that haven't been sterilized are hard wired to reproduce, many cats become far more focused on their human families because they no longer have to concern themselves with mating and reproducing.