Expert: Kate Tilmouth - 1/23/2009

Question
Hi Kate, My cat misha has been acting up lately and i don't know why. She has three 3 month old kittens that live with us, and she has been  snarling and swiping at them whenever they come within reach. even when they are just walking past. She just gets so nasty. Also, Whenever people try to pat her she will sometimes bite and scratch, and other times she will be really friendly. Is it possible she may be pregnant again, because she has never been like this, not even when she was pregnant last time. thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi
in the wild after about three months the mother cat will start to try and drive her kittens away to another territory. this is normal behaviour as in the wild they have to protect their patch as it were because too many cats means not enough food and competition for mating etc.

So it could be the reason why she is appearing to be nasty to her kittens. However if she is not spayed and may have been with a male again then it is possible that she could be pregnant again and this is another reason for her to want the kittens to be gone, as there won't be any room for her new litter.

It is very important that a female cat does not get pregnant too often as it can make her ill and the kittens could also suffer.

If I were you I would take her to the vets to see if she is indeed pregnant again, you will then have to decide how you are going to manage the situation, either abort the litter and have her spayed. or let her have the litter but find homes for her last set of kittens and then have her spayed once the next set of kittens are born.

It does sound to me like her behaviour is quite normal. I have some web pages about kittens and pregnant cats etc which you may find of interest. here are the links
http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-in-heat.html
http://www.our-happy-cat.com/neuter.html
http://www.our-happy-cat.com/kitten-care.html

best wishes Kate