Expert: Ali - 3/29/2009

Question
Please help.  I have had cats for many years and have never encountered a pregnant female attacking other animals like our current one.  We rescued this cat about six months ago and she has always been a bit nervous.  She is due to give birth any day now (I hope) and she is just attacking our dog and other cats.  She actually stalks them.  I am presuming that she is trying to protect her unborn kittens.  Do you think that this could be a sign of imminent births!!!  We do not know when she was caught so have no idea what day we are on.  She also has a very strange smelly bottom but no obvious discharge.

Answer
Emma,

This mom to be may be stressed about being around other animals. I do think that it would be wise to have the vet perform a pre-natal exam to ensure that the mom is completely healthy and ready to give birth to healthy babies, you can address the issue of the smelly bottom at that time because a foul smell may indicate fetal death and decomposition or a serious infection which would require immediate medical treatment. It's best to isolate her in a room by herself with all of the usual necessities. This mom should be kept isolated from other pets in the home until after her kittens are weaned. It's important for the kittens to stay with their mother for the first twelve weeks of life. Mother cats don't require any human help to wean their babies, they will do so naturally, usually within the first twelve weeks of life. The first twelve weeks of life are important for the social development of the kittens and they need this time to learn basic feline etiquette from mom and siblings as well as being handled by as many different types of people as possible. Kittens are born with very little resistance to disease so it's important that anyone handling these babies makes sure to wash their hands thoroughly in hot, soapy water before and after handling the kittens to avoid any accidental transmission of viral or bacterial infections. It's best to set mom up with a birthing box as soon as possible - a large cardboard box lined with old towels or blankets is perfect just be sure that mom has plenty of room to get into and out of her box. I would also highly recommend that you prevent mom from having any access to intact male cats until after she's spayed because female cats can become pregnant very soon after giving birth to a litter. There are a number of health and behavioral benefits to having the cat spayed. Spaying a cat prevents uterine or ovarian cancer, it reduces the risk of breast cancer and prevents a potentially fatal uterine infection called pyometra which causes the womb to fill with pus, if the uterus ruptures spreading infection throughout the abdomen the cat's chances of survival are minimal at best. Common behavioral issues like aggression, fighting, wandering, and using urine/feces to mark territory are also reduced or eliminated entirely by spaying/neutering. It may take a few weeks for hormone levels to drop after a sexually mature cat is sterilized, but you should probably see substantial changes in your cat's behavior over the time that it takes for the hormones to drop off post surgically.